NH 48 4000 footer in winter: Tecumseh

Saturday, March 17th, 2018
New England 48 4000 footers in winter: Tecumseh
Miles: 4.7 miles (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained: 2022'
MapMyHike recording

After yesterday's exhausting adventure, I decided to revamp my plans and go with a hike that was guaranteed to be packed out. I checked trail reports and found that Tecumseh's trail was fully packed down, so I packed up and headed out. I got to the trailhead parking right around 7:50am; I managed to snag the last parking spot in the row near the trailhead, as everyone arrived for Waterville Valley's 8am opening. I strapped on my microspikes and headed up the trail.

It was pleasantly packed down, and I made good time up the mountain, passing two people and arriving at the top after about 1.5 hours. It was a very windy day (gusts up to 60 MPH) so snow had been blown across the trail at different points, needing further packing down.

Based on footprints, I was the first person that day to summit. I took pictures and scampered down the mountain, passing ~25 people, and arrived at my car 50 minutes later.

NE Hundred Highest: Sandwich (attempt)

Friday, March 16th, 2018
New England Hundred Highest attempted: Sandwich Dome
Miles: 5.7 miles (total, loop hike)
Elevation gained: 1906'

I started out from the trailhead parking lot around 3:15pm. I ascended Noon Peak via the Sandwich Mountain Trail (~2.8mi). For the first mile or so, the trail was broken out and packed down. 

For the last 1.8 miles, the knee deep snow was untouched. Sandwich Mountain Trail has some sections that hit a 45% grade that were incredibly challenging to climb while breaking trail. It slowed me to less than a mile an hour. 

It took me almost three hours to get to the trail intersection with Drakes Brook Trail (3.2mi). I had an hour of daylight left and still had 1.3 miles of unbroken trail to get to Sandwich Dome. I was cold and utterly exhausted from breaking trail, so I decided to call it a day.

It took me another two hours to get back to my car. I descended to my car by way of Drakes Brook Trail, though I later thought that it might have been a better idea to descend back the way I'd come, since Drakes Brook Trail was not broken out either. Additionally, half a mile from the parking lot, Drakes Brook Trail crosses over the brook. This ~20 foot wide brook was still running strong in the middle, with no snow bridges of any kind. No one had crossed it since the snow storm dumped 2-3 feet of snow the week before. It was a very treacherous crossing, made that much worse because I had to navigate it after full dark with a headlight. The far bank was a good 2-3 feet higher than where I was coming from, meaning I had to climb up onto an unstable snow shelf over running water. As I was crossing, one of the spots I put my left foot collapsed as I was crossing, dunking the toe of my boot in the icy water (this almost immediately froze, making my toes that much more numb). 

After I got back to my car and drove the half an hour to The Notch Hostel where I was staying, I still couldn't feel the toes of my left foot. It took a few minutes in a hot shower for the feeling to fully come back to my left foot. There were no lasting effects, but it was disconcerting. The numbness and exhaustion from breaking trail made me reassess my hike for the next day, and change its location.     

NE Hundred Highest: Mendon peak (VT)

Sunday, March 12th, 2018
New England Hundred Highest climbed: Mendon Peak
Miles: ~10 miles (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained:~1830'
MapMyRun recording (partial)

For this hike, I arrived at the trailhead on Wheelerville Rd in Mendon, VT around 1:15pm and was on trail by 1:30pm. I'd thought this was going to be an easier hike than it was. I'd seen estimates of ~7.5 miles for a there and back hike; my mileage ended up being ~10 miles and I didn't add much for the path that I chose.

To start, I followed the x-country ski/snowmobile path. The parking lot for the trailhead was full, but I didn't run into snowmobiles until the very end of my hike. The first half mile on this path was very quick moving. Everything was solidly packed down. Then the snowmobile path turned to the right and I continued straight, where there were only cross country ski tracks.

I passed by a cabin and not long after, came to an intersection in the trail. I was trying to follow a GPS track of someone who had done this previously, so I strapped on my snowshoes and took the left hand path going uphill, where no one had packed down the snow. This left me breaking trail for around a mile in snow up to my knees. Eventually, the unbroken path went back down and rejoined the ski track. I swore to never leave a beaten path again; I broke that vow about a mile later when I needed to head uphill towards Mendon rather than continue on the ski track coming from Killington.

I passed by two backcountry skiers just as I crossed the creek for the umpteenth time and started to climb out of the valley. They assumed I was heading to Killington and told me there was no way I'd make it back before sundown on snowshoes. I headed uphill on a 45% grade, and broke away from the ski track as I came within a mile of Mendon peak.

I bushwhacked my way uphill, through knee- to hip- deep snow, with no discernible path of least resistance. The trees were incredibly dense, particularly towards the peak. As I tried to follow the GPS track to get to the peak, I had no option other than pushing my way through groves of evergreens, getting soaking wet and covered in snow. I fell into some hidden dead tree wells in snow up to my armpits and had to backstroke and flail my way out. At this point, I was getting very worried about making it back to my car by dark, my phone's dropping battery (my GPS), and was very wet and cold. The degree of tree density at the top of the mountain coupled with hip deep snow everywhere made it impossible to find the tree with the canister on it, and I was totally fine with that. Based on my GPS estimates, I was within 500 feet of the canister and I think that's close enough! It wasn't from lack of trying, that's for sure.

At the peak, I put on my dry layers in my pack and started to head back. I decided to follow my footprints, as it wasn't worth finding a slightly shorter path when I'd have to pack down fresh snow. I ate a number of snacks and hoofed it for my car. I was very glad to get back on the ski track, and decided to follow it the entire way back. It was relatively flat and easy going, and for anyone trying this hike in the future, I'd advise you to follow the creek most of the way up to the base of the peak.

I arrived back at my car around 6:30pm, right after jumping into a snow drift to avoid a group of snowmobiles tearing through. I was very glad to be back at my car; my asthma was acting up and I desperately needed somewhere warm to breath and take my inhaler. I stopped to get hot tea and snacks, and blasted the heat as high as it went for my entire 2.5 hour drive home.

NE Hundred Highest: Dorset Mountain (VT)

Saturday, February 24th, 2018
New England Hundred Highest climbed: Dorset Mountain
Miles: 6.7 (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained: 2350'
MapMyRun recording

It was a bit more than a 2 hour drive from my house, so I dragged myself out of bed early and hit the road. I arrived at the trailhead on Tower Rd in Dorset, VT around 9am, got my gear together (which included a GPS track from GaiaGPS), and headed up the herd path. 

I followed the single track that I think is supposed to be the remains of Tower Rd. There was another car at the trailhead and a set of footprints to follow, so I used that to help guide me. 

It was a beautiful day, in the mid 40s, with blue skies.

While I followed the single track for most of the hike up, I did lose it near this turn in the creek and ended up bushwhacking a bit. I can confirm from my return hike that the single track continues straight, following the dry creek bed.

After I was done with the bushwhacking, I emerged onto a clearing with the single track, near the old remains of a cabin.

From here, the track climbed and climbed, probably hitting ~35%-40% grade at a number of places. The pictures don't quite do it justice, but it was steep!

Part way up, there was some nice running water. Since it was above freezing, everything was melting.

As I continued up the mountain, every so often I'd see these silver diamonds nailed to trees. They weren't enough to guide me, but they did tell me I was on the right track. 

After climbing for what felt like forever, I made it to the first trail intersection, a T with the trail that goes to the peak and a trail that goes... somewhere else lol.

The trail I came up

Trail to the left, going somewhere

Trail to the right, going towards the peak

I took the trail to the right. Around here, snow accumulation became substantial (~12-16 inches), unlike it had at lower elevation. It was mostly packed down, between previous hikers and melt/refreeze, so I only broke through a few times. I followed the track onward; when there was a slip in the path, I took the right hand, uphill path. This lead me to the side trail for the south peak (and a fire tower). At the intersection, I met the person whose footprints I'd seen. He wasn't sure where to go, so following my GPS track, we walked to the peak of Dorset together. Once there, we signed the summit log, and I turned around and hoofed it back to my car, arriving by 12:10pm.