| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Northwest Tecumseh, West Tecumseh, Mt. Tecumseh, Green Mountain, Foss Peak, Dickey Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Sosman Trail, bushwhacks, herd paths, Welch-Dickey Loop Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 8, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We left cars at the Welch-Dickey parking area, and carpooled over to Mt. Tecumseh northern trailhead on Tripoli Road |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This was an awesome day and super fun ridge traverse hike that has been on our mind for some time.
We began on the Mt. Tecumseh Trailhead on Tripoli Road so that we could get Tecumseh NW, a delisted 3K. This peaks was a 0.25 mi. bushwhack through hobble and fern; there was a jar there.
Getting back on the trail, we hiked up Tecumseh and down to South Peak via the Sosman Trail.
From South Peak we headed into pencil woods (thick sticks), sticking to the ridge line, and within 450' we bumped into the old trail, which is being lightly "maintained" and blazed in yellow. (We're curious to go back and see where the trail actually leaves South Peak, but we were glad to have bumped into it early on.)
We followed the trail downslope, and it seemed to be heading slightly SW'ly and in the wrong direction, but eventually zig-zagged SE'ly towards the col heading to Green Mtn. We lost the trail very briefly in the col, but within 200' picked it up again. Occasional blowdowns blocked or hid the trail, but in general, this trail was easy to follow, is being lightly maintained, and was blazed all the way to Green.
On Green we stopped at what we thought was the highpoint according to USGS and USFS maps, but found a tree with two signs and a jar on a rocky bump at the southern edge of the contour just prior to descending.
The blazed/cut trail continued down the ridge towards Foss Peak, a spot on USFS maps marked as 3312'. There was a signpost propped up in a large cairn, and sweeping views. From here the path headed downhill/south, on rock ledge and through small scrub brush and blueberry bushes. While no longer blazed, periodic rock cairns and worn footbed made it fairly easy to follow.
At around 2650' the path circled to the left/east around a most lovely and unexpected high bog, rimmed with cotton sedge.
The path brought us to the col, then up to Dickey Ledges. Just as the path leaves the woods, it looks like someone had intentionally spread downed trees or sticks on the path to obscure it. One theory... we wondered if the USFS doesn't want folks to descend the Dickey ledges any further and get lost? Any way... it made no sense why there was an attempt to obscure this section of the path.
Once on the Dickey Ledges Spur, we enjoyed a fantastic sweeping view on the lower most ledge, climbed up to Dickey, and headed down to our cars.
We were glad to have traversed north to south. It was nice to get the majority of elevation gain done in the cooler morning, and via trails. Also, We bumped into the trail quite easily coming off of Sosman/South Peak, and we knew that finding the trail coming off of Dickey Ledges is not always straightforward for folks.
All in all... a great day with Liam C., Rachel F., Ken H., Lew D., and Rick S.
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 | Name: |
Beth Z. |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-08-08 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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