Skip to main content

The White Mountains- Mt. Tecumseh

I'm not sure who had the bright idea of climbing two 4,000 footers back to back but that's where we found ourselves on our second day in New Hampshire:  at the base of Mt. Tecumseh.  No, in reality, looking forward at the weather report, and given the importance to my husband that we climb the two mountains that he had climbed as a kid, we decided to tackle Mt. Osceola and Mt. Tecumseh first.

There is a lot of comparison of these two 4,000 footers online and among people, and both are rated moderate.  Now, I don't know if it is because we traveled far, climbed one 4,000 footer, then attacked another the following day, but Tecumseh felt harder in ways to me.  There is actually a split in our family about which was more difficult, 2 votes for Tecumseh and 2 for Osceola.  (And one vote is highly suspect given the amount of toads we encountered on Tecumseh 😉.)  Trying to remain as impartial as possible,  it is about 3 miles to both summits, Osceola is rocky and has a ton of switchbacks and the grade is more subtle, you have to go slower, and in my opinion, it makes the climb feel physically easier.  Tecumseh is immediately steep (I wish I had trekking poles!!!), and alternates between being steep, sort of steep, flattish, steep with rocks etc. You get the idea.  My boy with asthma had to take breaks and even took his puffer which he didn't have to do anywhere else on our hikes.  Luckily, even though the grumbling immediately started on the incline, toads were spotted early and often making it our son's favorite hike 😁.  I mean, how else would you judge a hike🐸?!


The kids immediately grabbed walking sticks to aid their ascent.

Rocks, roots, and steep inclines.




Some wildlife was spotted along the way, providing some much needed breaks in climbing.

How happy is he?
This is the biggest toad he (and I) have ever seen in person.
Look at it in his hand!


He took this close up 😊

You reach a point, where the trees clear giving you false hope that you are near the top, but...


there are still many hard parts to come.

Hang in there little man!

The view is quite the reward!

Just beautiful! How can you beat mountain after mountain?


More New Hampshire Adventures:


Labels:

Comments

  1. EHume21August 7, 2020 at 6:31 AM

    Glad to see Nick had gloves on to protect him from that toxic toad pee!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. DMV WandererAugust 7, 2020 at 8:44 AM

    Ha, ha, ha! That's funny. He'll actually tell you that the gloves are to protect the toads from any chemicals (bug spray, sunscreen, etc.) that are on his hands. They absorb through their skin.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Backyard Exploration- Why I Have Three Toads in My House

2020 has been, without a doubt, a bizarre, stressful year.  Both boys were sick for an entire week before their schools officially went virtual for the remainder of the school year.  It was mid-March and a bit of a novelty for them to be doing school from home.  My younger son's school had lessons and/or classwork in the morning with the rest of the day pretty open, and my older son's teacher carried on "business as usual" for the rest of the school year.  He was busy online or with school work from 8:30 a.m. to around 2:30 p.m.  Whenever he had a break in the school day, we would all go out and walk to get fresh air and exercise, and over the course of a day, we'd walk around 5 miles.  Most days we would stay in our own town, and other times we'd go slightly farther afield.   Over these past few months, we have seen and photographed (with my modest camera) more animals than I ever thought possible, learned more about native (and some non-native) flora, and ha
Post a Comment
Read more

Backyard Exploration: Discover Where You Live

I would imagine that no matter where you live, there are aspects of it that you take for granted.  Oftentimes in looking for things to do or places to explore, it is easy to overlook the obvious (your own backyard or town!) and set your sights elsewhere.  I know that we certainly have.   If you live in a rural area, the connection to the outdoors is pretty obvious, you might even see critters that you don't necessarily want to (Hello, Snakes!), but even if you live in a city, there is almost certainly green space or botanical gardens to seek out. We are fortunate enough to live in a place that is undoubtedly suburban, but has a deep connection to nature at its core.  Yes, there are housing developments and small shopping centers like most suburbs, but they left the woods and mature trees up surrounding most areas so you are still flanked in forest when you are out walking your dog or driving to the grocery store.  Don't want to drive to the grocery store?  Those woods house bot
Post a Comment
Read more

The White Mountains- Smart's Brook to Sandwich Mountain

Today was the first full day of our second trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  I have been dreaming of returning since the moment we left this summer.  I knew my husband had a week off of work in October and I thought it would be a wonderful time to go back.  Once we decided to make reservations, I started buying and stashing non-perishable grocery items, preparing and freezing meals, heck, I even had the boys' and my suitcase packed a week in advance. Our trip north went well, although we took an hour longer (11 hours as opposed to 10 this summer) and it was raining the entire drive.  Luck would have it that when we drove in to Waterville Valley, the rain stopped, the sun came out and we were welcomed back with a beautiful rainbow.  I took it as a good omen. Once we arrived, we unpacked the car and went for a 5 mile walk along the Mad River, ate dinner, and went to bed dreaming of more adventures to come.  The following morning we all woke up early and prepared to go fo
4 comments
Read more