Hike Mount Tecumseh White Mountain National Forest, NH

Jul 08, 2023 — Mount Tecumseh is on the New Hampshire 4000er list, but only by three feet, but this minor distinction pushes the peak to be a pretty popular hike for those looking to complete the list. I met up with friends Evan and Tony who, in the past, had reached the summit from the east side using the Waterville Valley Ski Area approach. I was content to hike either trail to gain Mount Tecumseh, but this approach from the Tripoli Road Trailhead meant a new hike for them, and so here we were. After completing both directions, they agreed the hikes were comparable, though they admitted it's likely because neither trail is all that memorable. That all said, it's a gorgeous forest walk to Mount Tecumseh, but there's only one view and that's at the summit.

We parked on the side of Tripoli Road, a dirt road passable to any vehicle, since the small parking lot was completely full. After a stream crossing just past the trailhead, the trail ascended in nearly a straight line at a tame grade for the first mile, the ground surprisingly less rocky than most I'd encountered on this trip. I hadn't caught up with these friends in some time, so it was fortunate we barely had to watch our step to avoid kicking a boulder and instead focus on conversation.

The trail climbed a bit more steeply as it ascended into the more lush fern-covered and mossy forest we all love so much about the White Mountains, and landed us on an unexpected false summit. Still about a mile away, Mount Tecumseh's high point required dropping a couple hundred feet east along the trail to the saddle with the false summit. The final few hundred feet to gain the summit was steeper and introduced some light scrambling, much different than the vast majority of the hike. The summit view of Mount Tecumseh has a one-directional view southeast, where you can see the unique north slide scar on Mount Tripyramid, as well as the bulk of Mount Osceola.