JMT Training, Peak 20 of 21: Mt. Tecumseh

This was supposed to be a Bonds traverse...or a bushwhack to Southwest Twin...or a nice trip up Shelburne Moriah...but, well, weather happens.

With a 90% chance of pouring rain and a significant chance of thunderstorms all across the Whites for basically the entire day, none of the above hikes were attempted.  We kept checking the forecast yesterday, hoping the weather would shift, and I woke up at 4:30 this morning and checked and rechecked the forecast...but nope, none of our remaining Trailwrights or 52WAV peaks were going to work out.

What did work out, however, was trusty Tecumseh.  The trailhead is fifteen minutes away from our front door, and we can get up and down that mountain in about three hours.  We've all done Tecumseh multiple times...this was Sage's fourth visit, Alex's fifth, and my...well, I've lost count...I've been up that peak at least two dozen times (Tecumseh is my go-to mountain when I want a quick 4K workout).  We therefore felt confident we could do a fast hike of "Good Ole T" before the storm clouds arrived.

Tecumseh Trail, 5 miles roundtrip, 2200 feet of elevation gain.

There are four parts to Tecumseh.  The first part is an easy to moderate walk through the woods.

This one-mile section ends at a viewpoint overlooking the adjacent ski slopes.

Part Two is a one-mile, straight-up slog over rocks, roots, and boulders.  This is the "stairmaster" section.  The photo below does not accurately capture the steep grade of this never-ending bit.

After about a million years, you reach the ridge between the top of the ski area and the summit proper (Part Three).

A couple tenths of a mile and a brief summit push later, you reach the summit (Part Four).

The sun was out for most of our hike; it was a lovely morning.  We returned to our car before the drops fell and were home before the thunder began.

We have time for only one more hike before we leave for California.  That hike will likely happen on Wednesday, so I'll probably write again on Thursday.  After that...we're off!  Assuming the fire in Yosemite is contained, we'll be on the John Muir Trail in less than two weeks.