tecumseh trailhead waterville valley

tecumseh trailhead waterville valley
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I thought about parking without paying the fee, but decided not to risk it. As I searched my mind for other options, I vaguely recalled that the Waterville Valley Resort has a parking area which is mysteriously fee-free. And coincidentally, it is the other end of the Mt Tecumseh trail! So I threw out any plans I'd had to climb Mt Osceola, and drove on over to Waterville Valley.

As I passed by the Mt Osceola trailhead, I slowed my car to a crawl to take a look. I was shocked to see that the lot was nearly full! This was around 10 am... I'm guessing either a group had planned to do a hike there, or else this area is incredibly popular because it's one of the easier hikes in the Whites. In any case, I wasn't so dismayed anymore that I wouldn't be able to hike it; it must have been unpleasantly crowded.

It took a little hunting to find the Mt Tecumseh trailhead at Waterville Valley. I drove up past the main building at the top and circled back before I found it. It's just across from parking area 1, which is where I parked.

In the photo above, center right, if you zoom in, you can see the sign for the Mt Tecumseh trail head.

Note that although the weather forecast had mentioned clouds with a possibility of rain, I was happy to see quite a lot of blue sky at this point.