Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire

July 2016 - Newly built stone steps along the Mt Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during the month of July. Minimal stonework should be done along trails, and it should look natural and blend in with the surroundings.
New Staircase (2016) – Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire
 

Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire For five years (2011-2016), I documented issues on Mt Tecumseh in New Hampshire. In my opinion, what has happened to the Mt Tecumseh Trail over the last few years is a disgusting display of conservation and trail stewardship. The new stonework built along this trail is all about quantity, not quality, and I question what low impact, sustainable, trail work is.

In August 2016, for the second time since 2012, the Pemigewasset District of Forest Service, at the request of the Washington Office, inspected the ongoing stonework along the Mt Tecumseh Trail. According to a letter I received from Forest Service Supervisor, Tom Wagner, the stonework is “satisfactory” for Forest Service Trail construction standards. And they did find issues that would be taken care of in the future. The definition of satisfactory is “fulfilling expectations or needs; acceptable, though not outstanding or perfect.”

July 2016 - Newly built stone steps along the Mount Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during the summer months. Minimal stonework should be done along trails, and it should look natural and blend in with the surroundings.
New Staircase (2016) – Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire
 

Last month on my monthly hike to document the summit vandalism, I realized how out of control the stonework is. During trail work season, each month I hike the trail there is new stonework. And I am not talking a few steps here and there. I am talking elaborate, unnatural looking, staircases (above) that overpower the trail.

September 2016 - Large holes on the side of the Mount Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during the summer months. Rocks for steps being built along the trail are taken from the side of the trail, and these holes are left behind.
Side of Mt Tecumseh Trail (2016) – Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
 

As of this writing, there is just under a quarter of a mile of connecting stone staircases and structures in one section of the trail (there is a short section within that has no stonework yet). It looks like a bomb has gone off on the sides of the trail from where all the rocks are being taken to build the staircases. And I must add that stonework has been done in other sections of this trail. And on top of this, hikers are creating herd paths around many of the staircases.

June 2015 - Stone staircase along the Mount Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during the summer months. Conservation groups suggest that stonework built along trails should be minimal, look natural, and blend in with the surroundings.
Endless Stone Staircase (2015) – Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire
 

For every person who believes the stonework along the Mt Tecumseh Trail is sustainable, you will find one, like myself, who believes the work is unsustainable and excessive. The real concern, which is happening, is hikers are avoiding this trail because it has too many stone steps. And an observation I have made is some hikers that like the stonework, only ascend the staircases and avoid descending them by going down the ski trails.

July 2015 - New stone staircase along the Mt Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. The sloppy state (left side) this newly built staircase has been left in appears to be considered finished stonework. And it remains like this in July 2016.
Mt Tecumseh Trail (2015) – Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
 

Forest Service has verified that much of the work along the trail is being done by an ambitious volunteer, not a professional trail crew, and this is concerning. Professional trail crews bring knowledge and know-how to the table that everyday volunteers don’t have. The above and below images show completed, messy, stonework.

I also find it concerning that Forest Service is ignoring the safety of volunteers. Regardless if volunteers sign a liability wavier, safety trumps everything. If this volunteer gets hurt, while moving heavy rocks around, members of Search & Rescue are put in harm's way. Professional trail crews work in numbers for safety, but Forest Service allows a volunteer to move rock around by themselves? It is an accident waiting to happen.

July 2015 - Hillside erosion (and the first step is being undermined) next to stone steps along the Mt Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire in July 2015. The impact on the left side is from the building of the stairs. When this image was taken, this staircase was only a year or two old.
Mt Tecumseh Trail (2015) – Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
 

I have no idea who is building what along the Tecumseh Trail, nor do I care. But Forest Service is responsible for maintaining and the proper management of this trail. When it comes to conserving the White Mountains trail system, exceptional and professional quality stonework needs to be the norm, not “satisfactory” work.

May 2016 - Hillside erosion along a hiking trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during the spring month of May.
Mt Tecumseh Trail (2016) – Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
 

I am guessing 40 or more hours of trail work is being done a month along the Mt Tecumseh Trail during the trail work season. If Forest Service has a volunteer that is this ambitious, they should have them doing blowdown removal and drainage cleaning along the White Mountains trail system. 40 hours a month removing blowdowns and cleaning drainages would be more beneficial to the trail system than transforming a trail into an endless, unneeded, stone staircase.

May 2015 - A wound on a yellow birch tree in New Hampshire. This is what happens when mankind does not properly remove painted trail blazing from trees. The blaze was painted on the tree in 2011, and then improperly removed (by cutting and peeling the bark off) from the tree in the spring of 2012.
Improperly Removed Trail Blaze (2015) – Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire
 

The improperly removed trail marker (blaze) above best represents the Mt Tecumseh Trail, a free-for-all. This practice of blaze removal is not used anymore because of the impact it has on trees. And yet it still happened along the Mt Tecumseh Trail. But much like the illegal cutting on the summit, no one is held accountable for any of the damage that happens on this trail.

July 2016 - Newly built stone steps along a hiking trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during the month of July.
New Staircase (2016) – Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire
 

Forest Service is known for doing exceptional trail work, but what has happened to the Mt Tecumseh Trail is awful. Most trails do need stonework, but once stonework overpowers a trail, trail stewardship fails. If the Mt Tecumseh Trail is the future of trail building, I feel the White Mountains are in trouble. My position on the stonework remains unchanged. Only professional trail crews should be doing stonework along the trail system.

October 2012 - New stonework along the Mount Tecumseh Trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This section of stone steps is about 150 (+/-) foot in length.
Mt Tecumseh Trail (2012) – Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
 

The stonework along this trail is only a part of the issues on Mt Tecumseh over the last few years. And all these issues could have been prevented if Forest Service properly managed the trail. In his letter, Tom Wagner says Forest Service is going to redeem stewardship responsibilities. But we will have to wait and see if Forest Service really makes any changes to their current management style of the Mt Tecumseh Trail.

Over the last five years, using photo-monitoring, I have shown Forest Service that some of the work along this trail is not low impact trail work. I have also provided them with many images showing the damage done to this mountain over the last few years. I can do no more at this point, and it is time for me to move on to a new project. However, those who have made complaints to Forest Service, I suggest you continue to do so.

A section of a hiking trail in the New Hampshire White Mountains in the spring of 2019 that is in desperate need of drainage work.
Mt Tecumseh Trail – Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
 

While all this stonework is being done in areas that have no immediate problems (low priority areas), there are sections of the Mt Tecumseh Trail that are in great need of drainage work. When it comes to trail conservation, high priority areas, like the above, are addressed first. It's hard for Forest Service to justify all the stonework that has been done in low priority areas when this section of the trail remains in this state.

You can license the above images by clicking on it. And you can view more scenes of Mt Tecumseh here.

Happy image making..


 

Notes

My reportage of issues on Mt Tecumseh has upset a small circle of New England hikers. These hikers all have a connection to Tecumseh, and since reporting these issues to Forest Service, they have been bad mouthing my business. I know none of these hikers or the persons working this trail. And no matter what is said on social media, the imagery tells the story.

The information included in this article is based on leave no trace principals, low-impact trail building practices, and information from Forest Service. (updated 07/2019, added image/text).

2 Responses to “Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire”

  1. Steve Alden

    I agree Erin.  This isn't a trail, it's a staircase.  Tecumseh isn't a highrise or a manicured lawn, it's a mountain.  I would have no desire to hike this mountain using this trail.  It doesn't even look very steep.  Where and to whom does one pass on these comments?

    Then again, after the Tecumseh Trail has been re-routed to avoid this white elephant, maybe this will eventually become another one of those lost structures we find in the woods; remnants of someone's efforts to "tame" nature…or hubris.

    Reply
    • Erin Paul Donovan

      Hi Steve,

      The trail is a little steep (not wicked) in some places and rugged, and did need some work. But this stonework is way out of control and has ruined the natural beauty of the trail. Low impact, minimal, trail building practices and leave no trace ethics are being ignored.

      You can send complaints to the Pemigewasset Ranger District in Campton, NH. I would suggest emailing both the Forest Service Supervisor and the Assistant District Ranger.

      Contacts:

      1) Tom Wagner (Forest Service Supervisor)

      Phone – 603-536-6201
      His email can be found at this link: http://bit.ly/2cqMWOs

      2) Tom Giles (Assistant District Ranger)

      Phone – 603-536-6102
      His email can be found at this link: http://bit.ly/2da88h5

      Reply

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