Mt. Osceola, East Peak (4,156 ft) & Mt. Osceola (4,340 ft) 12-21-14

Distance: 7.82 mi.
Elevation: 2,351 ft. (overall) 3,338 ft. (total)
Time: 2:48 (East Osceola), 3:59 (Osceola), 4:59 (East Osceola), 6:32 (Total)
Trails: Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail

While it was December 21st and there was snow on the ground, today's hike started about 13 hours to early to be considered a "winter" hike. That wasn't going to stop me though. I started the hike using Microspikes. The trail has a gradual incline and today it was nicely packed out from previous hikers. I hiked in to the first intersection with another hiker that was going past the ponds instead of up the mountain. The hike through here went quick and we had a good conversation. The only water crossing on this route was frozen enough that we were both able to make it across without any issues.

The start of the Mt. Osceola Trail is only a little bit steeper, but goes through thicker trees. Again the trail was well packed. After a little while of walking, the trail finally starts to climb and bears more to the right. From here up to the ridge you will be climbing with only a few small breaks. I put on my snowshoes here. I wanted the extra traction plus the heel lifts. Not very far up my climb I found a pair of snowshoes stuck in the snow next to the trail with no one around. They didn't look like they had fallen out of a pack. I left them figuring I could bring them out on the way back if they were still there. A while later I met the owner of them coming down the mountain from their quick climb up East Osceola. They didn't think they were providing enough traction, so they left the extra weight of them there to pick them up on the way down.

Easy trail before the steep climb begins

Conditions remained good while climbing. The only hard spot was a wide section of trail that had seen enough previous hikers slide down it that there wasn't much for good traction. After looking at my options, a route up the left side showed better looking conditions. Shortly after this there is an open slide to cross. This area had a nice path across it and showed that I was already high enough to be in the clouds. At the top of the steep climb there is a short path heading off to the right that leads to a small outlook to the west. Again, mostly a view of clouds. After the climb to get here, the final ascent to the summit seemed pretty easy and went fairly quick. The summit is wooded, so I didn't spend a lot of time here before continuing on to Mt. Osceola.

Steep portion of trail

Limited view coming up East Osceola

The descent down into the saddle between the peaks was pretty easy. Nothing too steep and the trail was still well packed. Although less packed than the previous portions of trail. The hike down to the chimney and the start of the climb up Osceola was pretty quick and I even picked up a jacket along the way that had fallen off someone's pack. The chimney was full of snow and had ice at the top. No one appears to have gone up it in quite a while. The bypass looked better, but still a bit sketchy. So I decided to try the bypass of the bypass. I'll be honest, this is basically a push through some thick trees that avoids the rocks but means you have to protect your face from branches.

The chimney filled with snow

The trail stays steep for a while after the chimney, but eventually becomes easier. It isn't too much further before you come out onto the open area near the summit. While the actual high point is a bit past the open area, it would seem most hikers stopped here. After a break, adjusting gear, and taking pictures of snow covered trees and the inside of clouds I headed to the high point. Not surprisingly, no one had been up/down from/to Tripoli Road. After hitting the high point, I headed back towards East Osceola.

View from Osceola

Just above the Chimney I encountered a few hikers coming up that had mostly taken the bypass of the chimney using their crampons. Continuing over East Osceola I skipped right over the summit to keep heading down. I went to the lookout just before the steep descent began, and the clouds appeared to be trying to clear out a bit. But there were still no distant views. For much of the descent I slid on my butt down the trail. Normally I don't like doing this because I feel it makes the trail harder for people coming up. But the trail had already been used enough in this manor that it was going to be hard to stay upright on my snowshoes. Because of this, the descent went quickly. At the bottom I switched back to Microspikes and made a quick hike out.

View towards Osceola heading back up East Osceola

View descending East Osceola

Brook crossing on the way out

While there were no good views to be had today, it was still a nice hike with full on winter conditions. There weren't many people on the trails and I was able to climb these peaks using a route that was new to me.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Osceola (4,340 ft) & East Osceola (4,156 ft) 11-12-10

Distance: 6.984 mi.
Elevation: 2,417 ft. or 2,761 ft combined round trip
Time: 2:02 (base to Osceola) 0:58 (Osceola to East Osceola)
Trails: Mt. Osceola Trail

The trail starts off climbing gently but with plenty of rocks. There is enough room around most of the rocks that you can either weave in and out of them or hop from rock to rock. On the way up this section wasn't bad, but on the way down it got kind of monotonous. I can also see this as a section that someone with bad knees or ankles should take care walking through on the way down when they are more tired.

Early part of the trail

Mixed in towards the top of the rocky sections are places where the trail follows large smooth rocks. While I was hiking up most of these were wet or had water running over them. I didn't find any of these to be slippery today, but if it were colder they could have been. The trail also gets to have some good smooth sections now too.

Wet rocks on the trail

Smooth trail finally

Reaching about 3,900 feet there started to be ice on some of the rocks in the trail even though it was warming up nice and the sun was shinning. In some sections this made the trail pretty tricky and a little slower going. A little higher up the mountain there was also more snow that was on the trail as well. As I left the microspikes in the truck since I didn't think it was going to be bad, I had to pick my footing more carefully here.

Ice covered rocks

Remaining snow and ice on the trail

Just before the summit there are a few side trails leading off to areas on top of the mountain. It is easy to follow them, but also easy to stay on the main trail. One of these paths leads to the left and a great viewpoint to the North. With no clouds today, you could see the mountains in all directions.

Panoramic shot from the lookout just before the summit

A clear Mt. Washington off in the distance

A few hundred feet further up the trail, you get to the summit with another great view with a nice open area to enjoy it in.

A great view from the summit of Mt. Osceola

As I started over to East Osceola the trail had some snow and ice on it since it doesn't get a lot of sun this time of year. As I was walking down I was hoping the steep sections wouldn't be too bad (especially the chimney) so I wouldn't fall down the trail or have to turn back without any traction aids. Luckily there were enough rocks sticking up that you could still make it down. I took the bypass to the chimney since it is harder to go down something steep than up somethng steep. I would try going up the chimney on the return trip.

Looking up the steep and narrow chimney

The bypass to the chimney

There is no real view from the summit of East Osceola, but probably 200 feet past it there is a spot with a nice limited view. This was a good place for break and a snack.

Limited view from East Osceola

Coming back down East Osceola, I stopped at the one view point next to the trail on a large rock. It was interesting to see that you can see the trail coming down into the saddle and leading into the chimney from here. With the rocky cliff near by, it is easy to see why it is so steep.

Viewing the trail coming down to the chimney

I was surprised that the first and only bit of wildlife I saw was a red squirrel when I was back on the summit of Mt. Osceola. This squirrel seemed fine around people as he came right up to some of the other hikers. He was rewarded for his bravery with some bits of food from a couple of the hikers.

Success! A snack

Before heading back down the mountain to the truck, I just sat and enjoyed the great day on the summit of Osceola. There were a few others hikers doing the same thing and it was pretty cool to have a few people sitting there, but no noise at all since we were all just taking it in. Unfortunately, after a while of this, it was time to start heading down the mountain.

Another hiker taking it all in

All in all this hike was a great one with great weather. It was in the 40's and there was almost no wind at all. There were some slick sections of trail, but with taking it easy, extra traction was not needed.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE