East Osceola and Mount Osceola
June 10, 2001
After my warm up hikes of Monadnock and Cardigan, I was feeling ready to try my legs on the larger mountains of New Hampshire. The Osceola's are among the furthest south of the 4,000 foot mountains of the White Mountains. Rising out of the northern edge of the Waterville Valley, the Osceola's and their neighbors (Mount Tecumesh and the Tripyramids) offer up some decent hiking challenge and great views into the Sandwich Range Wilderness to the south and east, and the Pemi to the north and east.
As always, my trip began with an early alarm waking me up at 5, and I was cruising up Interstate 93 by 5:30 in the morning. After reaching the Waterville Valley exit off 93, I stopped briefly at the Waterville Valley Ski Area (Mount Tecumesh) to see the ski area. I've only skied there once, and it was enough for me. I continued on the road, just past the ski area, to the trailhead.
My planned hike was a loop through the Greeley Ponds scenic area, up the steep East Osceola, over to the higher sister peak Mount Osceola, and then descending to the Tripoli Road to began the walk back to my car two miles down the road.
My hike began on the Greeley Ponds Trail. This is a completely flat trail that doubles as a ski trail in the winter. The trail dives into the wonderfully beautiful and lush Greeley Scenic area in the valley between trail-less Mount Kancamagus to the east and East Osceola to the west. The trail parallels Mad River and crosses two bridges and one rock hopping crossing before entering the glorious Greeley Scenic Area. This area features two picturesque ponds and a very quiet and serene wild life area. Pictured below is Mount Kancamagus above the second of the two ponds:
Just beyond this pond, the trail intersects with the Mt Osceola trail which leaves the Greeley Ponds Trail (which continues north to link with the Kancamagus Highway) to ascend both the Osceola's. The hike up East Osceola is fairly steep, but not too challenging; much better for ascent than descent. The trail is mostly rocky and with a steady pace, a fairly quick climb to the summit. From halfway up the mountain, I took the following pictures. Below is a view to the east, a picture of Mount Kancamagus as seen from above:
Below is pictured Mount Kancamagus on the right, and a small cliff of East Osceola in the lower left. Mid-way in the picture is Mount Huntington, and in the distance, the tall peak is Mount Carrigan (4700').
Below is a look to the south east at the Tripyramids (aptly named) and in the distance beyond them is Mount Passaconaway (4043').
The summit of East Osceola (4156') is shrouded with trees, so no pictures could be obtained from it's summit. Although views through the trees to the North into the Pemi were rather impressive. After reaching the summit, I sat down for lunch. Nothing like a lunch all alone at the top of a mountain.
After lunch, I continued westward on the Mt Osceola Trail. The trail descends from the tree filled summit of East Osceola into a col before ascending Mount Osceola (4340'). Here, the path is a combination of dirt and rock, and very easy hiking. After the trail reaches the lowest point in the col, it ascends a rather steep chimney pictured below (from below and above). The chimney ascends some 50' feet in height in only 5-10' of distance. Footing is very good, but an alternative route is available for the nervous, or during wet weather.
Just above the Chimney is the final stretch to the welcome summit of Mount Osceola (4340'). I sat down for another snack as I took in the glorious view of the Waterville Valley. Pictured below is a look back towards East Osceola and the ridge that the trail followed. And below that, is another view to the south east towards the Waterville Valley and the Tripyramids.
Just after taking this picture, the clouds rolled in (as seen above) and a boom of thunder could be heard of in the distance to the west. Being on a fairly rocky and exposed mountain top, I quickly packed up and descended to the west. Fortunately, the thunder passed over without any lightning and the rain never got too heavy. The descent was rough going as the rocks were slippery after the rain.
After reaching the end of the Mt Osceola Trail at Tripoli Road, I had a long two mile walk south on Tripoli Road back to my car. Next time, I will opt to stash my bike for the return journey down the road! Total hike time was 6 hours and 30 minutes, two 4k peaks, 11.5 miles, and 3100 vertical feet. Very aggressive times because of the rain on the way down (descent time just about an hour!).
For my Trail Report from the Views From The Top (VFTT) web page, please chick here.
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