2/25/06
East Osceola 4156'

5.6 Miles 2200' Elevation gain

Kevin, Judy and Emma

With Tripoli Road closed in the winter, the only real way to do the Osceolas is from the Greeley Ponds Trail. Now, I suppose you could park at the east end of Tripoli Road at the Livermore Road parking area in Waterville Valley, then hike the Livermore Road to the Greeley Ponds Trail, hike past the Greeley Ponds to the northern end of the Osceola Trail and climb from there, but this adds over eight miles round trip, so the obvious choice is to hike from the northern end of the Greeley Ponds Trail on the Kancamagus Highway. It's an easy 1.3 miles to the northern end of the Osceola Trail, but climbing the Osceola from this side as opposed to the climb from the southern end on Tripoli Road is a whole different story. While the climb from the southern end is one of the easier 4000 footer climbs, a pleasant walk filled with switchbacks to keep the grade moderate, the climb from the north is the opposite. It is steep and relentless. There are no switchbacks and very few places where the terrain levels off at all. It was very cold on this day and though the wind was not a problem, there was no sun and no warmth to be had. We bailed out at East Osceola as the extra mileage to Osceola would have been too much on this hike. Unfortunately, this means we'll have to make the climb again to make it to Osceola for our winter 4000 footers, but maybe it will be a better day. There were a few other hikers on the trail that day, and they went on to Osceola, but we just weren't going to make it on this day. Double summits are tough in the snow. In retrospect we wish we had sucked it up and pushed on, but common sense says don't over do it in winter conditions. If we had made it to Osceola we still would have had to turn around and return to East Osceola before descending. The climb up East Osceola from the col would have been torture. Hopefully, we'll be in better shape and have a better hiking day when we attempt it again. This time we'll know what to expect.