5/?/99
Trip 8 Mt. Osceola 4340’ and East Osceola 4156’

8.4 miles 2400’ Elevation gain

Kevin and Judy

Cloudy and foggy, we start out, probably with no rain gear. In retrospect I’m surprised we’ve gotten this far without a real bad experience, but the mountain gods continue to be kind again on this trip, and although views are limited we get through with only slight discomfort in the form of dampness. Switchbacks on the way up to the first summit make it a relatively easy climb to a cliff facing east overlooking part of Waterville Valley and the Tripyramids. Early blooming wildflowers like Trillium and Columbine are blossoming. Past the cliff the trail climbs down a neat “chimney” between peaks, of course, if you go this way you have to climb up it on the way back. There is a short route around it altogether if you don’t like the looks of it, up or down.
As climbs go in the Whites, not an extremely hard one. Jude’s feeling much better on this trip and good sturdy knee braces are helping. A good confidence builder, but maybe we got too cocky and take on too much on the next trip. K(12) J(10)