Sunshine Chris
New member
I really struggled trying to select a summit for this past weekend because the weathermen were all over the place. I finally decided it would have to be the Osceola's. I chose them based on the fact that I hadn't been there for 15 years, it was within my abilities physically (having just started exercising 4 weeks ago) and the mileage and elevation suited me. I woke up Saturday morning to head out and upon checking the weather one last time, decided to put it off to Sunday which promised a great deal more sunshine and cooler weather (although windier). I gave my brother-in-law Dave Bear a call to see if he would like to join me which he agreed to do and Thor his Norwegian Elk-hound would be joining us.
So, Dave and I met up at the McDonald's in Lincoln at 8:00 am. We grabbed a drink and Dave picked up a couple of sandwiches for lunch and then we were off to spot cars. We had decided on a traverse starting from the Greeley Pond Trail off the Kanc. We set foot on the trail at 9:30 am with cloudy conditions, winds around 9 mph and temps around 40 degrees. The brooks were easily crossed and the gradual grade made for a nice easy warm-up for the steep trail we knew would be waiting for us at the Mt. Osceola Trail Junction. I had not been on these summits since September 15 years ago when I made my first backpacking trip over the Osceola's with my brother Erik. That of course is where my love of backpacking began. I went on to complete 33 of my 48 summits of the 48's as backpack trips! Pic are here: http://s1343.photobucket.com/albums...Traverse of the Osceola Summits October 2012/
Anyway, before we knew it we were at the trail junction where we adjusted our layers and fueled up on some Red Bull Dave Bear had brought along. We chatted briefly with a woman who had a small dog with her and then headed up the trail. We met many dogs on the trail today! The great was steeper but not too bad for awhile as we skirted more and more to the left of the cliffs below East Osceola. As it began to get steeper we took short rests more often but kept on plugging along. I was feeling really good and hoped and would still be feeling that way when we reached the summit. There was plenty of spots for Thor to get a drink along the way as he bounded on and off and up and down the trail. We were not able to convince him that he might want to save some of that energy for later. Checking my altimeter Dave said we should be getting to the slide pretty soon. As we hiked along Dave shared some of his epic winter ascents of these peaks, this being his first time doing it without any snow on it (at least from this side). Just before the slide, Thor had a little slip episode that spooked him and he wandered off trail near the slide. Dave was worried about him getting in trouble there and spent sometime convincing him to get back on trail and trust to follow him up the slide. I headed to the top of the slide ahead of them and waited and they soon were coming along.
We came to a spot with a herd path to the right with views towards Mt. Osceola (our 2nd goal for the day) and into the valley below. It was getting windy up here with temps in the low 40's at best and still overcast. We ran into some lady's coming down who wanted to know if they were at the Greeley Pond trail to which we replied no and shared that they had a steep climb down ahead of them before getting to the junction. We talked to them briefly and one said I must be a hard core hiker because I had a compass around my neck? I share that it was an altimeter not a compass though I did have that too. She said, " Oh, I guess you don't have to ask anybody how far it is to the summit then, do you?" I agreed and off Dave Bear, Thor and I went. We soon arrived at the summit, running into some folks who took summit photos for us and we returned the favor.
Heading on our way we soon ran into some friends of Dave's and chatted for awhile before sharing the trail with them for awhile on our way to Mt. Osceola. Stopping for view pictures along the way we soon had dropped off of East Osceola into the cull where we layered up and Dave and Thor shared a breakfast sandwich while I took a nature call. Soon on our way again we found ourselves looking up through the chimney. Realizing the main route and the one to the right would not be safe for Thor we tried to convince him to follow us farther to the right up through the woods. He was not willing to cooperate and soon was left at the bottom getting distracted by fellow hikers approaching. Dave had to go back down, leash him and show him the way up through the rough woods. We finally were back on our way and I was getting summit fever and wanted to move along toward Mt. Osceola (our goal).
When we arrived at the ledges on the summit of Mt. Osceola the views were breathtaking and we finally found the sun! It was 2 valleys away from us. Many people were on the summit which was pretty breezy and cool. We all took turns at summit photos, meet and greets and catching up with old friends before finding our way to the true summit (s). I don't know but I think we covered them all. Ha ha.
I wanted to get down off the summit a little ways out of the wind to stop and get something to eat and Dave turned back to talk to folks some more. When he returned we were on our way headed toward's Tripoli Road. It seemed to take quite a while to get down and the trail was pretty rocky and slippery at times but it was a way lot easier than I remember when I came off with a 40 pound pack-pack off the Greeley Pond side years ago. I was thankful for the gentler grade. Even with all the stops to rest, take photos, chat, and chat some more, eat, potty etc. we still were down by 5 pm. We enjoyed a leisurely pace, enjoyed ourselves and did not over do it. Overall I'd say it was an awesome hike with my best hiker friend Dave Bear and his partner Thor. Thanks again Dave for be great company and I hope we get to do it again real soon. Sunshine Chris
I am so excited to be back hiking again after a 2 year break from it that I am already scheming the next adventure. I am thinking I need to see which summits still need to be gotten a 2nd time and which ones I still need to get in the winter months ahead to finish my winter 48. To the women we met on the trail who wanted to finish her 48 by her 48th birthday in January I want to say, "You can do it! Don't stop trying (only 15 to go) and best of luck".
So, Dave and I met up at the McDonald's in Lincoln at 8:00 am. We grabbed a drink and Dave picked up a couple of sandwiches for lunch and then we were off to spot cars. We had decided on a traverse starting from the Greeley Pond Trail off the Kanc. We set foot on the trail at 9:30 am with cloudy conditions, winds around 9 mph and temps around 40 degrees. The brooks were easily crossed and the gradual grade made for a nice easy warm-up for the steep trail we knew would be waiting for us at the Mt. Osceola Trail Junction. I had not been on these summits since September 15 years ago when I made my first backpacking trip over the Osceola's with my brother Erik. That of course is where my love of backpacking began. I went on to complete 33 of my 48 summits of the 48's as backpack trips! Pic are here: http://s1343.photobucket.com/albums...Traverse of the Osceola Summits October 2012/
Anyway, before we knew it we were at the trail junction where we adjusted our layers and fueled up on some Red Bull Dave Bear had brought along. We chatted briefly with a woman who had a small dog with her and then headed up the trail. We met many dogs on the trail today! The great was steeper but not too bad for awhile as we skirted more and more to the left of the cliffs below East Osceola. As it began to get steeper we took short rests more often but kept on plugging along. I was feeling really good and hoped and would still be feeling that way when we reached the summit. There was plenty of spots for Thor to get a drink along the way as he bounded on and off and up and down the trail. We were not able to convince him that he might want to save some of that energy for later. Checking my altimeter Dave said we should be getting to the slide pretty soon. As we hiked along Dave shared some of his epic winter ascents of these peaks, this being his first time doing it without any snow on it (at least from this side). Just before the slide, Thor had a little slip episode that spooked him and he wandered off trail near the slide. Dave was worried about him getting in trouble there and spent sometime convincing him to get back on trail and trust to follow him up the slide. I headed to the top of the slide ahead of them and waited and they soon were coming along.
We came to a spot with a herd path to the right with views towards Mt. Osceola (our 2nd goal for the day) and into the valley below. It was getting windy up here with temps in the low 40's at best and still overcast. We ran into some lady's coming down who wanted to know if they were at the Greeley Pond trail to which we replied no and shared that they had a steep climb down ahead of them before getting to the junction. We talked to them briefly and one said I must be a hard core hiker because I had a compass around my neck? I share that it was an altimeter not a compass though I did have that too. She said, " Oh, I guess you don't have to ask anybody how far it is to the summit then, do you?" I agreed and off Dave Bear, Thor and I went. We soon arrived at the summit, running into some folks who took summit photos for us and we returned the favor.
Heading on our way we soon ran into some friends of Dave's and chatted for awhile before sharing the trail with them for awhile on our way to Mt. Osceola. Stopping for view pictures along the way we soon had dropped off of East Osceola into the cull where we layered up and Dave and Thor shared a breakfast sandwich while I took a nature call. Soon on our way again we found ourselves looking up through the chimney. Realizing the main route and the one to the right would not be safe for Thor we tried to convince him to follow us farther to the right up through the woods. He was not willing to cooperate and soon was left at the bottom getting distracted by fellow hikers approaching. Dave had to go back down, leash him and show him the way up through the rough woods. We finally were back on our way and I was getting summit fever and wanted to move along toward Mt. Osceola (our goal).
When we arrived at the ledges on the summit of Mt. Osceola the views were breathtaking and we finally found the sun! It was 2 valleys away from us. Many people were on the summit which was pretty breezy and cool. We all took turns at summit photos, meet and greets and catching up with old friends before finding our way to the true summit (s). I don't know but I think we covered them all. Ha ha.
I wanted to get down off the summit a little ways out of the wind to stop and get something to eat and Dave turned back to talk to folks some more. When he returned we were on our way headed toward's Tripoli Road. It seemed to take quite a while to get down and the trail was pretty rocky and slippery at times but it was a way lot easier than I remember when I came off with a 40 pound pack-pack off the Greeley Pond side years ago. I was thankful for the gentler grade. Even with all the stops to rest, take photos, chat, and chat some more, eat, potty etc. we still were down by 5 pm. We enjoyed a leisurely pace, enjoyed ourselves and did not over do it. Overall I'd say it was an awesome hike with my best hiker friend Dave Bear and his partner Thor. Thanks again Dave for be great company and I hope we get to do it again real soon. Sunshine Chris
I am so excited to be back hiking again after a 2 year break from it that I am already scheming the next adventure. I am thinking I need to see which summits still need to be gotten a 2nd time and which ones I still need to get in the winter months ahead to finish my winter 48. To the women we met on the trail who wanted to finish her 48 by her 48th birthday in January I want to say, "You can do it! Don't stop trying (only 15 to go) and best of luck".
