I very much like this hike with its variety. Usually I leave my car at the Tripoli Road trailhead, doing the road walk at the start while I am still fresh. Today I parked at Depot Camp, on the odd chance that I would feel fit enough to return to it by going over Tecumseh.
The hike starts off with a gentle walk along the Greeley Ponds Trail, almost four miles with only 700 feet of elevation gain. Shortly before the first bridge I saw something black in the woods a few feet off the trail, turned out to be a young bear who scampered away to tell his mom what he had just seen
After reaching the height of land the fun and games where over. The first part of the Mount Osceola Trail rises at a reasonable grade, then it rises more steeply with good footing, then for several hundred feet it rises very steeply with much rougher footing. About a couple of hundred vertical feet above the slide the trail flattens out abruptly for the final gradual approach to the East Peak.
It was almost lunchtime, but the lack of views led me to postpone lunch to the main peak. The ridge between the two peaks is rough with steep sections on both sides of the col, but there are several very nice viewpoints. Nothing that you cannot see from the main summit plus the northern lookout (herd path from the rock with the foundations of the older fire tower), but it is nice to get views along the way in addition to the summit ones!
I met several people on the main summit, where I had a leisurely lunch. By now I knew that I would not go over Tecumseh, so there was no hurry. There were high clouds, and the more distant mountains were indistinct, but all in all it was an excellent day for views.
The descent was easy, with gentle grades though the footing is rocky and, in many places, very wet.
Just before reaching Depot Camp I remembered that Roy had suggested that, when starting the loop from Tripoli Road, I might want to bushwhack from the Osceola Vista campground to the Greeley Ponds Trail. No point in doing it at this stage, but I explored the campground roads and XC ski trails, to see whether anything seemed to go in the right direction. Nothing did, so before leaving I went down to the Osceola Brook to see how easy or otherwise it would be to cross it. Today it was easy to cross, and I may do it next time. Of course the chances of an "easy" bushwhack through "open" woods actually saving time over on trail travel are slight, but it adds to the fun.
Today was another great day in the Whites Tomorrow, Boston and doctors
The hike starts off with a gentle walk along the Greeley Ponds Trail, almost four miles with only 700 feet of elevation gain. Shortly before the first bridge I saw something black in the woods a few feet off the trail, turned out to be a young bear who scampered away to tell his mom what he had just seen
After reaching the height of land the fun and games where over. The first part of the Mount Osceola Trail rises at a reasonable grade, then it rises more steeply with good footing, then for several hundred feet it rises very steeply with much rougher footing. About a couple of hundred vertical feet above the slide the trail flattens out abruptly for the final gradual approach to the East Peak.
It was almost lunchtime, but the lack of views led me to postpone lunch to the main peak. The ridge between the two peaks is rough with steep sections on both sides of the col, but there are several very nice viewpoints. Nothing that you cannot see from the main summit plus the northern lookout (herd path from the rock with the foundations of the older fire tower), but it is nice to get views along the way in addition to the summit ones!
I met several people on the main summit, where I had a leisurely lunch. By now I knew that I would not go over Tecumseh, so there was no hurry. There were high clouds, and the more distant mountains were indistinct, but all in all it was an excellent day for views.
The descent was easy, with gentle grades though the footing is rocky and, in many places, very wet.
Just before reaching Depot Camp I remembered that Roy had suggested that, when starting the loop from Tripoli Road, I might want to bushwhack from the Osceola Vista campground to the Greeley Ponds Trail. No point in doing it at this stage, but I explored the campground roads and XC ski trails, to see whether anything seemed to go in the right direction. Nothing did, so before leaving I went down to the Osceola Brook to see how easy or otherwise it would be to cross it. Today it was easy to cross, and I may do it next time. Of course the chances of an "easy" bushwhack through "open" woods actually saving time over on trail travel are slight, but it adds to the fun.
Today was another great day in the Whites
Tomorrow, Boston and doctors 
