This is a trip I enjoy very much, have not done it for some time so decided to do it last Monday (nice weather but very windy).
I parked my car at the Tripoli Road trailhead, and walked the 2.8 miles down the road to Depot Camp. A road walk is much more enjoyable at the start of a long day than at its end! Then went 4.1 miles on Livermore Road and the Greeley Ponds Trail. All very pleasant, but of course that was merely a 6.9 mile commute to the real trailhead!
I had forgotten quite how steep the steep section going up to the East Peak from the ponds is! I knew that it is steep, but the *&%$ trail is *&%* near vertical! But I made it to the cairn, and had a well earned rest there.
Then down the equally steep trail to the col. On the way up to the main peak I looked at the chimney for the first time. On all my previous trips I had taken the bypass in both directions, never even looking at the chimney. It is steep, but there are so many excellent foot placements (too big to call footholds), and so many rocks and trees to hold, that I decided to try it. Turned out to be a piece of cake. So much for irrational fear.
Nice views as usual from the summit, and an easy cruise down.
What I love about this trip is the mixture of terrain and steepness: downhill road walk, easy hike up Greeley Ponds, brutal climb up East Osceola and down to col, easier climb from col to main peak, and gentle downhill from main peak.
I parked my car at the Tripoli Road trailhead, and walked the 2.8 miles down the road to Depot Camp. A road walk is much more enjoyable at the start of a long day than at its end! Then went 4.1 miles on Livermore Road and the Greeley Ponds Trail. All very pleasant, but of course that was merely a 6.9 mile commute to the real trailhead!
I had forgotten quite how steep the steep section going up to the East Peak from the ponds is! I knew that it is steep, but the *&%$ trail is *&%* near vertical! But I made it to the cairn, and had a well earned rest there.
Then down the equally steep trail to the col. On the way up to the main peak I looked at the chimney for the first time. On all my previous trips I had taken the bypass in both directions, never even looking at the chimney. It is steep, but there are so many excellent foot placements (too big to call footholds), and so many rocks and trees to hold, that I decided to try it. Turned out to be a piece of cake. So much for irrational fear.
Nice views as usual from the summit, and an easy cruise down.
What I love about this trip is the mixture of terrain and steepness: downhill road walk, easy hike up Greeley Ponds, brutal climb up East Osceola and down to col, easier climb from col to main peak, and gentle downhill from main peak.
