BIGEarl
Well-known member
March 24, 2012: Osceolas
Trails: Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail
Summits: Osceola, Osceola East Peak
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
We arrived to the Greeley Ponds Trailhead to find only one other vehicle already there. Hiker traffic really drops off at this time of year. We grabbed our things and started hiking Greeley Ponds Trail.
Our first objective was the trail junction with Mt. Osceola trail. Greeley Ponds Trail from The Kanc is generally easy hiking. We found a mix of clear and icy conditions. There is enough debris on the ice to provide adequate traction for bare booting. The bare sections of trail have mud in all of the usual places and in each case it’s easy to get past. The stream crossings are also easy rock hops. Not long after starting out we were standing at the trails junction and getting ready for the five-mile out-and-back to the main peak of Mount Osceola, climbing over East Osceola twice along the way.
From the trail junction we continued to bare boot the hike. The trail was generally clear, and in the places that had ice there was adequate bare ground next to it. Roughly a third of the way into the steep climb along side of the East Osceola Slide the ice coverage had increased and I went with MicroSpikes. Sue continued to bare boot the hike. We made our way up through the lower steep section and reached the top of the slide without any problems. There, Sue also pulled out her MicroSpikes. Light traction did the job and we were able to comfortably finish the climb to the ridge.
Once we reached the ridge we found much more snow cover but it was solid and easy to continue with the MicroSpikes without postholing. We continued with light traction to East Osceola, and beyond.
At the summit of East Osceola we stopped for the usual pictures. I could tell Sue was thinking about something (that usually makes me nervous). Suddenly, it’s Snowman time. Sue went to work on a snowman for the East Osceola summit cairn. While Sue was working on the snowman, I went to work on a granola bar. It didn’t take long for either of us to finish what we were doing. Sue took the usual picture and sent it off to family and friends.
Now, it was time to get back to the hike. We were able to continue with MicroSpikes for the section between the peaks. In the area of The Chimney and including The Chimney plus a couple of the following steep pitches there is a lot of bare rock. Sue took her MicroSpikes off and on several times on the hike to the main peak trying to avoid needless wear caused by the bare ledge. Mine are already quite worn and one has a broken link; a little more wear can’t hurt. I don’t think we postholed even once on the hike to Osceola.
It was mid-afternoon when we arrived to an empty summit. We had a very light breeze, which was a pleasant surprise since the forecast called for 25 mph gusting to 35 mph @~4000 feet. We had thin overcast and very pleasant temperature. We hung around for a while to enjoy the views. Usually, we hike The Osceolas with something else and there isn’t always a lot of spare time for lounging. On this hike we could relax and enjoy the place. Sue had summit cookies to share. Eventually, it was time to go.
The hike back out went without any surprises. Even the descent from East Osceola was as expected; steep and slow. We carefully made our way down past the slide and on to the bottom of the steeps and neither of us took a slip or fall along the way. Toward the bottom of the steeps we stopped to retire the MicroSpikes. We had plenty of bare trail to work with.
We reached Greeley Ponds Trail, made the turn, and continued to the trailhead. We had snowshoes on our packs but they just came along for the ride. We had no need for them at all.
In the course of the hike there were only four others that we met. All were hiking from The Kanc. There was a surprisingly low amount of hiker activity on a very nice day.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail
Summits: Osceola, Osceola East Peak
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
We arrived to the Greeley Ponds Trailhead to find only one other vehicle already there. Hiker traffic really drops off at this time of year. We grabbed our things and started hiking Greeley Ponds Trail.
Our first objective was the trail junction with Mt. Osceola trail. Greeley Ponds Trail from The Kanc is generally easy hiking. We found a mix of clear and icy conditions. There is enough debris on the ice to provide adequate traction for bare booting. The bare sections of trail have mud in all of the usual places and in each case it’s easy to get past. The stream crossings are also easy rock hops. Not long after starting out we were standing at the trails junction and getting ready for the five-mile out-and-back to the main peak of Mount Osceola, climbing over East Osceola twice along the way.
From the trail junction we continued to bare boot the hike. The trail was generally clear, and in the places that had ice there was adequate bare ground next to it. Roughly a third of the way into the steep climb along side of the East Osceola Slide the ice coverage had increased and I went with MicroSpikes. Sue continued to bare boot the hike. We made our way up through the lower steep section and reached the top of the slide without any problems. There, Sue also pulled out her MicroSpikes. Light traction did the job and we were able to comfortably finish the climb to the ridge.
Once we reached the ridge we found much more snow cover but it was solid and easy to continue with the MicroSpikes without postholing. We continued with light traction to East Osceola, and beyond.
At the summit of East Osceola we stopped for the usual pictures. I could tell Sue was thinking about something (that usually makes me nervous). Suddenly, it’s Snowman time. Sue went to work on a snowman for the East Osceola summit cairn. While Sue was working on the snowman, I went to work on a granola bar. It didn’t take long for either of us to finish what we were doing. Sue took the usual picture and sent it off to family and friends.
Now, it was time to get back to the hike. We were able to continue with MicroSpikes for the section between the peaks. In the area of The Chimney and including The Chimney plus a couple of the following steep pitches there is a lot of bare rock. Sue took her MicroSpikes off and on several times on the hike to the main peak trying to avoid needless wear caused by the bare ledge. Mine are already quite worn and one has a broken link; a little more wear can’t hurt. I don’t think we postholed even once on the hike to Osceola.
It was mid-afternoon when we arrived to an empty summit. We had a very light breeze, which was a pleasant surprise since the forecast called for 25 mph gusting to 35 mph @~4000 feet. We had thin overcast and very pleasant temperature. We hung around for a while to enjoy the views. Usually, we hike The Osceolas with something else and there isn’t always a lot of spare time for lounging. On this hike we could relax and enjoy the place. Sue had summit cookies to share. Eventually, it was time to go.
The hike back out went without any surprises. Even the descent from East Osceola was as expected; steep and slow. We carefully made our way down past the slide and on to the bottom of the steeps and neither of us took a slip or fall along the way. Toward the bottom of the steeps we stopped to retire the MicroSpikes. We had plenty of bare trail to work with.
We reached Greeley Ponds Trail, made the turn, and continued to the trailhead. We had snowshoes on our packs but they just came along for the ride. We had no need for them at all.
In the course of the hike there were only four others that we met. All were hiking from The Kanc. There was a surprisingly low amount of hiker activity on a very nice day.
Pictures will follow.
