BIGEarl
Well-known member
January 17, 2011: Osceolas from The Kanc
Trails: Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail
Summits: Osceola East, Mt. Osceola
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The weather summary for the day posted at various weather sites didn’t paint a pretty picture. After taking a close look at the hourly weather graphs from the National Weather Service things looked a lot better. The White Mountains Summit Forecast predicted uncomfortable winds above 5000 feet, but The Osceolas are under 4400 feet – we should be okay with a lower predicted wind.
After a quick stop at Lincoln Woods we arrived to the Greeley Ponds trailhead to find it completely clear of snow and empty. That place is plowed out great – hopefully the plow guys can keep it that open all winter. It wasn’t long before we had our things and were on our way. Right from the lot we were on snowshoes.
The trail is in terrific shape. I heard reports of lots of weekend traffic which included a good number of barebooters and had my concerns about trail conditions. There were no postholes and the trail was a wide, flat, packed snowshoe track. From the trailhead all of the way to Osceola Main Peak the trail was outstanding.
The first section of our hike to the Greeley Ponds – Mt. Osceola trails junction was the usual warm-up but there wasn’t much in the way of layer adjustments that were made. When we left the trailhead the temperature display showed -4 degrees, but we had completely clear sky and expected things to warm up once the sun got a little higher. I don’t think the warm-up ever happened. We hit the trail junction, made a right turn, and set off for the steep climb to Osceola East.
Occasionally we found the exposed tip of a rock in the trail but the trail is generally a clear snow base at this point with very little ice. In fact, we only encountered a couple small patches of ice in the full hike and they were very easy to get past.
As we entered the start of the steeps the televators came up and we settled into a slower but generally steady pace on our climb. The trail has seen some glissaders but it’s still without ice and the traction is great. We simply walked up the steep climb. All of the roughness from barebooters that I expected to see wasn’t there. The trail is currently in outstanding shape.
We made it to the crossing point for the E. Osceola slide, briefly paused for some pictures, and then dug into the real steep final climb to the ridge. From the slide crossing to the ridge is a very short but steep section and we were soon standing on the ridge and smiling – no wind! First, we went right to enjoy the first views of the day and get a couple pictures of our targets. Then we continued our hike to Osceola East.
The final climb from the ridge to the summit was more of the same; great snowshoe track – no ice. In a short time we were approaching the Osceola East treed summit. A quick stop at the summit cairn for pictures, no views, and we were on our way.
Next, The Chimney. We descended from the Osceola East summit and were soon at the base of The Chimney looking up at the unbroken passage way. Of course, Sue needed a closer look. We climbed The Chimney on snowshoes last winter and maybe we could do it again this winter. Not on this hike. We hit the bypass and found it to be an easy climb; no ice, pretty good traction, and enough exposed rock for handholds and a little extra traction in the tricky places. We cleared the top of the bypass and kept moving toward Mt. Osceola’s main peak.
Roughly half-way between The Chimney and Osceola I realized my energy was way down and it was time for some fuel. We made a quick stop and I packed in some crackers, granola bars, GU gell pack, and water before the cold started to grab hold. Suddenly it was time to get moving to generate some heat. I made a comment and Sue was walking. A few minutes later we were on final approach to Osceola.
We hit the summit still under a completely clear sky, no wind, and cold. To this point it was just the two of us, all day. Where was everybody on such an outstanding day? A few minutes after arriving to the summit area two other hikers came up behind us and we all enjoyed the summit together. We snapped a bunch of pictures, enjoyed the views, started to get cold, and knew it was time to go.
The exit walk went as expected. We worked our way back through The Chimney bypass and over E. Osceola. Then, at the top of the steeps we decided to change our footwear. We retired the snowshoes in favor of a little more security offered by crampons. With the snowshoes packed away and crampons in place we started the steep descent. The trail surface was firm enough to handle the crampons, provide great support, and allow us to simply walk down from the ridge without postholing, not even once. All we could see in the trail surface was the marks from the crampon points. Snowshoes were leaving more visible tracks. It’s a terrific trail right now.
We passed the bottom of the steeps still not causing any trail damage and stayed with the crampons. In fact, we stayed with the crampons all of the way to the trailhead.
Back at the trailhead I pulled the truck away from the snow bank to make packing to leave easier and noticed the temperature display showed -6 degrees. It was a cold day but we were prepared for it and had a great time. Soon we were on our way to Lincoln Woods for a quick change into dry clothes and then the highway south.
Thanks Sue, so far I’m really enjoying your vacation.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail
Summits: Osceola East, Mt. Osceola
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The weather summary for the day posted at various weather sites didn’t paint a pretty picture. After taking a close look at the hourly weather graphs from the National Weather Service things looked a lot better. The White Mountains Summit Forecast predicted uncomfortable winds above 5000 feet, but The Osceolas are under 4400 feet – we should be okay with a lower predicted wind.
After a quick stop at Lincoln Woods we arrived to the Greeley Ponds trailhead to find it completely clear of snow and empty. That place is plowed out great – hopefully the plow guys can keep it that open all winter. It wasn’t long before we had our things and were on our way. Right from the lot we were on snowshoes.
The trail is in terrific shape. I heard reports of lots of weekend traffic which included a good number of barebooters and had my concerns about trail conditions. There were no postholes and the trail was a wide, flat, packed snowshoe track. From the trailhead all of the way to Osceola Main Peak the trail was outstanding.
The first section of our hike to the Greeley Ponds – Mt. Osceola trails junction was the usual warm-up but there wasn’t much in the way of layer adjustments that were made. When we left the trailhead the temperature display showed -4 degrees, but we had completely clear sky and expected things to warm up once the sun got a little higher. I don’t think the warm-up ever happened. We hit the trail junction, made a right turn, and set off for the steep climb to Osceola East.
Occasionally we found the exposed tip of a rock in the trail but the trail is generally a clear snow base at this point with very little ice. In fact, we only encountered a couple small patches of ice in the full hike and they were very easy to get past.
As we entered the start of the steeps the televators came up and we settled into a slower but generally steady pace on our climb. The trail has seen some glissaders but it’s still without ice and the traction is great. We simply walked up the steep climb. All of the roughness from barebooters that I expected to see wasn’t there. The trail is currently in outstanding shape.
We made it to the crossing point for the E. Osceola slide, briefly paused for some pictures, and then dug into the real steep final climb to the ridge. From the slide crossing to the ridge is a very short but steep section and we were soon standing on the ridge and smiling – no wind! First, we went right to enjoy the first views of the day and get a couple pictures of our targets. Then we continued our hike to Osceola East.
The final climb from the ridge to the summit was more of the same; great snowshoe track – no ice. In a short time we were approaching the Osceola East treed summit. A quick stop at the summit cairn for pictures, no views, and we were on our way.
Next, The Chimney. We descended from the Osceola East summit and were soon at the base of The Chimney looking up at the unbroken passage way. Of course, Sue needed a closer look. We climbed The Chimney on snowshoes last winter and maybe we could do it again this winter. Not on this hike. We hit the bypass and found it to be an easy climb; no ice, pretty good traction, and enough exposed rock for handholds and a little extra traction in the tricky places. We cleared the top of the bypass and kept moving toward Mt. Osceola’s main peak.
Roughly half-way between The Chimney and Osceola I realized my energy was way down and it was time for some fuel. We made a quick stop and I packed in some crackers, granola bars, GU gell pack, and water before the cold started to grab hold. Suddenly it was time to get moving to generate some heat. I made a comment and Sue was walking. A few minutes later we were on final approach to Osceola.
We hit the summit still under a completely clear sky, no wind, and cold. To this point it was just the two of us, all day. Where was everybody on such an outstanding day? A few minutes after arriving to the summit area two other hikers came up behind us and we all enjoyed the summit together. We snapped a bunch of pictures, enjoyed the views, started to get cold, and knew it was time to go.
The exit walk went as expected. We worked our way back through The Chimney bypass and over E. Osceola. Then, at the top of the steeps we decided to change our footwear. We retired the snowshoes in favor of a little more security offered by crampons. With the snowshoes packed away and crampons in place we started the steep descent. The trail surface was firm enough to handle the crampons, provide great support, and allow us to simply walk down from the ridge without postholing, not even once. All we could see in the trail surface was the marks from the crampon points. Snowshoes were leaving more visible tracks. It’s a terrific trail right now.
We passed the bottom of the steeps still not causing any trail damage and stayed with the crampons. In fact, we stayed with the crampons all of the way to the trailhead.
Back at the trailhead I pulled the truck away from the snow bank to make packing to leave easier and noticed the temperature display showed -6 degrees. It was a cold day but we were prepared for it and had a great time. Soon we were on our way to Lincoln Woods for a quick change into dry clothes and then the highway south.
Thanks Sue, so far I’m really enjoying your vacation.
Pictures will follow.
