TrishandAlex
New member
Cut and pasted from http://trishgrid.blogspot.com
Accompanying pictures can be found there.
*********************************************
Mt. Osceola Trail from Tripoli Road, 8.4 miles out-and-back.
This was supposed to be a triumphant tale of my first full moon hike along Franconia Ridge. However, last night, after just half a mile into the woods alone, I had to turn back due to hearing a plethora of Very Scary Noises. One of these days I will grow me some courage and complete a solo, full moon night hike!!
After going to bed with a blanket of shame, I awoke this morning and decided to do the Osceolas. In daylight.
The path up was rockier than I remembered it to be...
...and of course there were the nice, sideways slabs...
....then, just an hour and forty minutes after I parked my car, I was on the summit. That's good time, for me.
It was a gorgeous, gorgeous day! There were views aplenty. Here are a bunch of shots from the top.
After a good half hour of lounging, I got myself up and headed over toward East Osceola.
Here's looking down the chimney...by the way, this thing is much easier to descend if you take off your pack and toss it down first (just make sure there's no one at the bottom).
I hoofed it over to the east peak in half an hour (again, great time for me). When I got to the top, there was a lovely lady finishing her 48! I took her picture and gave her a Hershey Bar. She goes by the trail name of Pokey, and I think she's about to become a new member of VFTT.
We stood around and talked for a while, then she headed out. I then took a picture of the glorious East Osceola summit cairn.
Here's another, with my foot on it.
After I'd had enough of the views, I headed back toward the main peak.
Man, is it tough getting back up those steep bits! After much huffing and puffing, I found myself catching up to Pokey very close to the main summit. We arrived at the ledges together and took a food/water break.
The morning haze had now cleared and we could see Mt. Washington in the distance.
Somehow I had missed seeing Tecumseh's ski slopes when I first arrived.
Pokey departed while I stayed a while longer, enjoying the scenery and eating another Balance Bar.
When I felt rested, I began to head down. From that point on, every ten minutes I'd pass a group of people on the way up. Must have seen at least forty people and six dogs altogether.
Among all those folks were a few familiar voices...MadRiver, Susan, and their friend were on their way up. We stopped and chatted for a bit, then we went on our separate ways.
I caught up with Pokey again close to the trailhead. We had a nice time conversing about all sorts of things -- then, before we knew it, we were there!
She graciously shared a beer with me, and we toasted her 48. She will celebrate in style with her friends in a few days.
A nice fellow by the name of Barry joined us in our parking lot beer fest. I had crossed paths with him between summits. The three of us hung out for a bit before going back to our usual lives.
Good times.
Accompanying pictures can be found there.
*********************************************
Mt. Osceola Trail from Tripoli Road, 8.4 miles out-and-back.
This was supposed to be a triumphant tale of my first full moon hike along Franconia Ridge. However, last night, after just half a mile into the woods alone, I had to turn back due to hearing a plethora of Very Scary Noises. One of these days I will grow me some courage and complete a solo, full moon night hike!!
After going to bed with a blanket of shame, I awoke this morning and decided to do the Osceolas. In daylight.
The path up was rockier than I remembered it to be...
...and of course there were the nice, sideways slabs...
....then, just an hour and forty minutes after I parked my car, I was on the summit. That's good time, for me.
It was a gorgeous, gorgeous day! There were views aplenty. Here are a bunch of shots from the top.
After a good half hour of lounging, I got myself up and headed over toward East Osceola.
Here's looking down the chimney...by the way, this thing is much easier to descend if you take off your pack and toss it down first (just make sure there's no one at the bottom).
I hoofed it over to the east peak in half an hour (again, great time for me). When I got to the top, there was a lovely lady finishing her 48! I took her picture and gave her a Hershey Bar. She goes by the trail name of Pokey, and I think she's about to become a new member of VFTT.
We stood around and talked for a while, then she headed out. I then took a picture of the glorious East Osceola summit cairn.
Here's another, with my foot on it.
After I'd had enough of the views, I headed back toward the main peak.
Man, is it tough getting back up those steep bits! After much huffing and puffing, I found myself catching up to Pokey very close to the main summit. We arrived at the ledges together and took a food/water break.
The morning haze had now cleared and we could see Mt. Washington in the distance.
Somehow I had missed seeing Tecumseh's ski slopes when I first arrived.
Pokey departed while I stayed a while longer, enjoying the scenery and eating another Balance Bar.
When I felt rested, I began to head down. From that point on, every ten minutes I'd pass a group of people on the way up. Must have seen at least forty people and six dogs altogether.
Among all those folks were a few familiar voices...MadRiver, Susan, and their friend were on their way up. We stopped and chatted for a bit, then we went on our separate ways.
I caught up with Pokey again close to the trailhead. We had a nice time conversing about all sorts of things -- then, before we knew it, we were there!
She graciously shared a beer with me, and we toasted her 48. She will celebrate in style with her friends in a few days.
A nice fellow by the name of Barry joined us in our parking lot beer fest. I had crossed paths with him between summits. The three of us hung out for a bit before going back to our usual lives.
Good times.
