The Osceolas 8-27-05 and George Carlin!

grouseking · Aug 28, 2005

Me and Brian arrived at the trailhead at about 7:55 and we were off by 8ish. We ascended from Tripoli Rd, and that trail, although rocky, never became steep. Most of the elevation gain was from one of the seemingly hundreds of switchbacks that we traversed. Views were limited up till prob about 3200 ft then we had a couple open views of Tecumseh and Sandwich Dome. Further up the trail became rockier with lots of slanted slabs which looked like they could be very slippery when wet or icy. Despite my physical condition, we pretty much made good time and was on the top in a little under 2 hrs. (just before 10am) We soaked in the views and cooled off thanks to the nice 10-15 mph wind. After 15-20 min we headed for the eastern peak. THis trail was much steeper and the Chimney was a fun little obstacle...much harder descending than ascending in my opinion. Then we ascended moderatley to ocasionally steeply up to the top of East Osceola. Arrived by 11ish. The peak isn't necessarily underwhelming, in fact I find it a very peaceful area to have some lunch, especially most people wouldn't spend too much time there.

We spent a good 20 min there and turned around and headed back. The Chimney was fun to climb and then the steep pitches before the summit were pretty much in my way since I was quite tired. WHen we made it to the top there had to have been 30-40 people soaking up the views. So we didn't spend too much time up there and soon descended...right around 1230ish. We made quick work of the trail on the way down, although my feet made some nice blisters on them. Still, we were at the bottom by 1:50 and were gone by 2. It was a great hike on a spectacular late summer day. To make the day better, I went to see the George Carlin show playing at the Hampton Beach Casino...which didn't get out until 1am....which made me have about a 20 hour day including the hike. It was a long and tiring day, but one of the best I've had all summer!

grouseking Pics http://community.webshots.com/album/435911664FTenDR/0

JonD · Aug 29, 2005

Great report! I was up on the Osceolas on Saturday too. I was the guy with glasses and a red bandana. I think I was sitting next to you when you took your "near death experience pic."

The summit area on Osceola is nicer than I expected, great big open ledges which wide views. When I first got to the peak I had it to myself for about ten minutes. After bagging East Osceola and heading back there must have been over 30 people hanging at the top! Everyone was nice, but a little too crowded for my taste.

After heading down I drove over to Tecumseh and hiked that before heading back to Boston. I'll try to post some pics later.