Driver8
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On my hike of Osceola yesterday, I came upon a spot which raised a question - it's a spot I think, especially for the ascent, could really use a small ladder or iron rungs for safety's sake. It's on the western approach, maybe 0.2 above the upper brook crossing on the first of the switchbacks climbing most of the last 500' to the summit. Maybe 100 yards past the sharp left turn, there's a large boulder which, even on a dry day, was slick, slopy and sandy. According to the MyAltitude app it was at 3813' and 43.9977N (43 deg 59' 51") and 71.5400W (-71 deg 32' 23').
It looked like most people climb the boulder making use of worn roots loosly affiliated with its leftward, downhill side. I didn't feel comfortable with this at all - one bad step or snapped root and you fall a good 10 feet off the left side of the boulder or rip up a leg or ankle or knee.
And to try a climb of it to the rightward, uphill side didn't look promising - a small tree or two might've given some support and lift, but not much. The notion of climbing this rock, which was the trail, gave me the willies. I went off trail, left-ward and below it and came up the second humous-y, rooty, mucky small draw past it, rejoining the trail and then sizing it up for the descent upon my later return trip from the summit. Ended up the descent wasn't so bad - a slow butt-scoot down using the bigger of those two small trees on the upward side and the fanny as anchoring and support, with careful use of trekking poles to aid the landing.
Anyhow, I'd bet for most hikers who weigh half what I do, this spot's not so bad. But for a few of us, especially bigger folk with shorter legs, this is a doozy. I figured out how to get around it, but I bet in bad or wintry or shoulder season conditions, this thing's a beast - it was bad enough on a benign, dry, late-August day. The small roots on its downhill side which look to be the preferred footfalls are pretty ragged trending toward threadbare, if you will.
There are lots of spots on this switchbacky stretch that test the hiker's technique, as is often the case on steeper stretches of White Mountain trail - gotta summon some dance moves to spare the ankles, knees, etc. But this particular spot stood out to me as borderline dangerous, especially for a heavier hiker or a shorter one.
So, my thought - chip some footholds into this big boulder, or put in a small ladder, maybe 7" high, or rungs. Should I pass this on to Rolling Rock, the trail maintainer, last I heard? Or to the USFS? The AMC? What's the protocol?
It looked like most people climb the boulder making use of worn roots loosly affiliated with its leftward, downhill side. I didn't feel comfortable with this at all - one bad step or snapped root and you fall a good 10 feet off the left side of the boulder or rip up a leg or ankle or knee.
And to try a climb of it to the rightward, uphill side didn't look promising - a small tree or two might've given some support and lift, but not much. The notion of climbing this rock, which was the trail, gave me the willies. I went off trail, left-ward and below it and came up the second humous-y, rooty, mucky small draw past it, rejoining the trail and then sizing it up for the descent upon my later return trip from the summit. Ended up the descent wasn't so bad - a slow butt-scoot down using the bigger of those two small trees on the upward side and the fanny as anchoring and support, with careful use of trekking poles to aid the landing.
Anyhow, I'd bet for most hikers who weigh half what I do, this spot's not so bad. But for a few of us, especially bigger folk with shorter legs, this is a doozy. I figured out how to get around it, but I bet in bad or wintry or shoulder season conditions, this thing's a beast - it was bad enough on a benign, dry, late-August day. The small roots on its downhill side which look to be the preferred footfalls are pretty ragged trending toward threadbare, if you will.
There are lots of spots on this switchbacky stretch that test the hiker's technique, as is often the case on steeper stretches of White Mountain trail - gotta summon some dance moves to spare the ankles, knees, etc. But this particular spot stood out to me as borderline dangerous, especially for a heavier hiker or a shorter one.
So, my thought - chip some footholds into this big boulder, or put in a small ladder, maybe 7" high, or rungs. Should I pass this on to Rolling Rock, the trail maintainer, last I heard? Or to the USFS? The AMC? What's the protocol?
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