Outdoor Diversion: A Warm Spring Day on the Osceolas

I had the day off and the weather was looking favorable for a hike. I hadn't done the Osceolas in awhile so the plan was to hike in from the Kancamagus. I would have preferred hiking in from Tripoli Road but was not sure if the gate was open. This route would take me in on the Greeley Ponds Trail to the Mount Osceola Trail up to East Osceola (4,156') and over to Mount Osceola (4,340') then back on the same trails to the Kancamagus. With the temperature forecast to be 80°F state wide I wanted to get an early start to try and beat the heat.

It was a cool morning with the sun shining through a hazy sky. I arrived at the parking lot and got one of the last remaing spots, another car pulled in behind me and got the last one. Even though I was hiking solo there would be lots of company on the trail today. I wasn't sure if there was any remaining ice that would require traction so I packed my old pair of microspikes.

It was a very nice, cool morning hike along the Greeley Ponds Trail. A breeze blowing kept the bugs down and helped with the sweat factor. There were many blooming trilliums along the way. When I arrived at the Mount Osceola Trail junction I went down to short sleeves and zipped off the pants legs. I would now be starting up the very steep part of today's hike to the East Osceola ridgeline. The last time I did this hike it was hard-packed snow and ice.

The ascent was just as difficult as I had remembered. I was glad to being doing this section of trail during the cooler part of the day. There was no snow or ice today. When I reached the ridgeline there was a strong wind blowing. It was on this ridgeline that I saw the only insignificant remains of a short section of monorail. No traction was needed today.

I stopped briefly on the viewless summit of East Osceola. It was a very cool wind blowing up there so I changed to a thin long sleeve layer and continued on to Mount Osceola. When I arrived at the chimney it was getting very warm. It was back to short sleeves before climbing up this section of trail. I didn't go up the chimney today and used the bypass.

I reached the summit of Mount Osceola and enjoyed the warm sunshine and cool breeze. The views were hazy. There were several other hikers up there and many more arriving. I spoke to one hiker that came up from Tripoli Road and he said the gate was open from I-93. I took a short break and had something to eat while I shot the usual summit photos and customary panoramic video.

When I started my hike back I was following two hikers, a father and his young daughter, Adam and Taylor. We had a pleasant conversation while descending. Adam went down the chimney and Taylor was in front of me taking the bypass. I took their photo at the bottom of the chimney. They had a very fast pace and I told them I would not be keeping up as we were ascending East Osceola. They were soon out of sight and I never did see them again.

When I reached the summit of East Osceola again I just kept going and it was all downhill from here. Before I made my turn off the ridgeline and onto the steep descent I put the trekking poles on my pack. I knew I would need both hands to safely make my way down grabbing trees and rocks. This is one of those sections of a trail that is just as difficult descending as ascending.

As I got closer to the Greeley Ponds Trail junction it was getting very warm. There were hikers still coming up as I was going down. I was happy to be going down in this heat and not up. The Greeley Ponds Trail provided a nice level cool down from my steep descent. I was soon back at the trailhead.

I'm not a fan of heat or the wind but today the warm temps were made tolerable with the wind. It was a great day to visit these summits again!

Enjoy the photo and videos!