May 10, 2011: E. Osceola (#13) & Osceola (#14)

As always, I hope for blue-sky days for my hikes.  It goes without saying that when I woke up this morning to gray skies, wind, and a threat of rain, I was slightly disappointed.
I needed a hike that got me more than one four-thousand-footer so that I wouldn't get stuck on unlucky #13, so the Osceolas seemed like a logical choice (this is really just an excuse to spend more time on mountain peaks).

There are several highly rugged peaks under the name Osceola, but only the East peak and the main peak qualify for the AMC's list of four-thousand footers (the two left-most peaks above).  In fact the other peaks don't even have official trails to their summits.
As we drove across New Hampshire, my assessment of the weather shifted and it seemed that there may be some hope for views after all.
Unfortunately, Tripoli Road has not yet opened for the season, so we would be climbing from the much less-forgiving approach via Greeley Ponds Trail - Mt. Osceola Trail.  We were on the trail just before 9:30am.
I was concerned that water levels may be high making for difficult water-crossings, but they turned out to be much easier than expected.  The trail climbed extremely gently toward Mad River Notch and within half-an-hour, we reached the junction with the Mt. Osceola Trail.

Now the real climbing started.  We had views up to the impressive cliffs of East Osceola as we ascended toward the rocky ridge.

I also feared our impending encounter with snow and the dreaded monorail, but the trails remained bare for a surprising distance.  There were icy sections, and at times an avoidable monorail, but nothing that required traction.

We were soon rewarded with peek-a-boo views of the Tripyramids, Carrigain, and the winding Kancamagus Highway.  We passed the only other hiker of the day, who informed us she had gotten past the East peak, but turned around shortly after due to snow.

The climbing was steep and required a lot of care avoiding the patches of snow and ice, but we soon arrived at a wide open view at the base of a small scramble.  From there we had views to the Northeast and down to Greeley Ponds.

Passaconaway, North Tripyramid (and the North Slide), and Middle Tripyramid:

The Hancocks (and the Arrow Slide):

I was pleasantly surprised to find out there are vistas shortly before the East peak.  There is actually a small spur trail that juts off the main trail giving excellent views in most directions.

The main peak up ahead:

Scar Ridge:

The East peak up ahead (our first stop):

Franconia Ridge, Owl's Head, and Mt. Garfield:

A short climb from our vista, we reached Mt. Osceola's East peak, at 12:24pm.

Past the East peak, conditions deteriorated quickly.  Snow depth increased and we gained some up-close-and-personal experiences with monorails (and now I understand why they are so dreaded).  Unlike the mile between North and South Kinsman, the mile between East Osceola and main Osceola was long, steep, and difficult.
We arrived at the famous chimney, which was actually a fun climb (though not for the acrophobic).
Above the chimney we had nice views looking back toward East peak.

We could also see the base of the Presidential Range, though the high peaks were shrouded in clouds.

From there to the summit of Osceola, it was a power struggle between the nasty monorail and segments of bare trail.  The monorail won for the most part.

After an unpleasant struggle to balance on the tightrope-called-monorail, we popped out at Mt. Osceola summit with spectacular views all around.

Waterville Valley:

Panorama from the summit:

Presidential fog and Mt. Carrigain:

I could have sat on that summit all day; the temperature was reasonable, the winds were reasonable, the views were unbelievable, and I didn't even miss the full Presidential view.
We had a long descent, after re-summitting East Osceola, and arrived back at the trailhead by 5:20pm.
I had a lot of worries going into this hike, but, as usual, the White  Mountains surpassed my expectations and the day couldn't have been better.  I think next time I'll approach from Tripoli Road, but any day in the mountains is a day well-spent.