The Osceolas

The Osceolas (The East and Main summits)

When approaching from the west along the Kancamagus Highway, the Osceolas are the first mountains to really catch your eye.  They are the highest and most eastern of the ridge that runs from Loon Mountain over Scar Ridge then to the Osceolas.

Originally I intended to do both the Osceolas and the Hancocks.  Early into this hike I decided against doing the 10 mile hike to the Hancocks after this 8 mile hike.  This would turn out to be a great choice, since my knees bothered me slightly on the steep ascent down the Osceolas.  As such, I would still log in 30+ miles in two days.  Not bad.

The trailhead to day was located at 2,000 feet making the vertical ascent at just over 2,000 feet.  Less than yesterday's climb, but much more consistently steeper.  The trail started out friendly enough through a mixed hardwood forest.  Multiple stream crossings made for an interesting walk.  One crossing at first appeared to require fording.  I eventually found some rocks to hop across.

Once on the Osceola Trail it got quite steep, very quickly.  East Osceola has a few slides and the trail crossed a couple of them.  Fortunately, not much ice remained and the temperature rose enough to where gloves weren't wanted.  My hands were quite useful as there were more than a few tricky scrambling sections.

After some more scrambling I reached what appeared to be the summit of East Osceola.  The wind was fierce and I put some layers on.  A view told me I had some more climbing yet to do.  I could see both the summit of East Osceola and Osceola.  A little more effort and I reached the cairns that marked the high point of East Osceola.

East Osceola

Osceola

East Osceola's summit

Now the real fun would begin.  On the way down East Osceola, there were some views to the north and towards the highway.  The hairpin turn could be made out.  I reached the col to see what looked to be a very steep and challenging climb.  No doubt, this would be some class 3 scrambling.  Before I ascended, I noticed an easier route to the right.  I chose the chimney instead.  For a split second, I got a little wigged out.  For the most part is was fairly simple as there were plenty of handholds.  It was quite fun and one of the highlights of the walk.

The chimney on Osceola

The "easier" route

From the top of the chimney

The hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway

The rest of the walk to Osceola was fairly straight forward.  Except for a few patches of snow and ice, I made it to the summit quite comfortably.  Despite the early start (just before 7), I was greeted on the summit by a few others.  A great morning to be out!  The summit had a beautiful panoramic of 180 degrees, mostly to the east.  This would be a great spot to have some lunch.

Snowshoe tracks

Mt Washington in between the Hancocks and Carrigain

The Tri Pyramids

The Chimney and East Osceola

Chris Hiker enjoying the views

The walked down posed some problems since it was quite steep.  This trail is quite popular and there were quite a few people coming up.  I joked to a few, "as tough as it is going up, it's worse coming down."  They didn't appreciate this.  I made it back before noon and was happy with my decision to not hammer out another ten miles.  I'll save the knees for the Escarpment Trail later this summer.