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East Osceola and Osceola - Trail to Summit

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September 7, 2011 / Comments (0)

East Osceola and Osceola

Written by:

Allison is the founder of trailtosummit.com which she began as a way to track and share her first round of the NH 4000 Footers. Now on round 5 (the first round for her dog Ruckus) she has been honored to have taken part of many people’s firsts. She is an experienced trail maintainer, speaker, and passionate member of the outdoor community. In New England, Allison enjoys trekking along the highest peaks, bushwhacking to less traveled areas, and has a fondness for sunrise and sunset trips. Outside of New England Allison has also thru hiked the John Muir Trail and explored mountains in the German and Austrian Alps, Israel, and the Azores. Her goal is to share her passion for hiking and backpacking with others, especially with women, to inspire them to experience the freedom of the trail!
Greeley Ponds Trailhead

 I hiked this trail the end of May and am writing about it now so it won’t be as precise as my newer hikes so I do apologize! I decided to hike East Osceola and then continue up to Osceola as East was a viewless summit. I figured I’d have a great view to look forward to. It was drizzling out and unfortunately very foggy. I started on the Greeley Ponds Trail. The trail was very wet, but there was a network of log boardwalk set up. There was only one stream crossing.

Stream Crossing Greeley Ponds Trail

 After about a mile or so into the hike, you will take the Mt. Osceola Trail which branches off to the right. The Mt. Osceola Trail is where the hiking really begins. About a mile after beginning the trail, it opens up for a nice view of the ponds and surrounding area before returning under treeline. There is a steep, but short section of the trail as you approach the east peak of Osceola which has a wooded summit. 

Summit of East Osceola

 From this summit, you begin west and descend quite a bit before the climb picks back up. There was a good mix of steep and flat trail heading up toward the peak of Osceola.

Snow on the trail at the end of May!

Eventually you will approach the chimney. It does require a bit of scrambling, but is fun and has some excellent holds!  The rest of the trail continues steeply until you reach the large, open main Osceola summit.

Steep section of the trail approaching the Chimney

Summit of Mt. Osceola

You should be able to see the Waterville Valley area and the Tripyramids, but as you can see, I had no views that day. It was still pretty amazing being near the edge in the clouds!

Quick Facts:
Approach from: Kancamagus Highway (112)
Height:
East Osceola: 4156′
Osceola: 4315′
Distance: 7.6 miles
Time: Approx 5 1/2 hours

Map: Via Greeley Ponds Trail; Mount Osceola Trail

Last modified: November 28, 2014

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