Mt. Osceola and East Osceola

On March 16th, our group of hikers, Greg, Tom, Chris and myself headed to the Greeley Pond Trail to climb East Osceola and Osceola. This is an out-and-back hike with 3100 feet of climbing over 7.6 miles. The day was slightly overcast with the temperature in the 20's. There was hope that the afternoon would bring clearer skies.

The hike started with a pleasant 1.3 mile walk through hardwood forest before it meeting up with the Mt. Osceola trail. This trail climbs the steep slope of East Osceola with most of the climbing over a 0.5 mile section. Crampons were required and Greg broke all sorts speed records when he finally decided to put them on.

The climb was very steep and tiring. Each time we rounded a bend, there was another long steep section. Finally, we reached the ridge and the climbing was over - for now. By this time Greg and Tom had eased into a leisurely pace in preparation for their "picnic" lunch.

Chris and I followed the ridge and after crossing the summit of East Osceola (don't blink or you missed it) we descended steeply to the col and headed toward Osceola. On the way, we came to a very step section where we were presented with two options - a steep climb up an icy "chimney" or a steep, semi-exposed climb around the "chimney". Since the chimney required the use of an ice axe, something we didn't have, we opted for the path around the chimney.

Continuing on, we reached the Osceola summit, which was completely in the clouds, paused briefly and started our return. The descent around the chimney was more exposed than we recalled and we nervously descended, hoping our crampons would hold tight.

The steep descent of East Osceola was a lot of work and Chris was overheating. After some encouragement, he decided to cool off by making a face print in the snow.

Being just before the start of spring, this was the last winter hike of the season. It was a great way to finish.