| Mount. Osceola via Greeley Ponds Route |
Contribute  Loading...
Geography Parents Loading... Routes
| Mount. Osceola via Greeley Ponds   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: New Hampshire, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 44.00080°N / 71.536°W Route Type: Hike, Scramble Time Required: Most of a day Difficulty: Class 1-2
| Route Quality: | | | | Loading...
| Page By: EastKing Created/Edited: Mar 20, 2002 / Mar 20, 2002 Object ID: 156276 Hits: 1008 Loading... Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Approach
MT OSCEOLA VIA GREELEY PONDS TRAILHEAD on KANNCAMGAS HIGHWAY (1940'): Take I-93 to Exit 32. Take a left off the light at the exit ramp and stay on the Kancamgas Highway through the tourist town of Lincoln and past the Loon Ski Resort. continue past the trailhead to the East Pond Trail and until you begin up a switchback on the Kancamagus Highway. The Greeley Ponds Trailhead will be on your right.
Route Description
Greeley Pond Trail 1.3 miles
Mt. Osceola Trail 2.5 miles
Total Roundtrip Hike 7.6 miles
This route is the much tougher of the two route to the top of Mt. Osceola. While the Tripoli Road Route is a more gradual climb at class 1, this trail at time reaches class 2 with steep sections and often very poor footing. Despite it's steepness, this route of trail has a lot to offer hikers, especially the beautiful brooks on the way to Mad River Notch.
From the Greeley Pond Trailhead on the Kancamagas Highway, take the Greeley Pond up 1.3 miles. There you will ascend gently over numerous brook crossings, many which are bridged. The ease of this part of the hike gives no hint at what is to come on the Mount Osceola Trail.
At 1.3 miles, right at the height of land will come the Mt. Osceola Trail. The Osceola Trail begins out moderately up under cliffs. The trail then takes a right turn past the cliffs and for a half mile becomes class 2 as it begins to climb to the side of an old slide. At the top of the slide is a slide trail to a beautiful overlook of Mt. Kancamagas and Upper Greely Pond (A good break point from the tough hiking and scrambling that was just performed). The trail then summits a knob, and the ascent up East Osceola then becomes more moderate. As the trail comes closer to the summit of East Osceola it becomes steep once again.
At 2.8 miles of often difficult climbing it reaches the top of East Osceola (4156') and its view of nothing but the trees right in front of you. Not much of a reward for hard effort. Soon though the trail descends deeply into the deep pass that lies between East Osceola and Mt. Osceola. Great views can be seen of Mt. Osceola and the rest of Scar Ridge. After hitting the low point of land the trail then ascends a very steep chimney (which can be avoid on the right) and continue to ascend up alternating moderate and steep rocky pitches up to the top of Mt. Osceola where fine views await you.
Essential Gear
In summer nothing more is needed except hiking boots, tons of water and essential hiking gear. Remember to bring a strong bug repellent in June so that body doesn't result in a checkerboard appearance from all the black fly bites. Due to the mud season avoid this trail in April and May. The Mt. Osceola Trail is naturally steep at this section, and a lot of friction on this trail will only erode it even more.
In winter this can be a rough climb. At least crampons are needed on this trail. A good pair of hiking poles if not an ice axe are needed for some of the tougher spots on this trail.
Miscellaneous Info
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.
Images
|
|
White Mountains (NH/ME)
