Mt Osceola (4340 ft) and East Osceola (4156 ft) – July 8, 2010

Weather:  Warm, Muggy, Cloudy

Trail:  Osceola Trail, Tripoli Road approach

Trail Conditions:  The trail is never very steep heading up Osceola.  The first part of the hike up Osceola is rocky and not great for footing.  The trail improves as you get higher.  The chimney between Osceola and East Osceola requires some concentration but it is fun. 

Views:  Clouds moved in as the hike progressed.  I was able to spot Tecumseh while hiking up Osceola.  No view on the first summit of Osceola.  No view on East Osceola.  The second time I reached the Osceola summit the weather had cleared enough to spot East Osceola.

Group:  Mike – solo

Making good use of a vacation day and attempting to play a little catch up with Brian and Anai, I set out to hike the Osceolas.  I can honestly say the first 45 minutes of this trip was probably the most miserable I have spent in the Whites.  Four main factors contributed to this: 1) the terrain is very rocky and does not allow for good footing, 2) it was very warm and muggy, 3) the bugs were thick - at one point I had four part harmony in my left ear, 4) being the first traveler up the mountain that morning I got tens if not hundreds of spider webs across my face, many landing across my eyelashes.  I was not having a good time. 

Rocky Terrain

The rocks weren’t going away so no matter what the conditions I was going to have to deal with them.  Despite it not being a steep ascent, it was difficult to make good time with the tricky footing.  I was quickly sweating off the bug repellant so for the first time I dug out the head net.  This also helped with the spider webs but it made the heat and mugginess a bit worse.  I kept it on for about twenty minutes and then took it off once I got to a point where the bugs and spider webs weren’t as bad.

The trail improves quite a bit about halfway up with less rocks and better footing.  There is some sloped ledge over good portions but otherwise it is much better. 

Upon reaching the summit I was pretty disappointed that there was nothing to see.  The clouds parted just enough for me to see part of the valley below.  Although I had the summit all to myself, there wasn’t I wasted little time and headed down into the col between the two mountains where I would see my first fellow hiker of the day coming toward me.  After talking with the gentleman for a minute and sharing information on the trails and weather it dawned on me that I was speaking with Steve Smith, owner of the Mountain Wanderer bookstore in Lincoln, editor of the AMC Guide to the White Mountains, and author of the main source I have been using on my 48 – “The 4000-Footers of the White Mountains”.  He said that I looked familiar and I told him that I had been in his bookstore about four weeks ago (see my first post), bought his book and had him sign it.  I shared with him all the summits I had reached since then.  Steve had approached from the Kanc so we would cross paths again in an hour or so.

Mt. Osceola USGS Benchmark

I proceeded down into the col and diverted to the left around the “chimney”, a narrow and nearly vertical chute that is about 15 - 20 feet high.  The summit of East Osceola is treed in, which didn’t matter much on this day because the weather was not cooperating anyway.  I headed back down into the col and this time came up the chimney.  It was challenging but fun.  About five minutes before reaching the summit of Osceola for the second time I saw Steve Smith again.  He said he waited around a little bit for the clouds to part but they never did and he wished me well on my continued journey over the 48. 

The Chimney

Cairn at East Osceola Summit

Upon reaching Osceola again I found it was a little crowded this time.  There was a group of four women resting and eating down on the ledges and a group of about 12 boys and leader from an area camp.  The weather cleared enough so I could finally see East Osceola and get a good view of the area I had just traversed out and back. 

East Osceola as seen from Osceola

After a quick lunch I was ready to start my descent.  It was fairly uneventful, no falls or injuries but slow going with the rocky footing.  The hike lasted about 6 hours.  As I headed down 49 toward 93 it was tough to pass by the Mad River Tavern but it was early in the afternoon; too late for lunch, too early for dinner.  I settled on an ice coffee before hitting the highway.

Gear Notes:

I did both this hike and Tecumseh in my New Balance 966 trail shoes.  They worked well for Tecumseh but may not have been the best choice for the rocky terrain of Osceola.  Boots with a bit more ankle support may have worked out better.  

Mt. Jackson (4052 ft) & Mt. Webster (3910 ft) – June 13, 2006

Weather: The day started out very cloudy below the notches and stayed that way, but above the notches an overcast morning gave way to sun by mid afternoon. Some ominous clouds over Mt. Washington when we hit the Jackson summit never produced rain for us. Sun was shining bright by the time we reached Webster and stayed with us down the mountain.

Trail: Webster Jackson Trail, Webster Cliff Trail. Well maintained and marked trails. Toward the top there is a bit of a hand and foot scramble but nothing too difficult. Scramble on ledges the rest of the way. Descending Jackson on the Webster Cliff Trail (AT) there are some downward scrambles.

View: Great views of Presidentials, Crawford Notch, Mt. Washington Hotel.

Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

We were a bit worried that this might make two rainy hikes in a row. As we set out from the Concord area it was overcast and the forecast predicted it would stay that way with a chance of a thunderstorm. After Waumbek I went out and bought a pack cover. Luckily I wouldn’t need it this day.

Brian had picked me up again from the Exit 17 park & ride. We transferred my gear from my car to his and we were off, again stopping at Price Chopper in Lincoln for my lunch. We swung into the AMC Highlands Center just to check it out. It seems like a great facility. There is a store there where you can pick up any last minute forgotten items or AMC logo gear. On this trip there would be some forgotten items. When I transferred my gear to Brian’s car, the boots somehow got forgotten. When I realized this at trailside I had a few minutes of agonizing at the thought of doing the trail in my New Balance 966 trail walking shoes. I love these shoes and this is my second pair, but I have always used them on flatter surfaces such as the ones I find near home in Bear Brook State Park or the scout camps. Not wanting to scrap the day I decided to make due. Brian forgot his synthetic blend t-shirt. I let him borrow the extra one I carry since it seemed we would stay dry this day. This made us look like we were a hiking team with our matching navy UA shirts and our Gregory packs which have the same color pattern despite being different models (Brian has the z35).

The Jackson Webster Trail has two branches. From Rt. 302 just south of the AMC Highlands Center the trail heads east and then turns south after about .2 miles. After another mile you come to the Silver Cascade and at this point the trail branches to the left (east) to Mt. Jackson and right continue south to Mt. Webster. We decided to bag the 4000 footer first and see what the weather was like before heading for Webster. Up to the Silver Cascade the steepness of the trail varies with some rambling semi-flat sections and some rather steep sections including some rock stairs at points. The cascade is a good place for a photo op and a quick snack.

The last half mile of Jackson becomes progressively steeper until you reach a point where hands are needed to scale some rock faces. This was more fun than it is challenging. Beyond

that it is a quick walk over some rock face to the summit. When we reached the summit there were some slightly worrisome clouds headed towards us over the Presidentials but they never amounted to anything. We took plenty of time at the summit eating lunch and taking in the views. You have views in all directions from Jackson but most notable are the views of the Presidentials, and the valley that includes Bretton Woods and the Mt. Washington Hotel.

From there we took the Webster Cliff Trail southwest toward Mt. Webster. Coming off Jackson this involves several sections of downwards scramble, again more fun than challenging. This is a beautiful trail, blazed in white as part of the AT. When we reached Webster the sun was shining. Webster has some great views down on Crawford Notch, the trestles RR bridge, Mt Willey and Mt. Field to the East. Web has a rock slide on its west face that you stand directly over at the summit. Great photo op location if you don’t mind heights.

After Web we came down on the south branch of the Webster Jackson Trail. You cross the

cascade again, only in a prettier spot with a waterfall – great photo op location.

The rest of the hike down was uneventful. Brian says this will be his among his recommendations for troops looking for 5+ mile hike suggestions. I agree this one has a lot to offer. The climb is interesting and the forest you walk through is beautiful. The views are excellent on both Jackson and Webster.

Leaving Crawford Notch the sun was shining brightly. As we hit Franconia we could see clouds looming over Cannon. Evidently the clouds never left Southern NH all day. It was a long ride to the Mad River Tavern this time. I went with the bourbon steak tips this time. They were good but I could have used more steak tips and less cauliflower and fries.

Gear Notes

On Saturday I went to REI in Reading MA and bought some trekking poles and a pack cover. I have no experience to report yet on the REI pack cover.

LEKI Trekking Poles: I have nothing to compare them to since Jackson was the first time I used poles. The poles I purchased (At REI in Reading, MA) have clamps on the pole extensions, what they call the speed lock system, rather than a twisting lock mechanism which was on certain Leki poles and all the REI poles. I had a tough time getting the twisting lock mechanism to work in the store so I wanted ones that clamped. I opted not to get antishock due to cost. I went with the cork covered grips for better wicking. In all, if you have any knee issues and have never tried poles I highly recommend them. I am looking forward to my next hike with Leki’s.

NB 966: How about my very well-broken-in New Balance 966 trail walking shoes (see blog masthead)? Despite my agonizing at the trailhead about forgetting my boots, the NB 966's ended up being almost perfect for this hike. A little more ankle support would have been nice in the last half mile or so but otherwise I had no regrets about forgetting my boots back in the Jeep. The NB 966's do have a decent tread and held up well on the trails of Jackson & Webster with no major loss of traction.