| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
East Osceola, Mt. Osceola, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Greeley Ponds, Osceola Trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, October 12, 2009 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
we parked a car at both Livermore Trail Head and at Osceola Trail and were there early and got good spots..cars all along the road on our return |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Blue, Mud |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
water crossings were all fine..dry rock hoppable..several good bridges along the Greeley ponds trail |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Greeley Ponds trail in great shape..Osceola Trail up to East is rough but fine..good footing between the summits..Some upper sections of Osecola Trail towards Tripoli badly eroded..one large blowdown just below the first viewpoint about a mile in..herd path forming around it |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
stretch headed up and over East a bit short on water for Terra..she bounds up some ledges that may be an issue to many dogs |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Somehwta dire forcast of high winds and temps in the teens kept us off planned Washington-Ike route and we settled on some thing a bit lower today. With 2 cars we were able to make an easy loop out of the osceola heading in from Livermore up and over then down to the tripoli Road parking. Greeley Ponds Trail follows old roads with great footing..gradually gets narrower as you cross several streams on dridges..after a rock hop crossing the road disappears pretty much and the trails heads North.. We flushed a moose juts before the crossing and Terra bounded off for awhile but quickly returned..the moose just could not be convinced to join our group..After a brief chat with Dr D and Howard near the shores of Greeley Ponds we were on our way through a scene of golden woodland, darks blue waters of the pond and sky..steep and jagged slopes all around..a wild and scenic place and we tarried a bit enjoying the scenery and atmosphere.
Once to the Osceola Trail the climb begins..gradual at first through some beautiful woods along an imposing cliff face.. The slide is reached..sharp slabby angulated rocks in all direction..oretty solid through here so no problems and we stop for a moment to enjoy views..next couple of slide areas more a shaley mix i guess.some loose rock..now some ice rivulets mixed in..we took our time there and soon reached the last little chute to the ridge where we banged to the right to the incredible viepoint there..From the Farnconia Ridge to the pemi to the presis and around south to the sandwich range and beyond..goregous with wave after waver of mountains..a few folks there made the mistake of asking what they were looking at an d we made our way around the horizon for them..
We tapped the cairn and made the easy and dry traverse over to Osceola..a nice thing today was that the mud was semi frozen..made for good footing..
Once on Osceola the views were amazing..I treated Terra and sabrina to some Pizza as we gazed out at the surrounding peaks....The flat spots across the ridge frozen over mud puddle which was all broken out and we encountered quite a bit of ice on the ledges as we descended..one more slip and the micros were coming out but we never did and once below 3000 feet things were fine..Bottem half of this trail slabby and leaf covered but mostly dry and we made good time back to the car..As we were getting into the ride a pair of hikers came out and headed down the road..turns out their car was where our s was so they hopped into the truck thankfully and gave them a lift down the hill..they were quite pleased..I saw them mawing down some chow at DD and they paused and waved and said thanks again before returning to their flatbread things..
excellent day out on good late fall type day with sabrina and terra |
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 | Name: |
silverfox |
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 | E-Mail: |
marktaub@metrocast dot net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2009-10-12 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157622572984946/ |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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