| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
East Osceola, Mt. Osceola, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 23, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Greeley Ponds lot on Route 112 was not plowed. I shoved out the snowbank at the entrance, then used 4WD to park. There's at least half a foot of powder on top of ice. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction, Ice Axe |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Large crossing on Greeley Ponds Trail is currently snowbridged. Smaller seeps are open and a bit tricky to get over, as the snowpack is much higher than the thawed seep. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Blowdowns on both trails and lots of brush on Mt. Osceola Trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
While there was only a coating of new snow on I-93 and in Lincoln, the storm was clearly elevation based, things changed as one passed by Lincoln Woods. Pretty amazing snowbank height approaching the Greeley Ponds trailhead.
A duo of snowshoers started before me and broke out all the way to the start of the steeps (thank you!). Roughly 6 to 10 inches new up to this point, on top of many feet of base (blazes on Greeley Ponds are only a few inches above the snow in many places). The tracks on the Mt. Osceola Trail in the hardwoods deviate from the trail in many places. I tried to correct this where evident.
I took my turn breaking trail at the steeps, though it was slow going due to the powdery nature of the new snow on top of the hardpack base. Nasty side slope just past where the slide is first visible. Knee deep snow started just prior to the slide crossing. I tried to set a nice track with hopes that when it set up, it would provide a safe descent for future hikers.
Reaching the ridge, the deep drifts started, generally 3 or more feet deep. A few short stretches were blown down to the hard pack. Unfortunately the peak was in the clouds, as current snowpack would afford some interesting views from adjacent to the highpoint.
Descending to the col, there were more areas of knee deep powder. I bushwhacked around the chimney and chimney bypass (north). A little while above there, I hit the deepest powder drifts of the day, close to 5 feet. The final approach was blown down to hardpack. Lots of walking in the tree branches due to the snowpack. One area is deep enough that the corridor is not evident (nor is the turn), but fortunately I was able to keep on the trail to avoid entering spruce traps.
Continuing past the view ledge on Mt. Osceola, I initially missed the turn to the highpoint, as the snowpack made a point further southwest on the trail seem much taller. The snowpack is literally at the tree tops on this section (the area that is normally filled with puddles).
A lot of my tracks between the peaks had already drifted in by the time I returned.
Unfortunately, soon after passing back over East Osceola, I encountered postholes. These parasitic postholers didn't make it to the summit, but reaped havoc on the trail. Just before departing the ridge, I passed a group of unprepared barebooters who admitted they were suffering by not having snowshoes. No idea how much further they went (they were just about to hit the deepest drifted area), but if they attempted to go to Mt. Osceola, there's a decent chance of a forthcoming search-and-rescue story (one was even in snowcaked blue jeans).
After all of the work I put into breaking out a good track, it was trashed. The descending barebooters postholed and buttslid things into quite a mess (including hitting two trees in out of control buttslides). The sidesloped area, which I had carefully cut a footbed into, was trashed. A large group of snowshoes, who were planning to do a loop from the Tripoli Road parking area, were struggling to climb the carnage. I appreciated the packing they did to clean up some of the mess, but soon I reached the point in which they had passed the first group of postholers. From there down, there were in excess of 100 postholes littering the trail.
Tubbs Flex Alps were adequate for me today. One person with tube framed snowshoes was slipping around a lot. Not knowing what the group of postholers on the ridge did in their descent, if I were going back tomorrow, I would probably bring an ice axe, as I suspect the dangerous steep areas could be stripped down to ice. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-03-23 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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