| 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, February 22, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
At around 9:30am, we first tried parking at the Greeley Ponds XC Trail pulloff - it was plowed, but full of cars. We next tried Greeley Ponds Trailhead - it was not plowed, but we managed to park 100 ft north of it on the side of Kancamagus Highway without blocking traffic at all. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Ice Axe |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The big one on Greeley Ponds Trail is snowbridged. Some smaller ones are still flowing but are easy to leap over in one bound. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A little overgrown: one has to push through small branches in many places. A few duck-under and climb-over blowdowns. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
One dog made it to the summits today! |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
My group lost
1. a phone (we think on Mt. Osceola Trail, on the steep section halfway between the chimney and Mt. Osceola summit), and
2. a light blue Ocoopa electric hand warmer (we think on Mt. Osceola Trail, partway up from Mad River Notch to East Osceola, near the switchback just below the side path to the big slab, at around 3300 ft. elevation).
Please email me if you find either. |
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|
 | Comments: |
There was a very nice snowshoe track in the morning, but by our return in the afternoon it had been torn up by a few hikers in microspikes, with small and large postholes in the loose snow. Our group of 10 used snowshoes the whole way, and they worked well (televators were helpful for the ascent, and for the steepest parts of the descent, we walked backwards and plunged our ice axes into the snow for security). The only situations today where microspikes made sense were if butt-sliding down the steep sections on the descent (several people had slid down all the steep sections); in that case, it would be best to have an ice axe to use as a brake.
At the chimney between East Osceola and Osceola, we used what think is called the bypass to the bypass, but in hindsight it looked just as difficult as the bypass, with one or two high steps that were awkward in snowshoes.
West of Osceola, the trail was broken out only for about 20-30 yards, and beyond that there was deep snow, with no apparent trail. It might be that anyone trying to approach Osceola from the southwest (from the closed part of Tripoli Rd.) would have to break trail in deep snow for 2.9 miles. |
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 | Name: |
mathbp |
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 | E-Mail: |
tiramisu_eater@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-02-22 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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