| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
East Osceola (attempt), Mt. Osceola (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Park at Greeley Ponds parking lot. Lot was empty and fee box posted as NO ($5) fee (in winter). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction, Ice Axe |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All water crossings have man made bridges, no water, or low water, and are rock hops or step overs. All are easily crossed. A couple have trail bypasses for easier crossing. If bare booters continue on this trail they may punch through and destroy the snow bridges soon. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Needs brushing, more so at higher elevations. Needs brushing for winter snow depths. I snapped some of the (spruce) branches at face/eye level as I went along (didn't want to deal with them a 2nd time on an out and back.) Blazes have good paint, not faded. No litter or dog poop on trail. Some litter on the parking lot at Kanc. Why no trash can at parking lot ? |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw no dogs or people. Mt. Osceola trail too difficult for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Safety Orange ball cap with Remington (firearms) logo and mossy oak camo style visor. I left the cap on the top rear of the trail sign at the Greeley Ponds Trail parking lot on the Kanc. |
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 | Comments: |
Solo attempt of East Osceola and Mt. Osceola from Kancamagus side.
Started from parking lot in snowshoes and trekking poles with temp at 19F. Carried microspikes and 12 point full crampons in a 30 plus pound pack, but no ice axe. I usually leave crampons in the car but thought that "just in case" for this one I would bring them, not expecting to use them or need them.
Temperature rose during the morning and firm, packed, crispy, crunchy snow turned to slippery mashed potatoes where exposed to sun. Temperatures also rose into the 30s and then 40s hitting 49 later in the afternoon at the Lafayette Place Ranger office.
Trail was heavily post holed (thank you once again bare booters/spikers ! You know who you are. ) and also extra special thanks to the butt sliders who on trail slopes had replaced the post holes with dangerous polished slippery chutes. (If you to butt slide, can you go to a ski slope instead of a hiking trail ?)
Getting to the trail junction where Mt. Osceola Trail begins was easy. But as the trail became increasingly steep and then really steep, just after the trail makes a 90 degree left turn with a sharp drop off below the turn), it became clear that it was risky continuing with MSR Revo Ascent snowshoes and coming back down would be even more risky. I could feel the snowshoes barely grabbing hold in the polished butt slide surface that had turned to mashed potatoes. I also saw some ice patches poking through the snow. I decided for safety to call it a day and return to the car. The mountain will be there another day. It looked too dangerous to retreat with snowshoes, especialy with the sharp drop off belong where the trail makes the turn. So I held onto a rather small diameter tree at the edge of the trail and took off the snowshoes. My bare boots were so slippery I could not stand. Using a snowshoe I dug out a seat and foot rests in the snow and then put on microspikes.
The microspikes were still so slippery on the mashed potatoes I could not stand. Nothing to dig into.
Then I put on the 12 point strap-on full crampons. I was surprised that even these required carefully placement and planting them hard into the mashed potatoes to attach to the underlying firmer snow. I slowly and cautiously retreated in crampons, taking small steps and using the trekking poles, to where the slope angles were mild and then changed back to snowshoes. I wished I had brought an ice axe, trekking poles with snow baskets were not the best substitute. |
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 | Name: |
SOTA |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-03-28 |
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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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