dirt_girl
New member
Date(s) Hiked: August 14 2004
Trails(s) Hiked: Osceola and Tecumseh
Total Distance: 14.6 Miles/5350ft.elevation gain. (That can't be right?)
Difficulty: None
Conditions: Sunny, clear and warm.
Special Required Equipment: None
Trip Report: It’s hard to fine anything good about being up and on the road before 4:30 in the morning. However, I believe when you make the effort sometimes you are richly rewarded and this morning at a time between dark and day, the images were surreal and sublime.
I raced the city lights and the encroaching dawn north, to a dark stretch of road hoping to catch a falling star, a leftover from the meteor shower but the morning won and I was captivated for several moments by the perfect artistry of sunrise.
When I entered the woods on the Osceola Trail it was quite early. I was immediately struck by a powerful reverence for the sanctuary I had just stepped into. The term “still life” took on a completely different meaning other than that which is relative to art. In a place so full of life, the silence was deafening. My footsteps on the gritty path seemed an abomination to this tranquility.
The journey to Mt. Osceola was effortless other than negotiating the ankle breaking, rock strewn path at the beginning. The ruggedness of the trail reminded me of hikes I had done back home, in the Sierra’s. The trail is quite narrow in places forcing you to keep close company with the newest generation of hungry mosquitoes and it was nearly impossible to keep dry from contact with the brush. The people responsible for the construction of this trail have my total admiration. The switch backs are a thing of beauty to a hiker who hates the severe vertical of the East Coast trails. Further up, when I caught the first glimpses of forever, the trail became quite wet. In fact the trail had become in many places, a small creek bed. The storms had washed rocks and soil from under trees leaving those roots, as well as, the roots running across the trail more exposed. In many places where the rock ledges met the trail, there was little trail left. As I neared the summit and the trail leveled off, the pools of standing water were waiting for me at every turn. I grew tired of trying to skirt around these watering holes and marched straight through them. Reaching the summit, I had all the sunshine and the views to myself. I stretched out, lounging in the warmth, had a snack and got completely lost in the serenity of the moment.
After awhile I was compelled to move on by remembering the description of the trail to East Osceola. The steep part didn’t particularly thrill me but the chimney sure did! Leaving the summit the erosion from the storms was also quite evident. I descended to the left of the chimney and ascended, also with little effort, the treed in East Osceola peak. (From a boulder about half way to the summit there is a nice view of the Kancamagus.) I scrambled right up the chimney on the return trip. It was a quick, totally fun, climb and I reached Osceola to find the summit crawling with people. I said my good mornings, breathed in the view once more and made my way down the mountain. I lost count of how many people I met on the descent and was glad to have been on the summit before most of them were out of bed.
Something unexpected happened on the way out Tripoli Road...
I came across another trail head to Mt.Tecumseh and it wasn’t even close to noon yet. I figured I had the time and the mountain was right there… so I crossed the steady Eastman Brook, with its newly defined high water markings and started out on exactly the type of trail I absolutely detest. It went straight up for as far as I could see!! However, once on a trail I will only turn back for reasons of extreme importance to my survival and the shift in my mood didn’t qualify. So I continued up, mentally reprimanding the individuals responsible for the design and construction of this particular trail. My sour mood was short lived as the lush, thick forest stretched out from the trail in every direction and offered up quite a variety of bird conversations and some mysterious rustlings. There was green like I’ve never experienced before, a dense carpet of ferns seemed to cover the entire mountain side. There were leaves on the path with the rich colours of fall on them and I was fascinated by the tiniest white mushrooms growing just off the trail and some of the largest fungi growing off the sides of trees, stopping often to investigate. I was also surprised not to have seen or heard another hiker as the parking lot was full. Although, I did finally meet a large family with many children at the first real level ground since leaving the brook. Believing this to be the Mt. Tecumseh summit they were stopping for lunch. A quick check of the map and I knew I had about another mile to go. I hiked through a stand of lifeless grey pines where the trail narrowed considerably. At times I could not see what I was about to step on or more accurately trip over. The level between the two peaks was swampy for a short way and then a somewhat rocky climb to the top. I was told this summit was treed in and found this not to be intirely true. I found with a bit of moving about, there were views to be had. Being alone at first, I eventually shared this peak with 8 people and 4 well behaved dogs. All of them had come up from the Waterville Valley side of the trail. This helped explain the overgrown section of the trail on my side. My lunch and the conversations had left me pleasantly full as I bid farewell and started for home. I stopped to investigate the side path leading to the lunch site of that large family. A generation of new trees made the views from here difficult but I was delighted to see the site completely absent of any human presents. The descent was different in that I was now blessed with a panoramic view of this incredibly serene forest and I got to travel straight down. I felt strong in spirit and delighted to have had a good portion of the day to myself surrounded by elements of perfection.
While not making a conscience decision to hike three, 4000 footers in one trip, I was excited to have met the challenge and surprised to confirm I have completed one half of the official listed peaks in just 11 weeks!! I celebrated with a hot shower, a steak dinner with an ice cold beer and the best sleep I’ve had since the night before!!
dirt_girl
Trails(s) Hiked: Osceola and Tecumseh
Total Distance: 14.6 Miles/5350ft.elevation gain. (That can't be right?)
Difficulty: None
Conditions: Sunny, clear and warm.
Special Required Equipment: None
Trip Report: It’s hard to fine anything good about being up and on the road before 4:30 in the morning. However, I believe when you make the effort sometimes you are richly rewarded and this morning at a time between dark and day, the images were surreal and sublime.
I raced the city lights and the encroaching dawn north, to a dark stretch of road hoping to catch a falling star, a leftover from the meteor shower but the morning won and I was captivated for several moments by the perfect artistry of sunrise.
When I entered the woods on the Osceola Trail it was quite early. I was immediately struck by a powerful reverence for the sanctuary I had just stepped into. The term “still life” took on a completely different meaning other than that which is relative to art. In a place so full of life, the silence was deafening. My footsteps on the gritty path seemed an abomination to this tranquility.
The journey to Mt. Osceola was effortless other than negotiating the ankle breaking, rock strewn path at the beginning. The ruggedness of the trail reminded me of hikes I had done back home, in the Sierra’s. The trail is quite narrow in places forcing you to keep close company with the newest generation of hungry mosquitoes and it was nearly impossible to keep dry from contact with the brush. The people responsible for the construction of this trail have my total admiration. The switch backs are a thing of beauty to a hiker who hates the severe vertical of the East Coast trails. Further up, when I caught the first glimpses of forever, the trail became quite wet. In fact the trail had become in many places, a small creek bed. The storms had washed rocks and soil from under trees leaving those roots, as well as, the roots running across the trail more exposed. In many places where the rock ledges met the trail, there was little trail left. As I neared the summit and the trail leveled off, the pools of standing water were waiting for me at every turn. I grew tired of trying to skirt around these watering holes and marched straight through them. Reaching the summit, I had all the sunshine and the views to myself. I stretched out, lounging in the warmth, had a snack and got completely lost in the serenity of the moment.
After awhile I was compelled to move on by remembering the description of the trail to East Osceola. The steep part didn’t particularly thrill me but the chimney sure did! Leaving the summit the erosion from the storms was also quite evident. I descended to the left of the chimney and ascended, also with little effort, the treed in East Osceola peak. (From a boulder about half way to the summit there is a nice view of the Kancamagus.) I scrambled right up the chimney on the return trip. It was a quick, totally fun, climb and I reached Osceola to find the summit crawling with people. I said my good mornings, breathed in the view once more and made my way down the mountain. I lost count of how many people I met on the descent and was glad to have been on the summit before most of them were out of bed.
Something unexpected happened on the way out Tripoli Road...
I came across another trail head to Mt.Tecumseh and it wasn’t even close to noon yet. I figured I had the time and the mountain was right there… so I crossed the steady Eastman Brook, with its newly defined high water markings and started out on exactly the type of trail I absolutely detest. It went straight up for as far as I could see!! However, once on a trail I will only turn back for reasons of extreme importance to my survival and the shift in my mood didn’t qualify. So I continued up, mentally reprimanding the individuals responsible for the design and construction of this particular trail. My sour mood was short lived as the lush, thick forest stretched out from the trail in every direction and offered up quite a variety of bird conversations and some mysterious rustlings. There was green like I’ve never experienced before, a dense carpet of ferns seemed to cover the entire mountain side. There were leaves on the path with the rich colours of fall on them and I was fascinated by the tiniest white mushrooms growing just off the trail and some of the largest fungi growing off the sides of trees, stopping often to investigate. I was also surprised not to have seen or heard another hiker as the parking lot was full. Although, I did finally meet a large family with many children at the first real level ground since leaving the brook. Believing this to be the Mt. Tecumseh summit they were stopping for lunch. A quick check of the map and I knew I had about another mile to go. I hiked through a stand of lifeless grey pines where the trail narrowed considerably. At times I could not see what I was about to step on or more accurately trip over. The level between the two peaks was swampy for a short way and then a somewhat rocky climb to the top. I was told this summit was treed in and found this not to be intirely true. I found with a bit of moving about, there were views to be had. Being alone at first, I eventually shared this peak with 8 people and 4 well behaved dogs. All of them had come up from the Waterville Valley side of the trail. This helped explain the overgrown section of the trail on my side. My lunch and the conversations had left me pleasantly full as I bid farewell and started for home. I stopped to investigate the side path leading to the lunch site of that large family. A generation of new trees made the views from here difficult but I was delighted to see the site completely absent of any human presents. The descent was different in that I was now blessed with a panoramic view of this incredibly serene forest and I got to travel straight down. I felt strong in spirit and delighted to have had a good portion of the day to myself surrounded by elements of perfection.
While not making a conscience decision to hike three, 4000 footers in one trip, I was excited to have met the challenge and surprised to confirm I have completed one half of the official listed peaks in just 11 weeks!! I celebrated with a hot shower, a steak dinner with an ice cold beer and the best sleep I’ve had since the night before!!
dirt_girl
Michael, I think I'll wait until I have a bit more experience before I start through-hiking but I have some really good hikes resting in the back of my mind for next summer, multi peaks, and multi days!! 
