Nature's Therapy - Hiking the Osceolas

Since mid-June, I’ve spent every weekend hiking in the White Mountains.  On Saturday mornings, I am usually awake before dawn and eager for my next adventure to begin.   But today I wasn’t feeling the usual anticipation.  It had been a long and rugged week and the beckoning call of my bed seemed much more compelling than that of the distant mountains.  Yet I knew the mountains were exactly what I needed to get my mind off the negative and back into a good space.  So I threw my gear together and off I went.  

All week I had been debating which peaks I would tackle this weekend.  As I drove up, I still wasn’t entirely sure of my plan, but I knew I was starting with the Osceolas from Tripoli Rd, an 8.4 mile “out and back” route with just under 3,200 feet of elevation gain.  I briefly considered taking the slightly shorter and steeper trail up from the Kancamangus, but I settled on Tripoli Rd for no other reason than because I have a certain fondness for it.  Tripoli Rd (well, not the road itself, but the exit sign from Route 93) is the location of my favorite view of Franconia Notch.  I look for it on every drive up; it is my official “you have arrived at your happy place” landmark.  One of these days I’ll stop and take a proper picture.  In the meantime, here is a shot I took while driving (I know, bad habit).  I hesitate to post it because it doesn't even begin to do it justice!

I arrived at the Osceola trailhead just before 9AM.  This is a popular hike, but apparently I wasn’t the only one getting a late start because there were only a handful of cars already there.  It was cloudy and cool for an August morning – just the way I like it!   After dousing myself with woodland perfume (aka bug spray), I slung my trusty backpack over my shoulders and made my way to the trailhead.  I never used to take pictures of trail signs, but it seems all the hikers are doing it, so I have conformed!  

As usual, I found myself getting drawn into the solitude and uncomplicated existence of the forest life as I hiked.  It's like a magical world where stress and racing thoughts simply disappear.  I couldn't tell you what I think of when I'm hiking alone; I'm not sure I think at all.  Generally the only thing I'm aware of is the sights and sounds of forest critters,  babbling brooks, the rhythm of my breathing, and the cadence of my feet hitting the trail.  It is very therapeutic.

The trail's terrain varied from very rocky and rough...

To smooth and gravelly...

There were also several sections with long slabs of smooth, angled, slippery rock...

There were a few challenging sections, but overall, the trail was fairly easy to navigate.  I hiked quickly, stopping only briefly to snap some pictures along the way.  I made good time, arriving at the main summit in 1 hour, 16 minutes.  As I approached the summit, I was happy to discover that the clouds had started to break up while I was hiking.  There were still some wispy clouds clinging to the mountains, but I had a nice view of Waterville Valley below to the right...

And East Osceola, my next stop, dominated the view to the left...(although in this picture, it's the peak on the right).

There were several other people on the summit already, but there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that the view was enhanced by silence, so I found a rock to call my own, shrugged off my pack, and enjoyed my mid-morning snack in quiet contentment.

The air was still cool, but the sun was warm.  In fact, it was so pleasant that I was tempted to remain in this spot for the rest of the morning.  But East Osceola beckoned from afar.   My trail guide had already given me a heads up that the trek to the East peak was going to be a bit more arduous and the summit itself would not offer any views as a reward for my effort.  But I've become a peak bagger - if it's on the list, I must go! 

East Osceola, here I come!

Shortly after I started hiking again, I heard rustling in the woods.  I knew it was caused by something much larger than a squirrel, so my first thought was that I was about to have a run-in with a moose or bear.  But then I heard the familiar jangle of metal dog tags and, seconds later, a black dog emerged from the woods with no human companion in sight. 

He seemed friendly and eager to see me, so I patted him on the head for a bit before continuing on.  He followed me for quite a while before scampering back into the woods.  I briefly wondered if he was lost.  (I found out later his name is Jackson and he always hikes far ahead of his owners.)

The trail to East O. was fairly steep in sections, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated.  Some sections looked like a narrow channel that had been cut by a machine...

Other sections were littered with broken rocks...

And then there was "The Chimney" - a fairly steep climb up a narrow section of rock wall that looks a bit like...you guessed it...a chimney!

This way up!

Close up view...



For the most part, there were plenty of hand and foot holds, but there was a brief moment halfway up where I thought to myself, "okay, now what?"   I did eventually figure it out and felt rather proud of myself for having navigated this section with relative aplomb and no panic attacks!

(Those who are familiar with this trail may notice that I'm taking some liberty with the natural order of things here.  I did not have to ascend "the Chimney" until my return trip to the main summit.  There is a less steep by-pass for the descent which I gladly took advantage of.)

After "the Chimney," the trail eased up some and, once again, I found myself zoning out - so much so that I cruised right past the summit cairn without noticing!   My GPS finally drew me out of my reverie with its announcement that I had travelled a total of 5.0 miles so far.  I was supposed to reach East Peak at the 4.2 mile mark...oops!  I was wondering why the trail had been descending rather than ascending for so long!!  Right after that, I encountered another couple going the same direction.  I asked them about the summit and they confirmed that I had indeed passed it almost a half mile back.  Instead of being disappointed that I went too far, I was secretly glad (in a way that only a Fitbit owner would understand) - 50 extra "floors" to my credit!  Woohoo! 

Not to mention, I would have missed the only view if I had turned around at the summit...

After about 10 minutes of steady climbing, I saw the summit cairn.  It was about 4 feet tall and stood prominantly at the highest point on the trail.  I had to wonder how I managed to miss it the first time!

Selfie at the Summit...

There wasn't much to see at East Peak but the pile of rocks, so after the requisite summit picture, I did an about-face and headed back the way I came.

When I arrived back at the main summit, I saw that the clouds had dissipated even more, so I stopped and snapped a few more pictures of the incredible views.  The summit was a lot more crowded than it had been earlier that morning and the hushed silence was gone.  I didn't linger long.   

The remainder of the trip down to the trailhead went by quickly.  While I generally prefer loop trails, I do also enjoy the out and back routes.  I like to see how many rock formations, trees, stumps, trail sections, etc. that I remember seeing on the trip up.  It's a little game I like to play; today I counted 30.

Before I knew it, I was back in the parking lot - peaks 25 and 26 done in exactly 4 hours!  On my way down, I had made a decision about how I would spend the afternoon.  The "Moose" (aka Mt. Moosilauke) and I had some unfinished business to take care of after last week's failed attempt.  But I'll save that story for another blog post.