Willoughby
Member
There's nothing quite like breaking out from the trees and hearing the snap of a flag over head. Adding to the experience, to the sense of awe almost, is standing near Old Glory on one peak, and spotting the flags that hikers have carried up and are flying from other peaks. We didn't get either experience on Osceola this year, but it was a special day nonetheless.
I arrived on Osceola just as the flag went up at noon. There were about 3 dozen hikers on the peak - plus 2 who had ridden up on their moms' (I assume) backs - and half a dozen or so dogs. The flags were strapped to a firetower footing on the summit ledges, under a windless and cloudy sky. We could see East Osceola (but not its flag), and the slide on North Tri; from the north outlook I could see the Hancock slide but no other peaks. It's the first time I've hiked FOT48 and not seen any other flags.
There was a good VFTT contingent - it was nice to meet and chat with Gram (and Peter), Madman, and M (not sure of your spelling) - apologies to anyone else I forgot. Thanks to the Osceola flag team and to the FOT48 organizers. Maybe next year we'll get the views.
By 1:30 the fog had rolled in, and all the views were gone. I headed back down, and met several more groups still on their way up.
Here's a shot of the summit area with the flags - the larger flag had flown over the US Capitol, and the smaller flag over the US embassy in Kabul. More pictures here.
I arrived on Osceola just as the flag went up at noon. There were about 3 dozen hikers on the peak - plus 2 who had ridden up on their moms' (I assume) backs - and half a dozen or so dogs. The flags were strapped to a firetower footing on the summit ledges, under a windless and cloudy sky. We could see East Osceola (but not its flag), and the slide on North Tri; from the north outlook I could see the Hancock slide but no other peaks. It's the first time I've hiked FOT48 and not seen any other flags.
There was a good VFTT contingent - it was nice to meet and chat with Gram (and Peter), Madman, and M (not sure of your spelling) - apologies to anyone else I forgot. Thanks to the Osceola flag team and to the FOT48 organizers. Maybe next year we'll get the views.
By 1:30 the fog had rolled in, and all the views were gone. I headed back down, and met several more groups still on their way up.
Here's a shot of the summit area with the flags - the larger flag had flown over the US Capitol, and the smaller flag over the US embassy in Kabul. More pictures here.
