WeRmudfun
New member
With the Christmas Season here now, work days are becoming 10 hour days, so editing hiking videos and writing up TR are a bit of a challenge. HO HO HO! 
Last Saturday we went to Mount Osceola and the East Peak also to update the video for our Fire Tower Map. We were surprised to see the snow on the ground when we got there. We were also surprised that Tripoli Road was still open being that it was covered with snow and a bit on the slippery side.
The trailhead had a couple cars in it when we got there. The whole day we hiked in 1-2” of snow, the most we saw in some spots was 3”. All the boulders had a snowcap on them and the tree branches were weighed down with snow as we started our hike. We had blue skies and temps in the 40’s, so the snow on the branches became a shower as the day went on. We barebooted it all the way to the summit of Osceola, then put the spikes on to head over to the East Peak and back.
The hike up to Osceola’s summit is only 3.2 miles and there are areas where it was a steady up, but not an incredibly challenging hike IMHO. There are views out to Tecumseh and the ski area, but the real views are at the top on the mountain. When you reach the first set of fire tower footings, some believe that is the spot to be the true summit. Others have said to take the herd path to the left over to the big rock with views of Franconia Ridge and that is the true summit. We hit all the high points we could find just to say we did it, just like the first time we hiked it
While we were there we also started searching for any other remains or artifacts from the fire tower or the cabin. We found a lot that we did not know were there. Bowls, large wash pan, communication wire, bed frame, along with other items and of course, the footings too. As I mentioned though the snow was melting in the trees, so we got soaked!
We headed to the area were the last fire tower stood and enjoyed the views. The tower was moved to that spot in 1942 which was also the year that the watchman started sleeping in the towers. It was manned until 1958 and removed in 1985. We talked with other hikers about the day and how great it was for December, then we put on the spikes and headed off for the East Peak. The trail is steep going over, but it looked like a winter wonderland in spots. The first time we hiked these peaks we had our dog, Abby with us and had to use the bypass to get around the chimney. This time we took the bypass down, then took the chimney up, just to experience it. It’s nowhere near as bad as some have explained it, again IMHO.
The rest of the hike to the East Peak was uneventful, there is a nice view point before the summit that has nice views and we also saws the hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway.
Last Saturday we went to Mount Osceola and the East Peak also to update the video for our Fire Tower Map. We were surprised to see the snow on the ground when we got there. We were also surprised that Tripoli Road was still open being that it was covered with snow and a bit on the slippery side.
The trailhead had a couple cars in it when we got there. The whole day we hiked in 1-2” of snow, the most we saw in some spots was 3”. All the boulders had a snowcap on them and the tree branches were weighed down with snow as we started our hike. We had blue skies and temps in the 40’s, so the snow on the branches became a shower as the day went on. We barebooted it all the way to the summit of Osceola, then put the spikes on to head over to the East Peak and back.
The hike up to Osceola’s summit is only 3.2 miles and there are areas where it was a steady up, but not an incredibly challenging hike IMHO. There are views out to Tecumseh and the ski area, but the real views are at the top on the mountain. When you reach the first set of fire tower footings, some believe that is the spot to be the true summit. Others have said to take the herd path to the left over to the big rock with views of Franconia Ridge and that is the true summit. We hit all the high points we could find just to say we did it, just like the first time we hiked it
While we were there we also started searching for any other remains or artifacts from the fire tower or the cabin. We found a lot that we did not know were there. Bowls, large wash pan, communication wire, bed frame, along with other items and of course, the footings too. As I mentioned though the snow was melting in the trees, so we got soaked!
We headed to the area were the last fire tower stood and enjoyed the views. The tower was moved to that spot in 1942 which was also the year that the watchman started sleeping in the towers. It was manned until 1958 and removed in 1985. We talked with other hikers about the day and how great it was for December, then we put on the spikes and headed off for the East Peak. The trail is steep going over, but it looked like a winter wonderland in spots. The first time we hiked these peaks we had our dog, Abby with us and had to use the bypass to get around the chimney. This time we took the bypass down, then took the chimney up, just to experience it. It’s nowhere near as bad as some have explained it, again IMHO.
The rest of the hike to the East Peak was uneventful, there is a nice view point before the summit that has nice views and we also saws the hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway.
