Osceola
February 14, 2009
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Today we joined 1HappyHiker and Zman for a hike that we were not sure could be done. The goal was to summit Mt Osceola from the Watervill Valley side. In the Summer this is a short 3 mile hike to the summit, but in winter you need to add a 3 mile road walk. We had not seen any trip reports indicating that the trail was broken out.
We met John and Marty a little before 9 in Bethlehem in order to car ppol to the hike. Right at 10 AM we started off from the Livermore trailhead. Tripoli road is not plowed during the Winter and is groomed for skiing. Off we went, deep in conversation, moving quickly to warm up. So quickly that after 20 minutes when we came to a fork in the road (the 3rd) we stopped to look at a trail map and realized that we should have kept to the left at the first junction - oh well - this was a warmup.
We turned around much to the amusement of the skiers that kept asking if we were lost and soom we were on the right road. An hour or so later we came to the gate at the height of land where the trailhead is located. Here we stopped and chatted with a mountain biker who had ridden up from the West end of Tripoli road on studded tires.
At the trailhead we were releived to see that somebody had been on the trail - not recently, but the tracks were very visable - at least we wouldn't have to try to figure out the trail. Quickly changing into our snowshoes we set off on the trail for our 3.2 mile trek to the summit.
The trail was tight in places, mostly due to the deep snow were were walking on top of. The trees were all snow covered and the sky a deep blue with no clouds. No issues were encountered as we made our way higher, stopping at many places along the way to admire the wonderful views that are not visable during the Summer. Most of the time we were out of the wind, but about halfway through this hike you are on a ridge until you summit where we felt the wind from both sides.
Nearing the summit we stopped and added a layer in preperation of the full force of the wind. 10 minutes later we came out onto the summit where the views into the Pemi were breath taking. With winds of @ 30 and a temp of 18, it was chilly. We snapped a bunch of photos, admired the viwes and took cover from the wind for a snack.
After refueling we started our sescent and were back at the car before dark. What a great way to celebrate Valentines day!
Length of Hike: 7:30 hours
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