I hiked Mt East Osceola and Mt Osceola with my friend Richard this past weekend. He picked me up at 6:30 am and we made the drive just over 2 hours up to Lincoln NH. The Greeley Ponds Trailhead off the Kancamagus was our starting point for this adventure. If I look a little dazed in the picture (which I definitley do) it was because I was trying to explain to Richard how to work the camera on my phone. We followed the Greeley Ponds trail for 1.3 miles before turning onto the Osceola trail for 1.5 miles to get to the top of East Osceola at 4,156 feet. There were many snow/ice covered areas that we had to get around and that slowed us down a bit. Microspikes would have been helpful but the trail was doable without them. The only way you know you are at the top of East Osceola is that there is a huge pile of rocks (cairn) to let you know as there is no view to speak of. As it says in the book...the top is completely coniferous. The sun did come out however for a nice picture of Richard. We then made our way another 1.0 miles to the top of Mt Osceola 4, 338 ft where the clouds did clear a bit for a nice view of Tecumseh and the Tripyramids ( yet to be done on the list of 48). We did not stay at the top for long as we were trying to make it down in time to catch part of the Bruins game on the radio. We passed a few hikers on the way down who were sporting very interesting footwear...or lack thereof...hope they made it! The trip took us 6 hours and 20 min for the 7.6 miles. Richard was underwhelmed with our time but I think considering the slick conditions and the fact that he just had a birthday that we did very well. Happy Birthday Richard! And many thanks for spending your birthday weekend hiking with me. Looking forward to the next time. 
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