I started the day off early (3 am early) and got to the Mt. Osceola trailhead by sunrise. I was quite nervous because it was still slightly dark and it was my first solo hike. I have never met a not-nice person while hiking, but starting so early put me on edge. Most hikers on the trail would probably start two or so hours later. Maybe it was a mix of nerves and being half awake, but I stumbled through the first half mile of the trail. However, by around the second mile, I was feeling more confident and determined to get to the summit of Mt. Osceola.
When I reached the summit I didn’t know how to pick the trail up again to continue onto East Osceola Mountain so I sort of wandered around a bit. It was a test of my ability to figure out how to find the right path to continue on and not get lost. I realized that East Osceola was well, east, so I went down the path to the left of the summit view eastward. Sure enough, it was the right path and it was well trafficked with shoe prints.
The one mile stretch from Mt. Osceola to East Osceola was straight forward with a lot of rocks and patches of mud. A half a mile into the stretch was the Chimney. I took the bypass around it on the way down to East Osceola.I was about to descend the Chimney before I looked down and “noped” it right away. I decided to climb it on the way back. It was a lot of fun and now I am more interested in bouldering. (It will be a side hobby.) The path up was pretty obvious and required very little technical skill, but if done wrong, I am sure could end with a nasty fall onto sharp rocks. There were solid places for your feet and hands on the ascent up the Chimney.
The trip back to the car was quick and I was able to maintain a 30 min/mile pace all of the way back to the trailhead. The reason why I left so early from the Boston area was that since I was in the Waterville Valley area, I wanted to try to leave time to also climb Mt. Tecumseh.
Using an actual paper map, I drove down Tripoli Rd. to the Waterville Ski area to pick up the Mt. Tecumseh trailhead. The first mile was really easy and I plowed through it. However, the second miles was a completely different story. Maybe it was because it was mile 10 for me, but the trail wouldn’t stop going up. It constantly increased quite steeply and I was struggling to put one foot in front of the other. Even the steps built on the trail were of no help as I struggled and had to stop every 10-15 yards. It was all worth it in the end because the summit view was beautiful. The best part was that you could see Mt. Osceola and East Osceola from the summit of Mt. Tecumseh.
I had a very pleasant chat with an older man who was already at the summit and we ended up chatting for almost an hour about hiking. The only reason I ended the conversation was that I needed to get home before rush hour traffic. Otherwise, I would have loved to chill on the summit longer with him. On my way down I saw the family I chatted with in the parking lot and when I mentioned that Tecumseh was my third peak of the day, the mother said “Nice! You go girl!” I laughed, thanked her and continued down the trail.
Overall I would say that Osceola, East Osceola, and Tecumseh was a very doable peak-bag and that hiking solo was definitely different from hiking with a partner. Reflecting on my first solo hike, I definitely think that I was able to hike faster (consistently 28-30 min/mile splits) and I was more aware of the sounds around me. However, I have really enjoyed the company of a co-pilot while driving down I-93 in the really early hours and suffering together through rush hour traffic. Hiking with a partner and succeeding in reaching the summit together has been really rewarding. Therefore, when possible, I would definitely choose hiking with a partner (of equal ability) than hiking solo. I only say “of equal ability” because I would be constantly worrying about their health than actually enjoying the hike. If I cannot find a partner, I will just have to hike solo.
6 down, 42 to go. Thank you, Liz, for giving me the confidence to hike solo. The next 4000 footer that I will hike is not set, but I am leaning towards hiking North and South Kinsman soon.
Grace's Adventures 