Fresh mountain air and rich forest wilderness make for a thrilling yet calming hike up into the heights of the White Mountains.
Start out at the Greeley Pond trailhead off of the Kancamagus Highway. After 1.3 miles the trail splits--bear right to get onto the Mt. Osceola Trail. Continue 1.5 miles to the summit. This summit hike offers a different kind of reward. Views are limited from the peak of Mt. Osceoloa, which allows you to focus on your immediate surroundings. Enjoy the fresh mountain air and the gorgeous trees rising up around you. Bring a snack and kick back under the trees, immersing in the natural beauty of Mt. Osceola.
The summit of East Osceola is completely treed and marked with a very large cairn. I actually walked about 0.2 miles past it and started going downhill quite a bit before I realized that maybe I missed it. The views are from a viewpoint just before the summit. Overall the hike is extremely steep up, straight up large boulders. Definitely one of the more difficult of the 4000 footers I've done.