Hiked by: Tim and Valerie on July 3, 2006 - An "out and back" over Mt Osceola to East Osceola on 4th of July weekend
Conditions: Started at 8:30am. There were four cars in the parking lot ahead of us. We had left the decision to include East Osceola as a "game time decision" so as we hiked up, it was still an open question. The trail is really a jumble of boulders. As you climb up, you already know that your knees will be screaming on the way down. Weather was much more conducive to hiking than the last couple. Lower humidity, cooler temps and a slight breeze all kept things very tolerable on the way up.
The conditions at the summit were good. No bugs, skies were clear and the views were breathtaking. After the gorgeous views, Val got a bit delirious and blurted out something like "it's just right there, we should really just do it". So, off to East Osceola we went. What a different trail that is! There are three or four sections on the way down into the col that are *so* steep, you need to use hands and feet to get up and down. And it seemed that somehow those were the places devoid of any breeze (see pics for the "chimney" and the alternate route around the "chimney"). We got to the top of East Osceola, said "Yep, there's the cairn", took its picture, changed socks and headed back. Lots of mosquitoes/blackflies on that summit.
The trip back was all we had expected. Hard hiking back to Mt Osceola. Tons of people on that summit now. The view had gotten quite hazy in the last couple hours. You can tell it's a holiday weekend. Lots of families and lots of dogs. Started down the 3.2 miles to the car. Saw lots of very small kids who already looked whipped before they ever got to the top. Can't imagine how distraught they will be on the long walk down. It was getting very humid. Val was getting tired. Knee-jarring continued. Out by 2:30pm.