EAST PEAK OSCEOLA TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAY

The Mt. Osceola Trail is home to two NH 48 4,000 footers, Mt. Osceola [4,340 feet] and East Osceola [4,156 feet]. Mt. Osceola has perhaps the finest view of any major peak in the southern White Mountains! Since 2013, GayOutdoors has been the trail adopter per a signed agreement with the White Mountain National Forest. We report back to the forest service the results of our work and any issues that should be addressed.

We maintain 5.4 miles of trail starting from Tripoli Road to the Greeley Ponds Trail. The footing is rough and very steep in places however it’s a moderate ascent from the Tripoli Road side and there are outlooks with good views along the trail. 

Comfortable temperatures, breezy up high and black flies were not an issue. We were a team of 5 from GayOutdoors as we continue to celebrate Gay Pride month. Finished our summer trail maintenance sweep...went up the Tripoli Road to Mt. Osceola last week. Today we focused on cutting back encroaching vegetation on the trail and placing a few yellow blazes where needed up East Osceola. This included blazing the Chimney so that it's clear that it’s the official trail! I can say with confidence that the entire Mt. Osceola Trail is in great shape!!! 

Good day to hike up the peak even though we were in the clouds higher up. Comfortable temperatures and breezy. We met about 20 hikers ascending East Osceola. Trail was extremely dry. On summit of East Osceola we met about three people who accidentally put their hand on the freshly painted blazes so we all had a good laugh. Good camaraderie as the small summit area results with other hikers chatting with each other! Afterwards we returned back to our house for some drinks and appetizers on the deck followed by a delicious dinner prepared by Jon...all paid for by GayOutdoors...including overnight lodging. 

Thanks so much to all of our volunteers. This wraps up this summer’s trail maintenance days. A fun tradition!

Jon and I will be hosting our first of two trail maintenance days to GayOutdoors' adopted trail, Mt. Osceola. 

We are hopeful that GayOutdoors has enough energetic, ambitious members to keep our adopted trail in top condition. The work itself, cleaning out waterbars, clearing small to medium blowdowns, clipping brush and painting blazes, is fairly easy. We are fortunate to be part of a club of gay men that have the opportunity to go hiking regularly in various places to take in the beauty of the White Mountains. We often oooh and awwwwe at some of the things we see. Now we have the opportunity to be a part of doing something to give back to the hiking community, while working on something we love...hiking trails...and helping make them a place where both ourselves and others can enjoy. We are looking forward to fun, hard work, comaraderie, new skills and friendships! 

We will starting from the Kancamagus Highway for second session. This section up to East Peak had a couple of steep/scrambling sections to the wooded summit however there are a few outlooks during the way providing some nice views!  It's popular being on the NH four thousand footer list at 4,156-feet. 

For this section, there are not any waterbars to clean; our focus will be clearing small to medium blowdowns and clipping brush. You don't have to be an expert to help and we can easily train you.  All tools are provided. We'll let you in on one of the best kept secrets in the mountains: trail work is fun! A trail that you have worked on belongs to you in a way that it's difficult to put into words.

This is a rain or shine event, so watch the sky, and bring appropriate clothing. Bring work gloves. Please dress for all weather conditions. Bring plenty of water, daypack, and lunch. Hiking boots are recommended. 

Let's show everyone that GayOutdoors is serious about giving back to the hiking community, and let's show them what gay men can do! Will you come help us on this day? It's a full day and we expect to finish around 4pm. Water and snack breaks are taken throughout the day. Lunch may be occur on the trail itself.  

Lodging/Post-Hike Social: Due to the recent relaxation of the CDC guidelines, we have decided to offer lodging Friday and Saturday night [$25 Friday night; $35 Saturday night] to the first four people who contact us as long as you show us your vaccination card that indicates your fully vaccinated. We are also cancelling the tailgate party and instead inviting everyone who can show us proof they have been fully vaccinated back to our house for showers and an BBQ! We ask $10 for the BBQ. Please let us know you'll be joining us for the BBQ so we have enough food for everyone. It's a BYOB weekend and we cannot let you in on Friday until 7PM.

As part of GayOutdoors' philosophy, we believe in doing our part to give back to the community. We are really excited about seeing many members sign up for this trail maintenance event. It's great to see friends coming together and willing to give of their time/efforts to make a difference. I'm sure that you'd agree how very proud we are of GO and it's members for taking the initiative. Hats off to each of you. We look forward to seeing each of you at the Mt. Osceola Trail Maintenance Day. As a team, we can get a lot accomplished. Let's do it! 

Namaste and Happy Trails!
Jon and Mike