TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAY AT MT. OSCEOLA

Trail Maintenance Report – Mt. Osceola Trail, NH

Date: July 12, 2025
Organized by: GayOutdoors
Trail Section: Tripoli Road to Mt. Osceola and East Peak (4.2 miles)
Time on Trail: 9 hours
Volunteers: 12 (4 first-timers, 8 seasoned members)

A Day of Giving Back

As the last traces of snow and ice retreat from the White Mountains, the trails emerge—and with them, the need for care. Once mud season winds down, it's time to give back. Enter: GayOutdoors.

Trail maintenance isn’t just about pruning branches or clearing blowdowns. It’s about investing in access and stewardship. It’s about ensuring that future generations experience these same trails in all their rugged, beautiful glory. And for us trail adopters, it becomes something deeper—almost ritual.

The Work Begins

Bright and early, Mike and Jon picked up tools from the White Mountain National Forest shed—fire rakes, grub hoes, saws, and more—and met up with our crew of 12 at the Mt. Osceola Trailhead by 8:30 AM in the thick humidity and heat. The lot was already packed: this trail is beloved, and it shows.

We split into two teams:

Team A: Clearing and refurbishing water bars

Team B: Tackling blowdowns and cutting back vegetation

Covering the 4.2-mile stretch from Tripoli Road to both Mt. Osceola summits, our volunteers—four first-timers and eight returning members—put in hours of sweaty, satisfying work.

Accomplishments

Here's what we got done:

51 water bars refurbished

Blowdown removed inside the Chimney
Overgrown vegetation trimmed back (especially between Mt. Osceola and East Peak)
Six bent overhead pines cut and cleared
Five stepovers and five bent pines felled by Jason with an axe
Countless branches clipped and cleared

Shoutouts:

• Alexander became the water bar whisperer.
• John S was a beast with the saw and loppers.
• Nick, one of our first-timers, fit right in like he’d been doing this for years.
• Mike and Jon multitasked as photographers and workhorses.

We were met by dozens of hikers throughout the day, many expressing surprise and gratitude. It was a great reminder: most people don't realize trails don't maintain themselves.

The Reward

After hours of effort, most of us reached Mt. Osceola's 4,340-ft summit—just as clouds obscured the views. But nature rewarded our efforts. As we sat down for lunch, the clouds lifted, revealing the stunning panorama. A spontaneous cheer erupted from the summit crowd.

Still energized, many of us pressed on to East Osceola (4,156 ft)—a one-mile ridge traverse that includes the legendary Chimney. Climbing down (and back up!) that rocky scramble was the cherry on top.

Post-Work Festivities

Back at Mike and Jon’s house on the Mad River, the celebration continued:

Apéritifs on the deck:

• Cheese & crackers
• Chips & salsa
• Pita & spinach dip
• Wine, beer, and more
• A hot tub soak for our well-earned aches

Dinner feast prepared by Jon:

• Baked pasta primavera
• Garlic rosemary pork loin
• Beer braised bratwurst
• Chicken Kabob
• Warm lentil salad
• Garden salad
• Herb rice
• A GayOutdoors Cake to top it off!

Reflections

Trail maintenance with GayOutdoors is more than service—it’s visibility. It’s love in action. It’s caring for wild places and creating space for queer joy in the outdoors.

To our volunteers: thank you. Your time, energy, and spirit made a lasting impact. Let’s keep showing up—for the trails, for each other, and for the next hiker who needs to know they belong out here, too.

See you on the trail,
Mike & Jon

>>CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR PICTURES

Volunteer with GayOutdoors members for a day of trail work on our adopted trail, Mt. Osceola! Mt. Osceola is extremely popular in summer due to its gradual ascent to the highest peak in Waterville Valley, on the NH four thousand footer list at 4,340 feet and has a vast panorama from its summit ledges! We will focus on clearing drainages, removing blowdowns, and clearing branches that encroach within the trail corridor. 

When we meet at the Mt. Osceola Trailhead off Tripoli Road at 8:30AM, we'll split into two groups: Slow and Fast Group. The Fast Group will focus on clearing blowdowns and the Slow Group will focus on clearing drainages [will stop 2/3 up the mountain]. The Fast Group will also traverse the ridge between Mt. Osceola and East Peak to clear blowdowns.   

We encourage help from volunteers who love the outdoors, enjoy hands-on conservation work, and are excited to work with our GayOutdoors members! We hope to work efficiently so we can summit! For the Fast Group, plan on a full day and finish around 4PM. For the Slow Group, we think we may finish by noon but was are not sure as we've not done this before. In any case, if you need to get home earlier you can hike back down to your vehicle at any time. As part of our philosophy, we believe in doing our part to give back to the hiking community!

You don't have to be an expert to help and we can easily train you. We’ll have fire rakes, grub hoes, saws and loppers for everyone.  We switch off the tools we use with other members so everyone gets a chance to do something different during the day!  

Members from another group, Pemi Valley Hikers, will be helping us. Meet us at the trailhead at 8:30 and bring snacks, lunch, water and what you normally would carry for a 4,000 footer hike but be sure to bring work gloves. We;ll be driving a blue Toyota Tacoma truck.

Thanks so much to everyone; your efforts are absolutely critical to keeping our trails open and accessible for everyone. The White Mountain National Forest have so much appreciation for everything we do. We look forward to working with you for another great season. We can’t wait to see you on the trails!

To say THANK YOU for your help you are invited back at our house near Welch and Dickey trailhead afterwards for appetizers, a BBQ, and soak your tired muscles in our hot tub!!! Please bring your own beverages. 

Everyone is invited to spend a FREE weekend at our house Friday and/or Saturday night with breakfast each morning. We only have 6 bunks so the first 6 guys that contact us to reserve will get one; and let us know which night[s] you’ll be lodging with us. You’re on your own for dinner Friday night but you’re welcome to use our kitchen facilities to cook.  We plan on having a campfire followed by fireworks Saturday night!