Heave, ho and hoist! What a climb! Ascending Osceola(and East Osceola) via the Osceola Trail was a moderate climb. Most peak-baggers choose to snatch up both Osceola’s main peak(4,315 feet) as well as nearby East Osceola(4,156 feet); though you can approach from either the South or the East, I would recommend the Southern trail head off of Tripoli Rd as your base(roundtrip distance: 7.4 miles); 3 $ to park at the base. The lower half of the trail was rocky(though I found this quaint on my way up, loose footing on the descent was rather frustrating) and several spots where the trail runs over large slabs of diagonal stone. About ¾ of the way up to peak 1 there are fantastic views of Mt Tecumseh to the South(a serious temptation and a fabulous motivator to continue on up up UP!). The view from the top is phenomenal; the slab spreads out and reveals the valley far below — the morning of my hike the clouds played kaleidoscope with the sun, skittering shadows on the Earthen treescape *and I’m in love with hiking all over again* Traveling on to the East peak seemed like a cinch, only one mile away over rocky trodden trail. There is a very difficult craig called«the Chimney» as you descent to the col; about fifty-feet of tricky rocky tetris hard-footing. There IS a round-about/“cheaters” route which is considerably less difficult which I would recommend for descent, but I challenged myself on the return(I was VERY thankful to be in a caravan at that point!). East peak is a bit of a let down after the grande sweeping views of the previous summit(just a pile of rocks really, I walked past this«marker» before I had even realized what it identified). There are a couple of peekaboo viewpoints Northeast along this short trail which are quite nice, and made returning to the peak all that more enjoyable. It is easy to understand why this is one of the most popular hikes in the Whites. I passed all typed on my trek: singles, couples, friends, and families — it is a moderate hike with fantastic visual rewards!
