Saturday, May 23, 2020

Short Osceola History Hike


With long daylight hours, a 4:00 pm start was feasible for a shorter exploration on the southern slopes of Mt. Osceola.

Waterville Valley hiker Dan Newton recently chanced upon this large artifact near the site of the 1940s Osceola Camp. He called it a belt driver.



Looking downslope from one of the old sled roads in the area.



Picturesque glade.



I poked around an area low down on the brook that drains the huge 1954 south slide of Osceola. On a 1960s aerial photo a large open swath is seen here. This massive pile of boulders must have been deposited by the slide.
 

The line of rocks extends quite a distance up alongside the brook.


On the broad hardwood ridge to the west, I believe I found the corridor of the original trail up Mt. Osceola, opened by Nathaniel Greeley in the 1850s and remaining in use into the 1930s.


For a time it was even used by horses.



Further investigation warranted.




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