Mt Flume & Mt. Liberty, NH:
via Flume Slide, Franconia Ridge, and Liberty Springs
Trails
July 8, 2002
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Foreground is Mount Flume's scarred Summit, left is Mount Liberty, and the
Franconia Ridge extends into the distance (Lincoln & Lafayette)
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I pulled into the Flume Visitor's
Center of the Franconia Notch at approximately 9:30. Timing was
everything on this hike. Smoke from fires in Canada were blowing
through New England greatly reducing visibility and summit views; however,
I held faith in the weather forecast that a front moving over New England
will have cleared away the smoke by noon time.
Unfortunately; due to the NH State owned tourist trap 'The Flume', a direct ascent up Mount Flume is impossible. Instead, one must follow a bike path north one mile, and begin one's hike on the Liberty Springs Path ascending Mount Liberty. Within a mile of this trail, the Flume Slide Trail doubles back south on a gradually rising path through the woods. This makes for a 4 mile hike on fairly level trails to travel one mile distance as the crow flies. Once above The Flume Gorge, the path finally begins it's ascent on Mount Flume crossing over Flume Brook (which is actually fed by Mount Liberty!) several times. Soon, Flume Brook angles towards Mount Liberty, as the Flume Slide trail continues up Mount Flume and begins the ascent of Flume's Slides. Around this point, the bugs started attacking me. So I wouldn't be distracted during the ascent of the Slides, I applied DEET to ward them off. The West sides of Mount Flume and Mount Liberty were scarred by a series of slides created during 1883. Flume Slide trail ascends a narrow and steep slide composed of alternating patches of scree and wet granite slabs. There are several tricky and dangerous places along the Slide, generally where the trail is wet. Several places of the Slide were not passable without technical equipment due to the wet granite slabs. Fortunately, a well beaten side path through the woods works it's way up and around these tricky areas. There are numerous bail outs through the woods; of which I only used 2 or 3 that were absolutely necessary. Ascending the Slide was tricky; however, with patience and careful footing and handholds was not as dangerous as I had anticipated. Definitely the most challenging trail I have ever ascended in the Whites. From the Summit of Mount Flume, I enjoyed a long lunch break, and took in fantastic (but slightly hazy) views of Mount Liberty, the Franconia Ridge, Franconia Notch, Cannon, The Kinsmans, and the Pemi Wilderness. Fantastic! After taking some auto-timer photos of myself on the summit (see left), I continued onto Mount Liberty. The Franconia Ridge Trail drops into a 400 foot deep col before making it's gradual ascent to Mount Liberty's treeless summit. Mount Liberty offered fantastic 360 degree views of the surrounding area. I enjoyed a friendly chat with two gentleman heading towards Mount Flume, and they were nice enough to take a goofy picture of me celebrating with great fanfare my second summit of the afternoon. After a long rest a top Mount Liberty's Summit, I said my farewells to my beloved Franconia Ridge and the many High Peaks of the Pemi Wilderness. Liberty Springs Trail descends quickly from the summit ridge to the Liberty Springs Shelter for overnight backpackers. I passed several groups ascending to the Shelter with full overnight packs. "How Much Further to the Shelter" they all asked! The trail to the shelter is neither steep, long, nor challenging... so I hesitate to wonder how they faired on an overnight and a ridge walk the next day! I quickly descended back to the bike path. As per usual, the descent was terribly uninteresting and uneventful except for running into the ascending overnighters. This fantastic 10 mile loop offered more than 5 miles of uneventful and terribly boring flat trail hiking. Considering I ascended perhaps the toughest trail in Franconia Notch, it says a lot that I considered the flatter parts of the trails the most mentally challenging! A glorious hike with great views, nothing could be better! |
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The Pemi Wilderness. Foreground: Owls Head's long and bulky mass.
Background: Garfield on the left with the Bonds dominating the center and right
of the picture.
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