Liberty and Flume via Liberty Springs, 5/22/2011

Just a quick report with photos. We arrived at the parking area near the Flume Visitor's Center just after 9 and were on the trail by 9:30. I reflected that it left us with only 11 more hours of daylight. It had rained a bit on the way up and was overcast at the start, but there were signs that we might see some sun.

The one major stream crossing was fairly easy, I was expecting it to be much higher. We encountered our first tiny patch of snow just below the campsite, and then a few remaining patches up to the ridge. By then the skies were blue above us and we assumed the clouds had all burnt off. In fact, we ended up with an undercast, one of the nicest I'd ever encountered up there.







We had the summit to ourselves for a bit and then decided to head over to Flume when more people arrived. There was a bit more snow in the col, but nothing that would give you pause. As we crossed the col we sunk back down into the cloud deck, and the Flume summit was in and out, just barely above the clouds. Again, we had the summit to ourselves before heading back to Liberty. The Pemi itself was clear of clouds all day, Franconia Ridge being the dividing line.





All in all, a fine day.

Amazing shot - second to last! Well, they are all great, but that one is a scene to remember! Love that undercast!

Thanks for the report, we might do it with some friends this weekend, so it is good to know there isn much snow left.

Several groups went up Flume Slide and survived. They said it was wet and slippery, but snow/ice wasn't an issue.