p2piper
New member
The adventures of Pat and Nancy continue. We bagged two more peaks today: Mounts Liberty and Flume. After watching Tropical Storm Alberto all week, Friday dawned with clear skies, sun, and warm temperatures. What a gift! We met in Keene at 6am and ate breakfast on the road. The drive up was uneventful, except for just wanting to get to the trailhead and get going.
We hit the trail at 8:41am and walked the short span of trail before reaching the bike path. A couple of tenths of a mile later and we turned off on the Liberty Springs Trail. I had done a lot of research on the Flume Slide Trail before we decided to do it. It had rained so hard earlier in the week that I was concerned the rocks would be too wet to climb safely. But we both wanted the challenge so badly that we just decided to go for it. We walked through sun dappled greenery, low branches encroaching on the trail. It was obvious that the Flume Slide Trail was not one of the more heavily used trails in the Whites. The first couple of miles were very civilized. Bird songs accompanied us as we crossed several brooks before finding ourselves at the bottom of the slide.
For some reason I thought that the trail was going to be much more exposed than it was; instead the trees and woods bordering the trail were very close and very handy. The rocks were wet as I had suspected so we had to be especially careful before putting full weight on every foothold. And, yes, we did some bushwhacking through the woods on the sides of the trail. We almost missed the right hand jog but someone had built a cairn and that helped. I loved how my body felt as I pulled and pushed my way up the side of the mountain. We felt great and loved the challenge.
When we finally poked our heads above tree line, a crisp breeze and an incredible view met us. Wowsers. The craggy side of Flume was breathtaking so we sat in the sun on a warm rock, took off boots and socks, and ate lunch on the summit at 12:20pm. We had almost finished when another couple of women with a very friendly Retriever arrived at the summit for their lunch. We started for Liberty a little before 1pm – the summit looked so far away.
We descended for what seemed like a long time before we finally began ascending again. The view of Flume through the deadfall on our way up and seeing how far we had come in so short a time rallied our spirits and we hit the summit of Liberty at 1:45. What a beautiful peak! I loved the rocks and the views. Took lots of pictures, sat on another warm rock and gazed with awe at the beauty surrounding us.
The Liberty Springs Trail down was not as difficult for me as the Old Bridle Path was when we descended Lafayette. I had taken several doses of Ibuprofen during the day, stayed hydrated, and took out the poles for the steeper parts of the descent. It was a beautiful walk in the woods, not too wet and the footing was solid. Lots of rocks but not too many loose ones. We hit the parking lot at 4:43pm, feeling tired but good. We sat on the curb enjoying a cold drink before actually lying down on the sidewalk and letting the sun and the day and our accomplishment sink into our tired legs. It felt soooooo good.
We are hoping to take next Tuesday to climb Galehead and Garfield. We are hooked!
We hit the trail at 8:41am and walked the short span of trail before reaching the bike path. A couple of tenths of a mile later and we turned off on the Liberty Springs Trail. I had done a lot of research on the Flume Slide Trail before we decided to do it. It had rained so hard earlier in the week that I was concerned the rocks would be too wet to climb safely. But we both wanted the challenge so badly that we just decided to go for it. We walked through sun dappled greenery, low branches encroaching on the trail. It was obvious that the Flume Slide Trail was not one of the more heavily used trails in the Whites. The first couple of miles were very civilized. Bird songs accompanied us as we crossed several brooks before finding ourselves at the bottom of the slide.
For some reason I thought that the trail was going to be much more exposed than it was; instead the trees and woods bordering the trail were very close and very handy. The rocks were wet as I had suspected so we had to be especially careful before putting full weight on every foothold. And, yes, we did some bushwhacking through the woods on the sides of the trail. We almost missed the right hand jog but someone had built a cairn and that helped. I loved how my body felt as I pulled and pushed my way up the side of the mountain. We felt great and loved the challenge.
When we finally poked our heads above tree line, a crisp breeze and an incredible view met us. Wowsers. The craggy side of Flume was breathtaking so we sat in the sun on a warm rock, took off boots and socks, and ate lunch on the summit at 12:20pm. We had almost finished when another couple of women with a very friendly Retriever arrived at the summit for their lunch. We started for Liberty a little before 1pm – the summit looked so far away.
We descended for what seemed like a long time before we finally began ascending again. The view of Flume through the deadfall on our way up and seeing how far we had come in so short a time rallied our spirits and we hit the summit of Liberty at 1:45. What a beautiful peak! I loved the rocks and the views. Took lots of pictures, sat on another warm rock and gazed with awe at the beauty surrounding us.
The Liberty Springs Trail down was not as difficult for me as the Old Bridle Path was when we descended Lafayette. I had taken several doses of Ibuprofen during the day, stayed hydrated, and took out the poles for the steeper parts of the descent. It was a beautiful walk in the woods, not too wet and the footing was solid. Lots of rocks but not too many loose ones. We hit the parking lot at 4:43pm, feeling tired but good. We sat on the curb enjoying a cold drink before actually lying down on the sidewalk and letting the sun and the day and our accomplishment sink into our tired legs. It felt soooooo good.
We are hoping to take next Tuesday to climb Galehead and Garfield. We are hooked!
