Roxi
Active member
Liberty & Flume 9/1/2006
I am so sick of unpacking and felt a NEED to get away from the sea of boxes calling my name, demanding to be opened and emptied of their contents. So having today off from work, and it offering possibly the best weather of the weekend, I decided to hike. One of the advantages of living up here now is that I can hike AND actually get other things done too in the same day! The cable guy came at 9 and reconnected me to cyber space, the plumber came at 10 and made sure my gas fireplace was working properly, I ran some errands, filled my car with gas, and drove to the southern end of the notch. I was on the trailhead for Liberty & Flume at 12:15. Clouds marched quietly across the sky allowing the sun to shine from time to time. The Whitehouse, Liberty Spring, and Franconia Ridge Trails were dry and easily traversed, stream crossings were no problem, and trail signs were well placed. I met the Liberty Spring Campground caretaker, Anthony, who was doing some trail maintenance. He was extremely nice and we chatted for a little bit. I passed over a half dozen people on the way up, and probably about the same number were coming down.
One guy who said he had sprained his ankle came down slowly with two hiking sticks, having dropped his pack earlier to reduce the weight on his ankle. I offered to help, but he said he had taken some ibuprofen, called his family (some of whom were in the parking lot), and expected one of them to go back for his pack. He thanked me for my offer for help, but said he didn't need it and continued on. So did I.
I arrived at the open ledges where you get your first glimpse of Liberty’s majestic summit. Wow! I was impressed! Liberty was everything I imagined she would be - a massive rocky outcrop, strong and impressive, deserving of having Old Glory fly from her summit every day of the year proudly proclaiming her name and what it stands for. I continued onto the summit and sat on one of the many stone seats she offers. Eating my pb&j sandwich and orange, I looked out at a 360 degree view that offered amazing vistas of the many mountains I have already visited. Bondcliff was bathed in sunlight, Mt. Bond smiling from above it, with West Bond nearby. Guyot sat back relaxing, while South Twin taunted me to test my knees on it again. North Twin snickered next door. Galehead looked out over the Pemi, Garfield stood tall like a guardian, while the rest of Franconia Ridge looked back to see who was on its more southern end. Owl’s Head slept.
I looked over at Flume. It looked desolate, barren, and cold. I decided to continue on, grabbing a “twofer” for the day. The trail over was interesting with some steep downs and ups interspersed with fairly level footing. The hike up Flume was more gradual than I knew the hike back to Liberty would be. I was expecting this peak to be a quick “bag” and return, but I was wrong. As I neared the top, the sun broke free of the gray clouds and bathed Flume’s rugged stone ledges with warm rays welcoming me to its summit. It was as if Flume was happy to have company. The views it offered from its pinnacle were compelling. I walked down its narrow ledge to where the trail seems to drop off into nowhere, and was glad I wasn’t going down that way. Returning to the summit, I sat for a while, admiring the beauty surrounding this harsh environment. I didn’t expect to enjoy Flume so thoroughly, and I found it hard to leave. I know I will return, on a sunny day, and soak up the warmth radiating from ledges bathed in sunlight.
Liberty called. I returned to her, paid my respects and offered my apologies for not being on her next Saturday for the Flags on the 48. She deserves the stars and stripes atop her waving proudly in the wind....and so does her more introverted sister, Flume. Two great peaks on a Friday afternoon. I love living here!
I am so sick of unpacking and felt a NEED to get away from the sea of boxes calling my name, demanding to be opened and emptied of their contents. So having today off from work, and it offering possibly the best weather of the weekend, I decided to hike. One of the advantages of living up here now is that I can hike AND actually get other things done too in the same day! The cable guy came at 9 and reconnected me to cyber space, the plumber came at 10 and made sure my gas fireplace was working properly, I ran some errands, filled my car with gas, and drove to the southern end of the notch. I was on the trailhead for Liberty & Flume at 12:15. Clouds marched quietly across the sky allowing the sun to shine from time to time. The Whitehouse, Liberty Spring, and Franconia Ridge Trails were dry and easily traversed, stream crossings were no problem, and trail signs were well placed. I met the Liberty Spring Campground caretaker, Anthony, who was doing some trail maintenance. He was extremely nice and we chatted for a little bit. I passed over a half dozen people on the way up, and probably about the same number were coming down.
One guy who said he had sprained his ankle came down slowly with two hiking sticks, having dropped his pack earlier to reduce the weight on his ankle. I offered to help, but he said he had taken some ibuprofen, called his family (some of whom were in the parking lot), and expected one of them to go back for his pack. He thanked me for my offer for help, but said he didn't need it and continued on. So did I.
I arrived at the open ledges where you get your first glimpse of Liberty’s majestic summit. Wow! I was impressed! Liberty was everything I imagined she would be - a massive rocky outcrop, strong and impressive, deserving of having Old Glory fly from her summit every day of the year proudly proclaiming her name and what it stands for. I continued onto the summit and sat on one of the many stone seats she offers. Eating my pb&j sandwich and orange, I looked out at a 360 degree view that offered amazing vistas of the many mountains I have already visited. Bondcliff was bathed in sunlight, Mt. Bond smiling from above it, with West Bond nearby. Guyot sat back relaxing, while South Twin taunted me to test my knees on it again. North Twin snickered next door. Galehead looked out over the Pemi, Garfield stood tall like a guardian, while the rest of Franconia Ridge looked back to see who was on its more southern end. Owl’s Head slept.
I looked over at Flume. It looked desolate, barren, and cold. I decided to continue on, grabbing a “twofer” for the day. The trail over was interesting with some steep downs and ups interspersed with fairly level footing. The hike up Flume was more gradual than I knew the hike back to Liberty would be. I was expecting this peak to be a quick “bag” and return, but I was wrong. As I neared the top, the sun broke free of the gray clouds and bathed Flume’s rugged stone ledges with warm rays welcoming me to its summit. It was as if Flume was happy to have company. The views it offered from its pinnacle were compelling. I walked down its narrow ledge to where the trail seems to drop off into nowhere, and was glad I wasn’t going down that way. Returning to the summit, I sat for a while, admiring the beauty surrounding this harsh environment. I didn’t expect to enjoy Flume so thoroughly, and I found it hard to leave. I know I will return, on a sunny day, and soak up the warmth radiating from ledges bathed in sunlight.
Liberty called. I returned to her, paid my respects and offered my apologies for not being on her next Saturday for the Flags on the 48. She deserves the stars and stripes atop her waving proudly in the wind....and so does her more introverted sister, Flume. Two great peaks on a Friday afternoon. I love living here!
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