Mt. Flume, August 20, 2009

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TrishandAlex

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Location
White Mountains, NH
Cut and pasted from our hiking blog: http://trishandalex.blogspot.com/
Accompanying pictures and video can be found there.
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Lincoln Woods Trail, Osseo Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail.

11.2 miles, roundtrip.

Next weekend we will finish the Four Thousand Footers on Mt. Moosilauke. It's been an interesting 14 months of growth for both Alex and myself. We have shared many joyous moments of deep connection to our beautiful Mother Earth. We've learned quite a few life lessons as we've huffed, puffed, postholed, sweated, frozen, climbed, fallen, and gotten back up. The two of us have drawn strength from each other in moments of physical and emotional stress. I could not have asked for a better 4K hiking partner (except, of course, for Sage, if she ever chooses to embark upon the same quest).

I will always remember these times with Alex. It is my hope that for the rest of her childhood and beyond, she looks back fondly on our adventures chasing New Hampshire's highest peaks.

For nostalgia's sake, I politely declined the company of other people for Flume, our 47th peak. I wanted one last hike alone with my daughter.

Our original ascent route included Flume's slide. However, after the Owl's Head slide and the Tripyramid slides, Alex decided she was all slided out. We had heard many nice things about Osseo Trail, so we chose to use that approach instead.

We reached Lincoln Woods and started on our way.

After 30 minutes of hiking, we reached Osseo Trail.

Osseo Trail is very mellow. The footing is excellent, the grades are mostly easy, and the birch trees are lovely.

Along the way, we noticed quite a few of these (seven, to be exact):

Upon reaching the first of the stone steps (at the 3.5 mile mark), we sat down and took a water break.

Then up we went, stopping every now and then to admire fungi.

We soon came across the ladders. Climbing these wooden steps is a sinch...much easier than trying to haul ourselves up over steep rocks and roots.

Now one mile from the summit, we took an early lunch break. A sign saying "downlook" guided us to an appropriate rest spot.

After sating ourselves, we continued on our way.

The trail flattened out after the last of the ladders, giving our sore knees a welcome reprieve from the steep climbing.

Shouts of "wooooot" were heard in the distance as we approached the intersection with the Flume Slide Trail. There appeared to be a couple of male hikers who had just finished their climb and were very happy about it.

We reached the trail sign indicating that we were only a tenth of a mile from the summit. The joyous male hikers remained ahead of us, whooping and hollering with glee.

We climbed a few dozen feet and came out onto a rocky ledge, where we met the two joyous men. They both seemed ecstatic to be up there...well, who wouldn't be? We exchanged a few pleasantries and continued toward the summit.

Once at the summit, one of the men offered to take our picture. He was kind and took a bunch of shots. Later, when I asked Alex which one she wanted in our blog, she asked that I post the following three.

Clouds covered the sky, but they didn't totally obscure the views.

Out came the whoopie pies, and the two of us lounged around for 45 minutes eating, drinking, and feeling fine.

Eventually the clouds drifted away, and I was able to get a clear view of Mt. Garfield in the distance.

We waved to nearby Mt. Liberty before leaving Flume's highest point....

...then we dropped down a few dozen feet to the ledge nearest the trees. Here we lounged about for a few minutes more, Alex drawing a summit picture and me admiring the now-clear vista.

When we were ready, we bade farewell to the views and headed back down into the woods.

The hike down was routine, Alex moving at a fast pace and me periodically asking her to slow down. We covered the 4.1 miles back to Lincoln Woods Trail in about two hours. Along the way, we discussed a variety of topics, including how to deal with sexist boys, germ theory and Swine Flu, and how much better descents are when the trail is covered in snow.

Upon reaching Lincoln Woods Trail, we both sat and rested by the nearby stream.

A flat 1.5 miles later and we were back where we had started.

Our total time was just under 9 hours, and that includes our 45 minute rest on the summit.

Next stop: Mt. Moosilauke on August 29.
 
Trish,

Excellent choice for your 47th! About a month ago I did the same route as you and Alex did. Flume is one of my favorite peaks and the Osseo trail is now my favorite way to get there. Lots of interesting and varied terrain. Did you see the purple mushrooms along the way? I'm not sure if they would still be there, but it was the first time I saw them, very special. And lounging on top of Flume, soaking in the sun, is just wonderful. I'm so glad to hear that you and your daughter chose to make this a special hike for just the two of you. You've created so many wonderful memories with her. Many good wishes for you two on your 48th next weekend. Enjoy!

Roxi
P.S. I'm with Alex on hiking any trail with "slide" in its name, for the same reasons: Owls Head slide and Tripyramid slide.
 
A nice photographic journey Trish, very well done, though I am self-admittedly generous in applause over the trail we maintain. Glad you enjoyed it and hope you'll return to it again sometime in the future.

Congrats on closing in on the Goal. Unfortunately we can't make the big finish but perhaps we'll all meet at the Awards Dinner next April. It will be neat to be in the same "Class of" with you guys..um,..uh...gals.
 
Way to go you two! Really nice one for the next-to-last summit too! What better way to celebrate than with whoopie pies - a whole lot better than trail mix. Wish we could be there next Saturday to celebrate the finish with you. We'll be thinking about you for sure.
 
Thanks, everyone!

MadRiver, we're looking forward to next week as well. Will Susan be joining us? I hope so.

Also, MadRiver, let it be known that we could not have done Willey or Isolation without you. Well, we could have, but not on those particular days with those particular weather problems. So thanks -- much obliged, we owe you.

Silverfox, thank you, and I hope to see you next week. Congratulations on your recovery process!

Paradox, thanks, and looking forward to meeting you soon.

Mark, thanks for the congrats. Alex remembers meeting you on Jackson last year for Flags on the 48. Hopefully we'll run into you again sometime. I always enjoy your TRs so keep 'em coming.

Roxie -- no purple mushrooms but a ton of frogs! We did enjoy Osseo, it's a great trail and I look forward to repeating it sometime.

FisherCat -- awesome job on Osseo! It was a great trail, you deserve a ton of credit for making that hike so enjoyable for so many people. It never felt difficult and it was a nice way to reach a peak. Thanks for all your hard work. :)
 
What a beautiful hike -- and how lucky is Alex to have a Mom such as you??

My Mom is 72, and she is an integral part of my peakbagging quests, being the voice on the other end of the cell phone, keeping me awake on long, late night drives home from the mountains; always listening to every word and savoring the description of each adventure, she says, "You are making memories that will last you a lifetime and keep you young at heart when your body is old and no longer able to climb"....I have NO DOUBT that Alex will have a wellspring of memories generated by these hikes with her Mom and I hope I know her when she becomes a grown woman, because I can't fathom she'd be anything short of incredible.:)

See you next weekend!!
 
Clouds covered the sky, but they didn't totally obscure the views.
Trish, I hope the viewing conditions on Flume were such that you could see Moosilauke, the finishing point for your fantastic voyage.

Very well-written and entertaining report, as always!:)
 
FisherCat -- awesome job on Osseo! It was a great trail, you deserve a ton of credit for making that hike so enjoyable for so many people. It never felt difficult and it was a nice way to reach a peak. Thanks for all your hard work. :)

Thanks Trish, but its not just me, its also my wife-Klutzy Cat, her sister and her husband, Forester Jake. Its a family effort.
 
una_dogger, thanks for your kind words. I do hope that she has a lot of nice memories from our trips, and that she doesn't remember the few trips where we had mother-daughter issues for the entire hike. For the vast majority of the 48, we had a grand time. However, Cannon and the Kinsmans were unpleasant because we had mom-kid spats all day long ("be careful, don't jump on those rocks" ... "I KNOW, Stop TELLING me"... "Watch your tone of voice, Alex" <eye rolls galore> Something about that Range brought out the ornery in us. Wait -- isn't Moosilauke technically part of that range? Uh-oh.

Forestgnome and 1HappyHiker, thank you! :)

FisherCat -- many thanks to your wife and your in-laws too! Seriously great trail maintenance.
 
Way to go Trish and Alex. I've only done Flume once, and it was up the slide. The Lincoln woods approach seems to be the most popular. I need to check it out some day. Well, your quest is in sight. I may be joining the party, not sure yet. Have a great hike either way!
Great Job!
Petch
 
Awesome journey

Trish -- I am in awe of your journey with your daughter. It is just beautiful. It is so full of strength and courage and energy and love. It really touches me. I so admire you both and the incredible bond you must share together as a result of this hiking journey.

Thank you for sharing it through your trip reports. They are an inspiration.

Enjoy your 48th. A celebration together, mother and daughter, with VFTT friends cheering you on...what a blessing!

Wowser
 
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