ctsparrow
New member
Short stride is my son, 12 year old Nate. It has taken about a week to figure out how to attach photo's, so hopefully this attempt will be successful.
Bondcliff: 8/29/08 Was forecast to be a beautiful day. We started early and mentally treated the hike like it didn't start until the Bondcliff Trl. The old logging road that parallels the brook was pretty rocky, and a small cut refreshing trickle was flowing at the last crossing to enjoy on the way in and out. It has been since 2002 ( I finished my 48 on this peak) for my last visit. The upper section seems far rockier to me than i remember, is it my memory or 6 additional years of erosion? Anyway, we topped out on the cliffs and even though it was cloudier than i hoped...clouds were hung up on Lafayette, there was certainly much to be seen and enjoy. We toyed with the idea of going to Bond again for the view as weather was suboptimal both time i have been there and the one time he was there...super hazy. But due to my dog spending a 12 hour day alone, we enjoyed Bondcliff for as long as we could before heading down. My son decorated a hat prior to these last couple hikes with all the names of the 48 except what will be his last one..liberty. I also took pictures of him facing approx west as i moved around him for 360 vws. This was my third visit, it is a place worth visiting more...we met a woman on top...it had been 30 years since her last visit and she was really drinking it in!
Flume & Liberty:8/31/08
My son was totally stoked to visit the famed Flume Slide Trl, it had been quite awhile since i had climbed it, but knowing the finally drier conditions i wasn't too worried about the ledges. We made good time to the bottom of the slide with the rocky outflow. Up higher noticed some pronounced bank erosion above areas of the trail. Nate LOVED the slide. Being Labor Day weekend, there was a good number of fellow hikers going our way, some more timid than others on the ledges, but as they all learned he was finishing his 48 they were rooting him on. I called him monkey boy...just lean forward and grab those rocks/ledges with hands, feet, knees...whatever, sometimes it seemed he choose the tougher routes on purpose! After the slide it's still a grind to the ridge, he went ahead of me to enjoy a snack. Quickly we were on top of Flume with it's magnificent cliffs. The wind was refreshing, but blowing dust into the eyes abit. We hung out to enjoy it, snapped some pics back at Bondcliff where we had been 2 days earlier and headed out to Liberty. We met several hikers doing the over and back from Liberty. Nate was so amped to get to Liberty I had to put him behind me for the final ascent so I could keep up!! Also i went ahead of him to the summit..the only peak i didn't let him go first...so i could enroll the help of some volunteers to blow on some noise makers to welcome him with some pomp and circumstance. They came up with the idea to hold their poles crossed overhead for him to ascend under to the summit. It was fun!! Everyone up there came up to him to congratulate him, and he had a great day view wise, weather wise, and fellow hiker community wise.
It has been a pleasure and a challenge to revisit all the 48 over the last four years with him. Some i vow to never return to again, but somehow those vows fall by the wayside. He wants to achieve all the NE 4K's so we will continue on until he decides hangin' out with his mom in the woods isn't cool anymore!!
It's been a fun ride...ctsparrow
Hopefully the pics and video will now attach via webshots...here goes.
see attachment a few posts below...thanks!!
Bondcliff: 8/29/08 Was forecast to be a beautiful day. We started early and mentally treated the hike like it didn't start until the Bondcliff Trl. The old logging road that parallels the brook was pretty rocky, and a small cut refreshing trickle was flowing at the last crossing to enjoy on the way in and out. It has been since 2002 ( I finished my 48 on this peak) for my last visit. The upper section seems far rockier to me than i remember, is it my memory or 6 additional years of erosion? Anyway, we topped out on the cliffs and even though it was cloudier than i hoped...clouds were hung up on Lafayette, there was certainly much to be seen and enjoy. We toyed with the idea of going to Bond again for the view as weather was suboptimal both time i have been there and the one time he was there...super hazy. But due to my dog spending a 12 hour day alone, we enjoyed Bondcliff for as long as we could before heading down. My son decorated a hat prior to these last couple hikes with all the names of the 48 except what will be his last one..liberty. I also took pictures of him facing approx west as i moved around him for 360 vws. This was my third visit, it is a place worth visiting more...we met a woman on top...it had been 30 years since her last visit and she was really drinking it in!
Flume & Liberty:8/31/08
My son was totally stoked to visit the famed Flume Slide Trl, it had been quite awhile since i had climbed it, but knowing the finally drier conditions i wasn't too worried about the ledges. We made good time to the bottom of the slide with the rocky outflow. Up higher noticed some pronounced bank erosion above areas of the trail. Nate LOVED the slide. Being Labor Day weekend, there was a good number of fellow hikers going our way, some more timid than others on the ledges, but as they all learned he was finishing his 48 they were rooting him on. I called him monkey boy...just lean forward and grab those rocks/ledges with hands, feet, knees...whatever, sometimes it seemed he choose the tougher routes on purpose! After the slide it's still a grind to the ridge, he went ahead of me to enjoy a snack. Quickly we were on top of Flume with it's magnificent cliffs. The wind was refreshing, but blowing dust into the eyes abit. We hung out to enjoy it, snapped some pics back at Bondcliff where we had been 2 days earlier and headed out to Liberty. We met several hikers doing the over and back from Liberty. Nate was so amped to get to Liberty I had to put him behind me for the final ascent so I could keep up!! Also i went ahead of him to the summit..the only peak i didn't let him go first...so i could enroll the help of some volunteers to blow on some noise makers to welcome him with some pomp and circumstance. They came up with the idea to hold their poles crossed overhead for him to ascend under to the summit. It was fun!! Everyone up there came up to him to congratulate him, and he had a great day view wise, weather wise, and fellow hiker community wise.
It has been a pleasure and a challenge to revisit all the 48 over the last four years with him. Some i vow to never return to again, but somehow those vows fall by the wayside. He wants to achieve all the NE 4K's so we will continue on until he decides hangin' out with his mom in the woods isn't cool anymore!!
It's been a fun ride...ctsparrow
Hopefully the pics and video will now attach via webshots...here goes.
see attachment a few posts below...thanks!!
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