NH_Mtn_Hiker
New member
After WSC and I met across from the Willey House site, we spotted a car at the north end of Crawford Notch then returned to the parking lot across from the site of that infamous mud slide that took the lives of Sam Willey and his family back in 1826.
At 8:30 we crossed the bridge next to the little pond, followed the trail a short distance, then whacked our way up to the lower end of the southern most slide on the side of Webster Cliff.
The lower end of the slide was made up of dry smooth rocks and we made our way up easily until we reached the slab. The slab was a section of polished white rock about 50' wide and roughly 500' long that would prove too slippery for our hiking boots. I think the white powder, likely the same salty stuff as that on the Osceola Slide, was most of the reason the rock was so slippery. I chose to climb out of the slide on the right side and bushwhack for a bit while WSC chose to traverse along the edge of the gravel bank on the left side. At one point where the slab leveled off a bit he decided to give the smooth rock another chance. After gaining about 50' he lost his footing and slid back to where he'd started losing a water bottle in the process. I watched it tumble down the slide out of sight. I'll have to go back and get that for my collection someday.
WSC finished that section on the gravel bank.
After getting above the slippery slab we were faced with a pair of walls across the slide. The first one we got by on the left side of with some fun class 3 scrambling. The second wall, however was a bit more of a problem. WSC took the the gravel slide on the far right side while, with the aid of a tree, I climbed the wall's left side.
Beyond the walls the sides of the slide began getting taller and steeper. Several times we came to obstacles in the slide and had to climb out and around. Bypassing the obstacles became harder and harder. In the last couple hundred feet of the slide the crumbly rock gave way to all gravel. The last 50' or so took us about 30 minutes, but with alot of sweat and a little blood we managed to reach the top of the slide 2 hrs 45 min. after we started.
From the top of the slide it was an easy whack to the Webster Cliff Trail. From several places along the trail, just as on the slide, we had excellent views of Crawford Notch and the surrounding mountains. After bagging Mt. Webster, and checking out another slide, we visited Mt. Jackson before descending the Webster-Jackson Trail to Crawford Notch.
I'd like to thank WSC for being gullible enough to join me on my most challenging slide to date. ...and I'd like to thank Mother Nature for such Great weather.
Pics are here.
At 8:30 we crossed the bridge next to the little pond, followed the trail a short distance, then whacked our way up to the lower end of the southern most slide on the side of Webster Cliff.
The lower end of the slide was made up of dry smooth rocks and we made our way up easily until we reached the slab. The slab was a section of polished white rock about 50' wide and roughly 500' long that would prove too slippery for our hiking boots. I think the white powder, likely the same salty stuff as that on the Osceola Slide, was most of the reason the rock was so slippery. I chose to climb out of the slide on the right side and bushwhack for a bit while WSC chose to traverse along the edge of the gravel bank on the left side. At one point where the slab leveled off a bit he decided to give the smooth rock another chance. After gaining about 50' he lost his footing and slid back to where he'd started losing a water bottle in the process. I watched it tumble down the slide out of sight. I'll have to go back and get that for my collection someday.
WSC finished that section on the gravel bank. After getting above the slippery slab we were faced with a pair of walls across the slide. The first one we got by on the left side of with some fun class 3 scrambling. The second wall, however was a bit more of a problem. WSC took the the gravel slide on the far right side while, with the aid of a tree, I climbed the wall's left side.
Beyond the walls the sides of the slide began getting taller and steeper. Several times we came to obstacles in the slide and had to climb out and around. Bypassing the obstacles became harder and harder. In the last couple hundred feet of the slide the crumbly rock gave way to all gravel. The last 50' or so took us about 30 minutes, but with alot of sweat and a little blood we managed to reach the top of the slide 2 hrs 45 min. after we started.
From the top of the slide it was an easy whack to the Webster Cliff Trail. From several places along the trail, just as on the slide, we had excellent views of Crawford Notch and the surrounding mountains. After bagging Mt. Webster, and checking out another slide, we visited Mt. Jackson before descending the Webster-Jackson Trail to Crawford Notch.
I'd like to thank WSC for being gullible enough to join me on my most challenging slide to date.
...and I'd like to thank Mother Nature for such Great weather.Pics are here.
