^MtnMike^
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 212
- Reaction score
- 35
Pictures for this trip are HERE
I decided to do the Tripyramids since I've been wanting to do the slides since I started hiking. The drive to Waterville Valley is not a fast one for me and the skies didn't look too friendly. I hoped the rain would hold off until the late afternoon like the weatherman said it would. At 8:30 I finally arrived at the Livermore trailhead. After a quick gear check I headed out. The first mile of the Livermore Rd has many side trails, which I like. I always tend to over estimate my distance traveled so having landmarks every few tenths of a mile really helps me know exactly how far I've gone. It also breaks up the hike -- Instead of telling myself I've got 3.6 miles to go until the north slide trail I can break up the trail into small sections.
I missed the sign for the South Slide and shortly before the North Slide trail I thought to myself, "I haven't hit the South Slide yet? I must be making horrible time". 30 seconds later I was at the North Slide trail and thought, "wow, I made pretty good time". 3.6 miles in one hour, nothing compared to some of the people on here, especially on a dirt road with only 800 ft of gain, but for a slowpoke like me that's a pretty damn good!
I took a drink break and headed onto the trail.
I love scrambling and steep exposed trails, so I get really psyched when I'm getting close to the section of a hike containing the "good stuff". As I started up the base of the slide I knew I was going to love this trail. Already lots of climbing! A short way up the slide the sun decided to peak out for a short while. I hoped it might clear up even more but no such luck. I can't complain though, the cloud cover was high so I still had great views of the Osceolas and Tecumseh!
About half way up the slide 3 or 4 A-10 thunderbolts screamed overhead doing maneuvers. I managed to snap a picture of one as it passed. Wow they are fast!
The slide was shorter than I expected, but also steeper (weee!). I made it to the summit and sat down for some lunch. A short time later a woman reached the summit. She, Lisa, had also come up the North Slide. We chatted for a while and before we knew it an hour had passed. We both had the same hiking plan so we decided to team up, we were both solo hiking this one and so we each welcomed the other's company. We made good time over to the middle summit and stopped for a few minutes to say high to some other hikers and snap some pictures from the view area. Next it was over to the south summit and down to the South Slide.
The slide was fun, but deceptive, since it enters the woods a couple of times making you think you've finished it... only to pop back out onto the slide minutes later. Lots of slipping and sliding and I managed to fall flat on my ass once. Had a good laugh about that.
Just as we got to the base of the slide it began to rain. Perfect timing!
The rest of the south slide trail is very flat and we made great time back to Livermore road. From there it was back to the cars with a short stop at the giant Boulder on the Boulder Path.
Lisa gave me a cold soda from her cooler (a great treat since I hadn't bothered to pack my cooler today), we said our goodbyes, and I headed home.
A great hike even with the cloudy weather! Number 11 and 12 down! 36 still to go
Also, for anyone curious (I posted a question a week or two ago asking about the fastest way to Waterville Valley from the Maine border at Rt. 25 or Rt. 302):
I took 302 to Conway, hopped on the Kanc, shot over to 93, and took that down to Tripoli rd. on the way up this morning.
On the way home I took 49 to 93, got off and went east on 25 back into Maine.
Both trips took me about 3 hours total (to/from my home).
^MtnMike^
I decided to do the Tripyramids since I've been wanting to do the slides since I started hiking. The drive to Waterville Valley is not a fast one for me and the skies didn't look too friendly. I hoped the rain would hold off until the late afternoon like the weatherman said it would. At 8:30 I finally arrived at the Livermore trailhead. After a quick gear check I headed out. The first mile of the Livermore Rd has many side trails, which I like. I always tend to over estimate my distance traveled so having landmarks every few tenths of a mile really helps me know exactly how far I've gone. It also breaks up the hike -- Instead of telling myself I've got 3.6 miles to go until the north slide trail I can break up the trail into small sections.
I missed the sign for the South Slide and shortly before the North Slide trail I thought to myself, "I haven't hit the South Slide yet? I must be making horrible time". 30 seconds later I was at the North Slide trail and thought, "wow, I made pretty good time". 3.6 miles in one hour, nothing compared to some of the people on here, especially on a dirt road with only 800 ft of gain, but for a slowpoke like me that's a pretty damn good!
I took a drink break and headed onto the trail.
I love scrambling and steep exposed trails, so I get really psyched when I'm getting close to the section of a hike containing the "good stuff". As I started up the base of the slide I knew I was going to love this trail. Already lots of climbing! A short way up the slide the sun decided to peak out for a short while. I hoped it might clear up even more but no such luck. I can't complain though, the cloud cover was high so I still had great views of the Osceolas and Tecumseh!
About half way up the slide 3 or 4 A-10 thunderbolts screamed overhead doing maneuvers. I managed to snap a picture of one as it passed. Wow they are fast!
The slide was shorter than I expected, but also steeper (weee!). I made it to the summit and sat down for some lunch. A short time later a woman reached the summit. She, Lisa, had also come up the North Slide. We chatted for a while and before we knew it an hour had passed. We both had the same hiking plan so we decided to team up, we were both solo hiking this one and so we each welcomed the other's company. We made good time over to the middle summit and stopped for a few minutes to say high to some other hikers and snap some pictures from the view area. Next it was over to the south summit and down to the South Slide.
The slide was fun, but deceptive, since it enters the woods a couple of times making you think you've finished it... only to pop back out onto the slide minutes later. Lots of slipping and sliding and I managed to fall flat on my ass once. Had a good laugh about that.
Just as we got to the base of the slide it began to rain. Perfect timing!
The rest of the south slide trail is very flat and we made great time back to Livermore road. From there it was back to the cars with a short stop at the giant Boulder on the Boulder Path.
Lisa gave me a cold soda from her cooler (a great treat since I hadn't bothered to pack my cooler today), we said our goodbyes, and I headed home.
A great hike even with the cloudy weather! Number 11 and 12 down! 36 still to go
Also, for anyone curious (I posted a question a week or two ago asking about the fastest way to Waterville Valley from the Maine border at Rt. 25 or Rt. 302):
I took 302 to Conway, hopped on the Kanc, shot over to 93, and took that down to Tripoli rd. on the way up this morning.
On the way home I took 49 to 93, got off and went east on 25 back into Maine.
Both trips took me about 3 hours total (to/from my home).
^MtnMike^
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