Though the Waterville trailhead for the Tripyramids is about a dozen miles from home I rarely hike those peaks, and have never previously done them solo. Since I am trying to add some variety to my hiking this year I decided to do them today.
I have done the classic loop up the North Slide and down the South Slide, and definitely did not want to go up the North Slide alone, and had absolutely no desire to go down the South Slide as I had found it rather unpleasant when I did it. My original plan was to go up Scaur Ridge and Pine Bend Brook trails, add Middle Tripyramid if I felt in the mood, and return the same way.
I cruised up the Livermore Road and was feeling in great shape (relative to my normal shape, which is rather pathetic these days
). When I reached the south end of the Tripyramid loop I decided to try going up the South Slide; it would be more aerobic work than going down, but I am much more comfortable going up steep stuff than down it.
The part of the Tripyramid Trail before the slide is a delightful walk in the woods, gentle grades and excellent footing. then I reached the slide. The footing is as bad as I recalled; lots of loose gravel. It is also very steep, with one or two genuine scrambles. Hard work, but less unpleasant going up than down.
The trail over the three summits is, by and large, easy, with reasonable grades and mostly good footing almost all the way. I had a leisurely lunch at the outlook on Middle Tripyramid, with excellent views of Sandwich Dome, Welch and Dickey, Tecumseh and Osceola, with the impressive bulk of Moosilauke between the last two. Lots of more distant mountains (presumably in Vermont) that I could not identify.
After reaching North Tripyramid we get the steep and rocky descent on the Pine Brook Trail, which eases substantially a bit before the junction with the Scaur Ridge Trail. This is another delightful trail, with excellent footing and just steep enough for gravity to give me a boost going down.
The final 3.8 miles down Livermore Road were not exactly the high point of the trip, but unlike the Wilderness Trail this road at least has lots of curves, and for most of its distance goes down enough to get a boost from gravity.
I just checked out the South Slide in Steve Smith's book Wandering Through the White Mountains; he says the trail goes up 1,000 feet in 0.6 miles Easier than the North Slide, which goes up 1,200 feet in 0.5 miles!
I have done the classic loop up the North Slide and down the South Slide, and definitely did not want to go up the North Slide alone, and had absolutely no desire to go down the South Slide as I had found it rather unpleasant when I did it. My original plan was to go up Scaur Ridge and Pine Bend Brook trails, add Middle Tripyramid if I felt in the mood, and return the same way.
I cruised up the Livermore Road and was feeling in great shape (relative to my normal shape, which is rather pathetic these days
). When I reached the south end of the Tripyramid loop I decided to try going up the South Slide; it would be more aerobic work than going down, but I am much more comfortable going up steep stuff than down it.The part of the Tripyramid Trail before the slide is a delightful walk in the woods, gentle grades and excellent footing. then I reached the slide. The footing is as bad as I recalled; lots of loose gravel. It is also very steep, with one or two genuine scrambles. Hard work, but less unpleasant going up than down.
The trail over the three summits is, by and large, easy, with reasonable grades and mostly good footing almost all the way. I had a leisurely lunch at the outlook on Middle Tripyramid, with excellent views of Sandwich Dome, Welch and Dickey, Tecumseh and Osceola, with the impressive bulk of Moosilauke between the last two. Lots of more distant mountains (presumably in Vermont) that I could not identify.
After reaching North Tripyramid we get the steep and rocky descent on the Pine Brook Trail, which eases substantially a bit before the junction with the Scaur Ridge Trail. This is another delightful trail, with excellent footing and just steep enough for gravity to give me a boost going down.
The final 3.8 miles down Livermore Road were not exactly the high point of the trip, but unlike the Wilderness Trail this road at least has lots of curves, and for most of its distance goes down enough to get a boost from gravity.
I just checked out the South Slide in Steve Smith's book Wandering Through the White Mountains; he says the trail goes up 1,000 feet in 0.6 miles
Easier than the North Slide, which goes up 1,200 feet in 0.5 miles!
