Liberty and Flume

The weather on Sunday, June 24, was supposed to be great, so I headed up for a dayhike in Franconia Notch. I wasn't disappointed; actually, it was one of the nicest days I'd ever seen in the White Mountains. Clear, warm, dry, hardly a cloud in the sky. I parked in the lot that accesses "The Basin", a 20-foot-wide natural granite abyss, which is a geological wonder in and of itself. I was still unsure of my route; you can do Liberty and Flume as a loop, much like the Franconia Ridge loop, which usually refers to Lincoln and Lafayette. However, the Liberty/Flume loop is also uses the Franconia Ridge to connect the two peaks (4,459 feet and 4,328 feet, respectively). And while the ridgewalk between Lincoln and Lafayette is above treeline and the views are more sweeping and majestic, this hike is great too.

 

 The view from atop Liberty, looking East to Mt. Washington

Doing research on the trails I was planning to take, I read that the Flume Slide trail, the southern east-west leg of this loop, is extremely steep, and should not be taken in wet weather, or in winter. The AMC guide and a lot of information I found on line discouraged going down this trail; if it is to be attempted, it should be going up, and in good, dry weather.

So I decided to hike in Liberty Spring trail, summit Liberty, then walk along the (mostly wooded) ridge to Flume, then backtrack the way I came. That way I avoided Flume Slide and it didn't add much mileage. Especially hiking alone, and me being a sometimes-overly-cautious person in general, I decided to defer to the safer route.

Getting started at about 8:30, I accessed the trailhead by walking down a paved bike path, south from the Basin parking lot. I hadn't used one of these bike paths before, but it's a good idea; you can spot a bike along the path, so you can get back to your car if you don't want to do a loop.

The hike up Liberty Spring is quite nice, and not extremely difficult. It's flat and easy terrain for maybe half a mile, then after a brook crossing, the trail pitches up, pretty much relentlessly. After about an hour I stopped for a quick snack; I was hiking strong but needed to keep up my energy, especially in the muggy heat of the forest. I read recently that a break once an hour is a good rule of thumb, but quick, not too much more than ten minutes - so your muscles stay warm and you can get going again quickly. I like this advice, it seems to work for me.

Another half hour or so and I passed the Liberty Spring tent site; I pretty much blew past it but it seemed like a nice site, a heavy canvas tent for the caretaker, and a spring right off the trail, where a few people gathered.The trees started getting smaller and scrubbier, a clear sign you're starting to get up into the alpine zone, and the summit is near. The woods started to open up and the trail became brighter and started to flatten as it crests the ridge. A sign pointed me south to the Liberty summit, and withing minutes I scrambled up a large rock face to the top.

The weather was absolutely perfect. A few pillowy clouds lingered in the azure sky, and the visibility was excellent. You can see the whole ridge curve around like a giant horseshoe, to Garfield, Galehead, and the Bonds. Owl's Head lay in the foreground, looking diminutive against the massive mountains that sweep across the landscape. Washington stood boldy in the distance; I bet the views from there on a day like this would be astounding. But I was extremely happy with the view from Liberty; actually I think it's one of my favorites so far.

On the summit, a ham radio operator with a large portable antenna guyed out to rocks was listening intently to headphones while fiddling with his equipment. I started talking to a woman who had her map out and was comparing it against the landscape; we chatted a while, she gave me a lot of good advice about choosing my upcoming hikes. The sun had warmed the granite, the wind was tame, and I didn't even put on an extra layer (a first this year on a summit). The muggy woods had made me extremely sweaty but I dried quickly as I sat and took it all in. Nothing like being at the top of a mountain like this to put things in perspective; I feel liberated by my own insignificance, awestruck by the perfection of nature, my mind clear of worry and anxiety. I stayed up there for a while.

On the way back down I stopped at the Liberty Springs site to refill water at the spring. I didn't bother treating it, which is a chance I took - it's recommended you treat all back country water sources chemically, with a filter, or boiling - but it was fine, sweet and ice cold. I met a guy on the trail who had been walking the ridge south from Lafayette, and overshot the Falling Waters path; he took a right on Liberty Springs and caught up with me, and we chatted on the way down. He'd gotten an inadequate paper map from the Flume visitor center, and it wasn't meant for hiking. After we got back to my car, I gave him a ride back to his starting point at the Lafayette campground, where he would have wound up if not for overshooting his intended trail. I gladly returned the hiker karma I received when I did the Carter-Range! It comes around, and goes around. I was back in Somerville before dark.

What I didn't need: rain jacket. I have a Marmot Precip that I'm actually not fond of. It doesn't really keep you very dry and I just sweat more when I wear it, getting wet either way. It is good for cutting wind on a chilly summit, but it was warm and not too windy this time so I didn't use it.

What worked well: I'm liking my new Smartwool socks I got on sale at Kittery Trading Post. Mmmmm... Smartwool.