Mt. Flume and Mt. Liberty via the Flume Slide Trail

[KSearl]

Hey Everyone,

My buddy and I tackled Mount Flume and Mount Liberty this past weekend. The big challenge for me wasn't the peaks, though, it was the Flume Slide Trail. It's a trail I was nervous to try, but since my buddy had done it before, I felt pretty confident. It was certainly a steep trail, but a lot of fun.

It was to my surprise that Mount Liberty was a much more attractive peak than Mount Flume once we were able to compare the two. We could see 360 degrees in all directions and visibility was great. Mount Washington poked up over the Bonds and I could clearly make out the observatory with my camera.

It was really a great trip...also my longest hike ever, 10 miles. I was pretty sore afterward. We made it in 7 hours total, including 1.5 hours of summit breaks.

Below are some of my favorite pictures. If you'd like to read a more detailed report, please check out my blog here (http://livefreeandhikenh.blogspot.com/2010/09/mt-flume-mt-liberty-my-longest-journey.html).

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My buddy and his dog on the Flume Slide Trail, near the beginning of the slide

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My buddy scouting out our next move. He was definitely the brains behind getting us up the wet slide.

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Trying to capture the slide trail angle

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Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette from Mount Flume.

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Me looking down the Ridge on Mt. Flume.

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The Bonds from Liberty

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Moosilauke through some sun rays

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Cannon

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I think Mt. Guyot with MW in the background

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Mt. Washington over the Pemi...

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What an AWESOME day...

Karl

[ow2010]

Looks like an awesome hike, Karl! It's officially a goal of mine to bag that end of the Franconia Ridge...that and the other 42 peaks I still have to go. Those slides look like a great challenge.

Thanks for sharing the report and pictures!

[Snow Miser]

You guys had a nice day to bag Mounts Flume and Liberty. Some clouds mixed in with the blue sky always makes the views nice. The Flume Slide Trail looks challenging, but very doable. Very nice photos and TR! Thanks for sharing with us. :)

[Jimmy Legs and Little d]

Karl,
A more challenging hike seems to be so much sweeter when you complete it as you did with Liberty and Flume. More than once, we've read a trail description or talked to others and found that it really wasn't as bad as it was built up to be. I almost wanted to bail out of going up Beaver Brook Trail to Moosilauke after talking to a couple of hikers the day before we were to attempt the hike. Parts were challenging but not to the extreme these hikers made it seem.
I must confess though that Mt. Flume is one of our favorites as we had a picture perfect day and spent almost 2 hours on the summit.
Donna:)

[KSearl]

ow2010 - I would definitely recommend this loop to finish off the Ridge if you like a bit of a challenge. It's nice that your last peak is Liberty which is awesome too! The Liberty Springs Trail down is pretty easy on the knees after tough hike up the Slide.
Bob - I agree, the cloud cover gives it a bit of a dramatic look. It was a great day, both for hiking, photos...relaxing on the peaks.

Donna - Thanks and you're absolutely right. A few times now, people have told us how tough or steep a trail is...and after all is said and done, it wasn't that bad. I did anticipate that this Flume Slide Trail was going to be a lot tougher than it was. Although, I think if I were by myself, I would have had a lot harder time with it. I also had fun too. I think that makes a big difference. If you're on a challenging trail and are enjoying the challenge that lay ahead on each leg...it never seems that bad. If you're scared or making the worst of it...it will always be translated back as a "horrible trail". For the Flume Slide I would say it was challenging for me, not that bad for experienced hikers, and I wouldn't recommend doing it alone. One of my favorites to date though. Oh yeah, Beaver Brook is on my list too!

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Karl

[Addicted]

Thanks for the TR. I am planning on adding this to next summer's list. I'm not sure if I'm more excited or frightened to do the slide now! I go into every hike thinking it's going to be worse than it turns out to be, so it's always nice when it's 'not that bad'. Thanks for capturing the true 'slant' on the trail, as sometimes it's just impossible to capture what it is that you went through to show others!

[TrishandAlex]

Nice set of photos, and congrats on the slide!

Did you hike on Sunday? If so, perhaps we saw you? Alex (my 7 year old) and I did Little Haystack and Liberty, we came down Liberty Springs.

[KSearl]

Thanks Trish!

No, we hiked on Saturday, which was good for me since I was very sore on Sunday...and I didn't have to go to work. I like to have that extra day to rest up.

How is the Franconia Ridge Trail between Liberty and Haystack? I assume it isn't as traveled as the standard loops (Lafayette/Lincoln/Haystack and Liberty/Flume). I thought the Liberty Springs Trail down was a pretty nice descending trail myself. Not too hard on the knees really.

Karl