Mt. Flume (1/48)
Jul. 21st, 2006 03:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jtniehofThis was the trip where we decided to get serious: we would bag a peak, we would start on the 4000 footer club, stay out for three days, etc. The plan was to ascend Flume via the Flume Slide and basically run along Franconia Ridge until we ran out of time, returning to the car via the bike path. (I think we had some vague idea of catching the AMC shuttle but didn't have a schedule or anything). Franconia Ridge has a far-too tempting cluster of 4000-footers, plus the Flume Slide has such a reputation that we had to be macho and take it on.
Erik and I headed out of Boston somewheres between 8 and 9, later than we wanted (as usual). Jessie had been scheduled to join us, but bailed because of a family commitment. It was awfully close to 11 by the time we hit the trail.
The Liberty Spring Trail was cut off by the construction of the Parkway, so we parked up by the Basin, and that's actually see the bike path in the background. South on the bikepath to the Liberty Spring Trail, then branch off to the Flume Slide trail, and hiking on reasonably flat, level ground brought us to the Flume Brook crossing fairly quickly.
It was a reasonable time for a late lunch and we wanted to be fed before we hit the Slide, so we broke here, ate, and got more water.
After lunch it was a little more through the trees as boulders began appearing in the trail, then the scramble up the slide began.
It's really hard to show the slope of a slide in a photo, but it was about a 75-80 degree pitch, scrambling up over boulders. Shortly after this picture was taken, Erik dropped the camera, so we decided to stow it more completely for the rest of the climb. You'll also notice the rocks are wet--the rain started about this time. Wet rock is slick, for those who don't know.
The most "interesting" part of the climb came when I got a branch stuck between my pack and the sleeping bag lashed under it; I had to take the pack off to untangle. Pulling it back on, I forgot that lifting a forty-pound pack tends to pull one towards the pack, and nearly went off the mountain. Good times.
We made it though, wet and tired. We never got out the ponchos because it was pretty warm and we didn't much fancy trying to rock scramble in ponchos. Sadly we didn't realize I was so badly backlit on the summit; this picture was about thirty seconds after I tried to hug the cairn and nearly knocked it off the mountain in the process.
First peak bagged, and first of the 48.
Erik and I headed out of Boston somewheres between 8 and 9, later than we wanted (as usual). Jessie had been scheduled to join us, but bailed because of a family commitment. It was awfully close to 11 by the time we hit the trail.
The Liberty Spring Trail was cut off by the construction of the Parkway, so we parked up by the Basin, and that's actually see the bike path in the background. South on the bikepath to the Liberty Spring Trail, then branch off to the Flume Slide trail, and hiking on reasonably flat, level ground brought us to the Flume Brook crossing fairly quickly.
It was a reasonable time for a late lunch and we wanted to be fed before we hit the Slide, so we broke here, ate, and got more water.
After lunch it was a little more through the trees as boulders began appearing in the trail, then the scramble up the slide began.
It's really hard to show the slope of a slide in a photo, but it was about a 75-80 degree pitch, scrambling up over boulders. Shortly after this picture was taken, Erik dropped the camera, so we decided to stow it more completely for the rest of the climb. You'll also notice the rocks are wet--the rain started about this time. Wet rock is slick, for those who don't know.
The most "interesting" part of the climb came when I got a branch stuck between my pack and the sleeping bag lashed under it; I had to take the pack off to untangle. Pulling it back on, I forgot that lifting a forty-pound pack tends to pull one towards the pack, and nearly went off the mountain. Good times.
We made it though, wet and tired. We never got out the ponchos because it was pretty warm and we didn't much fancy trying to rock scramble in ponchos. Sadly we didn't realize I was so badly backlit on the summit; this picture was about thirty seconds after I tried to hug the cairn and nearly knocked it off the mountain in the process.
First peak bagged, and first of the 48.