The Flume Slide Trail is a notably steep climb and is not recommended in wet weather or snow. It is 4,328 feet (1,319 m) tall and is accessible from the north by the Franconia Ridge Trail, from the southeast by the Osseo Trail, and from the west by the Flume Slide Trail to the Franconia Ridge Trail.įrom the summit there are outstanding views to the west and to the north to Franconia Ridge. Mount Flume is a peak in the White Mountains overlooking Franconia Notch. It eventually levels off a bit before the end of the Liberty Springs Trail. Nothing like the Flume Slide, but definitely not an enjoyable descent. The first section of the descent on Liberty Springs is very steep so it’s a real knee-buster. The first 0.3 miles of the descent is along the Franconia Ridge Trail before turning left onto the Liberty Springs Trail. Liberty Summit Brief and partial views looking north from just below the summit of Liberty Looking east towards the Pemigewassett Wilderness Garfield to the north before the fog rolled back in. We caught fleeting glimpses of Franconia Notch, the Pemigewassett Wilderness, Franconia Ridge, and even Mt. We didn’t have any views from the summit itself, but the fog started to roll away as we began the first leg of our descent before dipping below the tree line for the remainder of the hike. Mount Flume is the lowest in elevation of the peaks in the Franconia Range that are accessible by official hiking trails. The summit of Liberty was much more crowded than Flume since more people (many with dogs) had ascended via Liberty Springs which is a less challenging but still strenuous hike than the Flume Slide. Mount Flume is a 4,328-foot (1,319 m) 1 mountain at the southern end of the Franconia Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, United States. It really needs to the a counterclockwise loop. If you’re doing the loop, it is very important that you stay to the right on the Flume Slide Trail, as the Flume Slide is not suitable for descent. At 0.9 miles you’ll come to a junction with the Liberty Springs Trail (also the Appalachian Trail) which you will follow for 0.6 miles before reaching a junction with the Flume Slide Trail. Heading up to the summit of Mount Liberty at Franconia Ridge in the White Mountains, New Hampshire Trailhead: After the Flume Visitor Center parking lot. The first 0.9 miles runs parallel to the highway and is completely flat (some of this section of the trail is on a bike path). There’s a restroom at the trailhead which is always convenient. In the event that the lot is full, the Flume Gorge Visitor Center has a much larger parking lot just to the south, which would make for a suitable Plan B. We arrived at the lot at 7:50 AM on a Sunday morning in early September and there were plenty of spaces available and the lot was probably 3/4 full when we returned to our car in the early afternoon. The parking lot is decent size with room for probably 50+ cars. Navigate to the “ Liberty Springs Trailhead Parking Lot” which is located directly off of route 3 and I-93. I climbed in via the Osseo Trail which provides a relatively gradual ascent, climbing 3150 feet in 5.6 miles, except for a series of wooden. Peakbagging Checklists: NH 4,000 Footers (x2), Terrifying 25 (Flume Slide) Mt Flume is the southernmost peak on Franconia Ridge and the first mountain the Pemigewasset Loopers encounter after leaving the Lincoln Woods Trailhead. That said, if you take it slow, it’s a very doable hike and the views at the top are rewarding.ĭistance: 9.35 miles (mileage varies depending on the source you’re looking at, but we clocked it at 9.35) I would highly recommend this hike, but anyone attempting the Flume Slide should know what they’re getting themselves into. Not to mention it was wet when we hiked, which further heightened the degree of difficulty. The ascent via the Flume Slide is extremely steep and there are long stretches where you’re climbing on all fours, scrambling over steep flat rocky surfaces and grabbing onto nearby trees and roots for support. These aren’t the tallest peaks around, but this is a challenging hike, plain and simple. Liberty was the perfect way to get back into the game and continue the (very slow) quest to hike the 48. It had been almost two years since my last 4,000 footer ( Moosilauke), so I had been itching to get back to the White Mountains for quite a while.
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