Trail: Flume + Liberty via Flume Slide, Franconia Ridge and Liberty Spring Trails

Date Hiked: 26AUG06

Conditions: No blow downs, no mud and no bugs! Trails all in great shape. Streams crossing easy, didn't even get the bottoms of my boots wet! Accidently lost the main trail on the slide and ended up in heard path up the side of the slide for a hundred meters or so. Except for the top of the slide the entire trail is well blazed.

Special Required Equipment: None, didn't even need a wind jacket today.

Comments: Wow. Not sure I can say much else. Absolutely gorgeous day. Long views of the Kinsmans and the Pemi with big puffy clouds everywhere. Not sure why everyone seems afraid of the Flume slide, didn't seem all that bad to me, North Slide of the Tripyramids is much worse. Didn't see anyone on the trail on the way up and then about dozen on Liberty over the course of an hour and another dozen or so coming up Liberty Springs as I was going down. (Love those earlier starts.) Amazing to look across the Pemi and be able to say, yeah I hiked all of those mountains. (37+38/48)

Flume Summit with Mt Liberty to left.

Mt. Cannon from Liberty.

Mt. Garfield from Liberty.

Bond Cliff from Liberty.

West Bond, Guyout, Bond and Bond Cliff from Liberty.

Mt. Lincoln and Lafeyette from Liberty.

Flume Slide from Liberty.

Mt. Liberty summit bench mark.

Summit of Mt. Liberty from Franconia Ridge Trail.