Pac-man
New member
Trails: Bike Path, Liberty Springs Trail, Flume Slide Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path
Trail Conditions: Liberty Springs to Flume Slide Trail junction was its usual wet self. Flume Slide Trail was fine for the majority, a couple duck-unders. The crossings are all manageable...only one crossing made me stop and look around for the right way to go across. The bottom of the slide is dry, but then becomes fairly wet on the main ascent, even off the slide on the left and right. A little ice on the descent from Flume, but overall easy going to Liberty. Franconia Ridge all the way to Lafayette was dry with no ice. Greenleaf Trail was clean and clear and OBP was manageable, with some of the steeper descent points being a little slick which required a little more care.
Equipment: All the winter equipment has been retired for the season...finally.
Comments: The forecast was stellar, so I took the day off to do one of my favorite hikes. Left my bike at home, so had to walk the bike path from Lafayette campground to the Liberty Springs trailhead (which I just mapped out to be 3.8 miles, so I would not recommend the walk, just spot a bike). It was easy going until the base of the slide where it seems like you do all the elevation in ~0.7 miles. It was a little wet today, but not too bad, so it wasn't too painful. The summit was beautiful - ~60 degrees with a light breeze, it was perfect. Only saw one person on the Flume summit (my first person of the day) and then no one until past Liberty. The section between Liberty and Little Haystack was the best of the day - perfectly dry, no ice, and clear of all the rocks (still getting my summer rock-hopping legs...). Per usual, once I reached Little Haystack, I would run into the majority of people. Although, it was a pretty light day overall for crowds which was nice, but I didn't get to the Liberty Springs trailhead until noon so maybe I missed the big groups. The ridge was totally comfortable in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. The descent was painless, minus my heavy legs. A great day to be in the mountains!!!
Trail Conditions: Liberty Springs to Flume Slide Trail junction was its usual wet self. Flume Slide Trail was fine for the majority, a couple duck-unders. The crossings are all manageable...only one crossing made me stop and look around for the right way to go across. The bottom of the slide is dry, but then becomes fairly wet on the main ascent, even off the slide on the left and right. A little ice on the descent from Flume, but overall easy going to Liberty. Franconia Ridge all the way to Lafayette was dry with no ice. Greenleaf Trail was clean and clear and OBP was manageable, with some of the steeper descent points being a little slick which required a little more care.
Equipment: All the winter equipment has been retired for the season...finally.
Comments: The forecast was stellar, so I took the day off to do one of my favorite hikes. Left my bike at home, so had to walk the bike path from Lafayette campground to the Liberty Springs trailhead (which I just mapped out to be 3.8 miles, so I would not recommend the walk, just spot a bike). It was easy going until the base of the slide where it seems like you do all the elevation in ~0.7 miles. It was a little wet today, but not too bad, so it wasn't too painful. The summit was beautiful - ~60 degrees with a light breeze, it was perfect. Only saw one person on the Flume summit (my first person of the day) and then no one until past Liberty. The section between Liberty and Little Haystack was the best of the day - perfectly dry, no ice, and clear of all the rocks (still getting my summer rock-hopping legs...). Per usual, once I reached Little Haystack, I would run into the majority of people. Although, it was a pretty light day overall for crowds which was nice, but I didn't get to the Liberty Springs trailhead until noon so maybe I missed the big groups. The ridge was totally comfortable in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. The descent was painless, minus my heavy legs. A great day to be in the mountains!!!
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