Today was a "lemonade out of a lemon" kind of hike. The forecast for "light passing showers" turned out to be more like "prolonged downpours," but the rain did relent later in the afternoon and I was even able to enjoy (?) a wet bushwhack halfway up the East Fork of Mount Tripyramid's North Slide. I like the Livermore Trail for wet days because it has good footing with no slippery rocks and roots and it is well-drained. It is also an easy trail on which to use an umbrella, and mine got a workout this day.
The first shower started as I was passing this field of goldenrod at the Depot Camp clearing, just 0.3 mile from the trailhead. I waited it out under the umbrella by the Boulder Path junction, while contemplating whether to just turn around and go home.
The rain stopped, and I had a mile and a half of umbrella-free walking, but the next round moved in shortly before I reached White Cascade, a favorite spot on Slide Brook.
The upper flow of White Cascade.
I hadn't decided whether I wanted to head out towards the South Slide or the North Slide. I figured I would at least go the short way up the south branch of the Mount Tripyramid Trail to a favorite hardwood glade and have a bite to eat.
Glistening hobblebush.
View from under the umbrella.
I call this the "Gateway Glade" as it serves as a portal into the upper Slide Brook valley, heading towards the South Slide. Shortly after I arrived here the skies unleashed a downpour, and I waited it out under my umbrella for a good 45 minutes as puddles pooled on the trail.
When the rain dialed back to a light drizzle, I returned to the Livermore Trail and continued a mile up to the north end of the Mount Tripyramid Trail, passing a misty view of the Avalanche Camp clearing.
Long corridor on the Livermore Trail.
Avalanche Brook.
Old yellow birches guard the entrance to Avalanche Ravine.
Rain forest.
Nice section of trail.
Heading off-trail on the floor of Avalanche Ravine.
The base of the East Fork of Tripyramid's North Slide. Normally there would be but a trickle of water here in September, but it's been a wet summer, and the flow was probably pumped up by the heavy downpour a couple hours earlier. By now, the rain had finally relented.
I was pretty wet to begin with, so I decided to get a little wetter and bushwhack through the dripping conifer woods alongside the slide and pop out onto it where feasible.
More cascades up around the corner.
I guess you could say this is one continuous cascade.
Looking back down. After savoring this nice spot for a moment, I headed back into the woods.
Side view as I continued up.
Around the corner preview.
A reward for getting soaked to the skin.
I continued steeply up through the woods to a remnant area of open ledge on the slide at 3250 ft. I had been here three times on snowshoes over the last three years, but never before in summer.
Clouds were starting to lift off Thornton Gap, between Mt. Tecumseh and Mt. Osceola.
Where the stream issues from the woods at the top of this open ledge patch.
Skies starting to clear.
Mt. Tecumseh emerges. Mt. Osceola did not oblige.
Descending through steep but fairly open woods.
Some kind of research project involving a songbird nest.
Back at the base of the East Fork, sunshine!
Blue sky overhead!
Scene along Avalanche Brook.
Meeting of the drainages from the East Fork (left) and the main North Slide (right).
It was late in the day, but I did climb 100 ft. up the bottom of the North Slide just to be on it.
Green and blue.
Homeward bound on Livermore Trail.
No comments:
Post a Comment