Mad River Notch: 11/18/24

On a day that turned out better than predicted, I started late morning from the Livermore trailhead in Waterville Valley and headed north on Greeley Ponds Trail for a ramble into Mad River Notch.

 

A mile and a half in I turned onto a section of Greeley Ponds Trail that was abandoned due to extensive flood damage from Tropical Storm Irene. With low water, the crossing of the Mad River was easy.

This is why this section was abandoned.

Flume Brook got whacked pretty good by Irene.

I made a detour up the Kancamagus Brook X-C Ski Trail and dropped down to Flume Brook for a look at Towles Falls. It was named for the Hon. George Makepeace Towle of Brookline, MA, a frequent visitor to Waterville Valley in the late 1800s.

Near the confluence of Flume Brook and the Mad River, the ski trail passes by the site of Camp 5. It was established around 1915 by the International Paper Co. and was in use at least into the late 1930s under the Parker-Young Co. There are a number of protected artifacts that can be viewed here.

Stove top.

A container perhaps used for dispensing gasoline or oil.

Obligatory bucket shot.

The old section of Greeley Ponds Trail leading north from here is in excellent shape and is now part of the Kancamagus Brook X-C Ski Trail.

The bridge where the relocated Greeley Ponds Trail crosses the Mad River and meets the Kancamagus Brook X-C Ski Trail.

Along the Greeley Ponds Trail there was ample evidence of the recent trail work by adopter NH Andy and his crew of helpers.

Many cleaned drainages - thank you!

 

A nifty view of East Osceola's Painted Cliff from a switchback along a relocated section of the trail.

Where the Greeley Ponds hiking trail turns left to re-cross the Mad River, I continued ahead on an X-C ski spur (fine for hiking) that leads 0.2 mile to a great viewpoint at the SE corner of Lower Greeley Pond.  The NE cliffs of East Osceola are seen at the north end of Mad River Notch.

Looking up at part of the wild, craggy mass of East Osceola. The Painted Cliff is on the left.

My next objective was a steep, exposed ledge slab partway up the track of a long slide that fell off East Osceola in 1897. It looks close when viewed from the pond, but having been up there probably 10 times over the years, I knew I was in for a steep and scrappy bushwhack. I like the spot, so I keep coming back for more.

From the SW corner of the pond, a view of the west knob of Mt. Kancamagus and part of the K2 Cliff.

 

Looking back towards a profile of the K1 Cliff.

Looking north to the U-shape of Mad River Notch.

The lower track of the 1897 slide comes right down to the trail.

Before long, the slide becomes rugged. The steep and prickly woods beside the slide are tedious, but safer.

Not climbing that.

Some blood was drawn on this bushwhack.

Side view of the big slab. It always takes me the better part of an hour to climb a mere 400 feet of elevation to here.

Worth the trouble.

Nice angle on the Tripyramids and the North Slide.

Down-look near the top of the slab.

Looking across the notch to the SW ridge of Mt. Kancamagus and the K1 Cliff, with part of Lower Greeley Pond below.

 

Peering down at the pond.

 

There's a comfortable dry shelf to hang out on at the top of the slab. Elevation here is 2550 ft.

Above here the slide narrows briefly, then opens out onto more ledges to a midway headwall at ~2800 ft. Then the slide is fully revegetated until it opens again onto upper ledges at 3500-3700 ft.

I had ascended along the north side of the slide. For a different perspective, and perhaps slightly easier going, I descended along the south side, popping out to the edge of the slab for this view of the K2 Cliff and Lower Greeley Pond.

 

Downward.

 

I recall snowshoeing up that spine of rock on winter visits.

In the 1904 edition of his guidebook to the Waterville Valley, Arthur L. Goodrich noted that the 1897 slide “half filled the lower Greeley Pond.” The slide undoubtedly obstructed the trail along the shore, and, indeed, among the needed improvements noted in the minutes of a WVAIA meeting in July 1897 was “Greeley Pond path to be cut at the new slide.” For some time the "New Slide" (so named to distinguish it from the 1892 slide that came down near Upper Greeley Pond) was used by adventurous trampers as a descent route off East Osceola. Yikes!

Homeward bound.

 

Tripyramid South Slides: 11/13/24

On a sunny, crisp November day - the opening day for deer rifle season - I wanted to hike in a south-facing area where there would likely be no hunters. I had hoped to head up to the southwest slide on Mt. Liberty, but a scan with binoculars from the Whale's Tale parking lot on Route 3 revealed that it was covered in ice and snow. Plan B was an old standby, the South Slides on Mt. Tripyramid. 

White Cascade on Slide Brook was in low flow.

Nice November walking on Livermore Trail.

An old water pipe that a century ago served the first of two logging camps known as Avalanche Camp.

Had the pleasure of walking for a while with Lizz and Dave Mague, who have been to my store a number of times. They were out for a walk to the Scaur Ridge Trail junction and back.

On to the Mount Tripyramid Trail.

Into the Wilderness.

The gateway glade, with Tripyramid lurking in the background. Here I met a hiker who was coming down from doing the slides loop. He said the North Slide "was a little bit frosty."

Slide Brook.

Look at that sky!

Approaching the South Slides through high-elevation hardwood forest. Like Livermore Trail, the south section of Mount Tripyramid Trail is a good choice for shoulder season as it is virtually ice-free.

One of my favorite glades.

Leaving the trail, I explored the area below the open slides, looking for the lower tracks of the slides. This one is from the First (1869) South Slide.

This track is from the Third (2011) South Slide. It was likely superimposed on a track of the Second (1885) South Slide.

The headwater of Slide Brook.

Conifer whacking.

A very large old balsam fir.

I worked my way up to one of the few remaining open patches of the Second South Slide. I lounged here in the warm sun for a while, admiring the intimate view of Sandwich Dome and the Lost Pass area.

A similar view from the next open patch up the slope, at 3400 ft.

Cutting across the slope to the First South Slide, the one the trail follows.

One of my favorite slide-dwelling white pines rises on a narrow open strip parallel to the First South Slide.

Long view from the top of the lower open section of the First South Slide, at 3450 ft. It was clear enough to see Killington Peak, Ludlow Mountain and Dorset Peak, far off in Vermont.

Gravel and loose rock make for slippery footing, but this is still considerably easier than the slabby North Slide.

Late afternoon in the high hardwood glade.

Tripyramid illuminated, through the trees.

At Depot Camp, Tripyramid in the distance under a near-full moon.