This day of sunny skies and 50ish temperature was a gift from the weather gods, two-thirds of the way through November. I chose a familiar trail-and-bushwhack route that would maximize sun exposure - a stroll on the mellow lower section of Flume Slide Trail into the Flume Brook valley and a bushwhack to the Southwest Slide on Mt. Liberty, where I knew there was a view perch suitable for basking in the sun.
The only hiker I saw all day passed me on the lower Liberty Spring Trail en route to an ascent of Flume and Liberty via Flume Slide Trail. Given the chance of encountering ice or morning wetness on the slabs, I hoped he would make it OK.
Morning sun on the start of Flume Slide Trail.
The lower Flume Brook valley is cloaked in a gorgeous hardwood forest.
100% blue sky on this day.
Inviting corridor.
The spur known as Hardwood Ridge looms to the southeast.
This gully beside the trail was gouged by the slide when it came surging down off Mt. Liberty during a tremendous rainfall on June 20, 1883. The force of this slide carried far downstream along Flume Brook and dislodged the famous boulder that was suspended between the walls of The Flume. The same storm also triggered massive slides on the west face of Mt. Flume.
The trail then crosses the brook that drains the slide.
This train of boulders near the trail is a classic example of a debris flow levee, a sort of natural stone wall deposited along the edge of a slide. A bit farther along, the trail actually crosses the levee.
The bushwhack began in gorgeous open hardwoods.
Having been up this route four times previously in the last couple of years, I readily made my way up to an old logging road that climbs steadily and at times quite steeply parallel to the sharply cut slide drainage. This is one of a remarkable network of old logging sled roads constructed on the south side of Mount Liberty, probably around 1900-1905.
Blowdowns litter the road in places.
The upper part of the road is steeper than it looks here. It must have been a wild ride coming down with a horse team and a load of logs.
A connecting road led me across towards the slide.
Approaching the lower of three open slab sections of the slide.
The ledge band continues into the woods.
Heading up to the next open section of the slide.
Looking across the middle ledge swath.
Looking up from the base of the middle ledge swath. Not as wet as the lower swath, but in my judgement there isn't enough dry clean rock to provide sure footing.
Side view while climbing along the edge. The average slope of this slide is 31 degrees.
View from the top of the middle swath. The strip along Route 3 in North Lincoln is prominent in the valley.
I ducked back into the dense woods and continued up to the base of the slide's upper ledge swath.
From previous visits I knew there was a comfortable, dry ledge perch here, with a commanding view. Visibility was good - with binoculars I could spot Mt. Monadnock, and even the faint outline of Mt. Snow, far off in southern Vermont. The lower Flume Brook valley is seen in the center of the photo.
This is what I came for - an hour and a half sojourn in the warm November (!) sun.
It seemed a shame to start back down a little after 1:00 pm, but it was necessary if I wanted to get out before dark.
Detail of the headwall at the top of the lower swath.
This dry slab on the lower swath was inviting.
The sun was so glorious that I sat here for a few more minutes soaking it in.
The descent was through sun-streaked woods most of the way down, and I did make it out before dark.
The Liberty slide shows up best in
winter. There's a good view of it from the parking lot of Indian
Head Resort on the west side of Route 3.
This postcard view from the Indian Head tower, probably from the 1920s, shows the main Liberty slide on the right and two tributary slides (now revegetated) on the left. Part of a steep logging sled road can be seen to the right of the lower part of the slides.
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