Snowshoe Ramble on the West Side of Mt. Liberty: 1/21/25

I enjoy exploring on the western slopes of the Franconia Range, especially  in winter. On this bitter cold day I opted for some off-trail snowshoe wandering on a hardwood ridge that had caught my eye the week before from the top of the ledge slab on the peak just north of Mt. Pemigewasset. It is the gently rising ridge seen lower down on the left two-thirds of the photo.

 

It was not a day conducive to an early start, so I didn't get going until after 11:00 am.

 

I used the well-trodden approach from northbound Basin parking to access the Liberty Spring Trail.

A short distance above the Flume Slide Trail junction I headed north into the forest, breaking trail through a good amount of pristine powder.

The whitened rocky peak of Mt. Liberty could be glimpsed through the trees.

The gentle ridge was a joy to snowshoe, with long corridors opening ahead.

 

Making tracks.

I liked the symmetry of these two old leaning yellow birches.

Switchbacking up a slope.

Split boulder.

Climbing.

Heading up to a minor ridgecrest to skirt a cliff band. Reading the terrain is one of the pleasures of bsuhwhacking.

There's some snow out here!

Deep winter solitude.

 

I made a long traverse through beautiful open hardwood forest to reach a spot that I thought might have a view up to Mt. Liberty. In this glade I witnessed a moment of drama as a hawk (likely a Goshawk) was in hot pursuit of a Pileated Woodpecker. Thanks to a series of quick evasive maneuvers through the trees, the woodpecker escaped.

Arriving at a secluded plateau tucked in at 2600 ft. amidst surrounding ridges.

A gorgeous glade!

Photos taken from the summit of Mt. Liberty showed a potential small open spot in this location, but this is the best view I could find.

Heading home. Today, the powder and the hardwood forest were the stars of the show.

Beer feeding nests in a beech tree.

The sun dropped behind Mt. Pemigewasset and its northern neighbor, whose ledge slab is visible here.

A dusk view of Mts. Liberty and Flume from the Flume parking lot, temperature 5 above.