Outdoor Diversion: Summits to Myself on Liberty and Flume

Summits: Mount Liberty (4,459'), Mount Flume (4,328')

Trail route: Liberty Springs Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail

Trail conditions: Liberty Springs was packed, Franconia Ridge Trail had a packed base with loose snow on top

Weather: Cold start and warm finish, sunshine and blue sky

Total miles: 8.8

Total time: 6:15

I had not seen a trail report for these summits in several days so was not really sure what the trail conditions were going to be. I would be carrying microspikes, trail crampons and snowshoes. The weather forecast was looking fantastic for today after cold wind and snow yesterday.

I arrived at the Basin parking lot and only one car was there. It was a cold morning so I initially had several layers to start. I began my hike on the bike path that had some sections of remaining snow but bare for the most part. I then crossed a log over a small water crossing and started up the bushwhack. I almost hesitate to call this a bushwhack, it's more of a herd path.

Soon after I got on the Liberty Spring Trail I saw my first and only hiker for the day coming down the trail. She and her dog started their hike at 3:30 this morning in order to catch the sunrise on Mount Liberty. Later in the day I saw her spectacular sunrise photos online.

The water crossings were rock hoppable but care was need to avoid the ice covered ones. As the trail started its steep climb I put on microspikes. The trail was frozen solid and the traction worked well to the summit of Mount Liberty. Just before the summit I noticed the treetops had a heavy coating of ice, this would become a significant issue.

The views from the summit were spectacular in the clear sky. Conditions changed quickly as I started my descent from the summit on my way over to Mount Flume. The new snow was not broke out and while it was only an inch or two the strong winds from yesterday filled and covered the deep postholes along the way. Care would have to be taken to keep in the middle of the trail and not step in one of these hidden postholes.

The other problem was the trail is south facing and between the sun beating on it and the warm temps the snow was balling up on my microspikes. I stopped and changed to my trail crampons that have an anti-balling feature that keeps the snow from sticking to them. The crampons worked well but it sure didn't prevent me from stepping into hidden postholes.

The sun and warm temperatures started a rapid melting of the ice from the treetops. Ice "bombs" were raining down around me. I managed to make it to the summit of Mount Flume unscathed. This was my turn around point. I took a few minutes to enjoy the views and snap some photos before heading back to Mount Liberty.

Once again I ran the gauntlet of postholes and ice bombs. I tried to follow my footsteps but found a few more postholes along the way. In the short time it took me to get to the summit of Flume and start my return trip much of the treetop ice had come down so it wasn't as bad on the way back.

I went up and over Liberty without stopping and it was all downhill from here. I kept the crampons on until the trail started to run out of snow. I bare booted the rest of the way out, the snowshoes got a free ride today. It had gotten very warm and it felt good.

I have now been to the summits of Liberty and Flume eleven times and need to hike them one more time in August to grid them out. This was also 444 of 576 for my grid count. I now need four more hikes to grid out the month of March. Both April and May present difficult hiking conditions with deep melting trail snow, rotten monorails and high water in the streams, rivers and brooks. I need many summits for the months of April and May. It's going to be a challenging couple of months!

Enjoy the photos and videos!