Mt. Liberty via Liberty Springs Trail - Thoughts?

Jonni · Jul 14, 2006, 9:58 PM

I was highly considering hiking the Liberty Springs Trail to Mt. Liberty this weekend as a great day long hike. I have found many hike reports about hiking to Flume and Liberty via the Flume Slide Trail and then down the Liberty Springs Trail, but not just via the Liberty Springs Trail. How challenging is the Liberty Springs trail? or even the Flume Slide Trail? I would like to bag another 4,000 footer if I could this weekend and I'm wondering if this would be a good hike.

riverc0il · Jul 15, 2006, 9:38 AM

Liberty via Liberty Springs is a fairly easy 4000 footer. It is a long slog up a consistent moderate grade all the way, as I recall. Not the most exciting trail, maybe monotonous at times. Lots of AT hikers, so it could be busy on a weekend. Flume Slide Trail loop over to Liberty is considerably harder and should not be done when wet. Personally, I did not really enjoy the Flume Slide Trail, but climbing up the Slide itself was interesting. Both are great peaks with 360 degree views in a fabulous section of the whites, you can't go wrong either way.

David Metsky · Jul 15, 2006, 2:30 PM

Here's my Liberty page. I have a Flume Slide trip report from last summer mostly finished but not posted yet.

Liberty Springs is a nice walk up, steep in some places but nothing to worry about. Flume Slide is a much more challenging hike, with some scrambling and route finding. It's not great for wet weather or people afraid of heights. Don't plan on going down that trail.

There will be water at the Liberty Springs campsite, so you can carry a little less as long as you have something to filter or treat the water. It's wicked hot out there this weekend, drink lots and lots of water.

-dave-

MtnMagic · Jul 15, 2006, 8:51 PM

Liberty Springs Trail was previously my most favorite trail as I like what I call the "trail of 10,000 steps" to the summit. I still like it, just that I hiked it too much. The views from the summit always is enjoyable. Hope you go the 1.2 mile to Mt Flume and share a quick trip report with us so we may read of your adventure. Happy Trails and Enjoy!

Jonni · Jul 16, 2006, 10:43 PM

Well I decided against going up to Mts Liberty and Flume because of the extreme heat and humidity. Instead I opted for a hike up Cannon Mtn. I took the Hi-Cannon trail up and the Kinsman Ridge Trail down, trip report and photos coming soon. I'm not sure if either one of them would have been any easier than the other because Hi-Cannon was difficult in places for me as the footing was that great, and I found that the trail wasn't very well marked, but I still had a great time nonetheless. 6.6 miles for the whole day. Thanks for all the info!

David Metsky · Jul 17, 2006, 10:07 AM

Hi-Cannon wasn't well marked? I've hiked it recently and didn't notice any problems. Where were things unclear for you?

-dave-

MtnMagic · Jul 17, 2006, 11:34 AM

I hiked the Hi-Cannon trail again a month ago with SilentCal and ghostdog, found it well marked and maintained, and met many very interesting folks when we left Cannon to hike over the Cannon Balls. What a superb hike!

**Mike P.** · Jul 17, 2006, 1:36 PM

While Liberty Spring is different than Hi-Cannon, it's just as doable in hot * humid weather, the fact that you would need to go over Liberty to Flume & back on the Franconia Ridge trail would mean you are on a high cooler ridge for a mile each way (about 1.5 each way from the Liberty Spring trail junction & Flume Summit.

MtnMagic · Jul 18, 2006, 7:41 PM

While both are doable in the hot weather, Liberty Springs Trail has more shade of the two. And one gets to see Liberty from a very different perspective.

Jonni · Jul 25, 2006, 8:53 AM

I found that the trail wasn't well marked with blazes, but since it was traveled enough by other hikers it was still easy enough to follow. I tend to try and keep track of where the blazes are, as I love to stop and look around in the woods for a minute or two. Either way the trail was fun and challenging for me as this was one of my first real day-long hikes on hiking trails. I usually just hike at ski areas, but have recently found that hiking trails are just as fun for me as the ski trails.

Jul 14, 2006, 9:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jonni Top of the Sunapee Express Join Date: May 2006 Location: Sunapee, NH & Lyndonville, VT Posts: 286	Mt. Liberty via Liberty Springs Trail - Thoughts? I was highly considering hiking the Liberty Springs Trail to Mt. Liberty this weekend as a great day long hike. I have found many hike reports about hiking to Flume and Liberty via the Flume Slide Trail and then down the Liberty Springs Trail, but not just via the Liberty Springs Trail. How challenging is the Liberty Springs trail? or even the Flume Slide Trail? I would like to bag another 4,000 footer if I could this weekend and I'm wondering if this would be a good hike. __________________ Northeast Regional Moderator of Skilifts.org http://www.skilifts.org Lift Drive Foreman - Mt. Sunapee, NH Curved Ski Poles n. 1. Expert skier's poles bent at the factory to fit around the body and thus improve control and reduce air resistence. 2. Beginner's poles bent during use to fit around trees, trail signs, snowmaking equipment, lift towers, and other skiers.

Jul 15, 2006, 9:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
riverc0il Ari Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Ashland, NH Posts: 7,080	Liberty via Liberty Springs is a fairly easy 4000 footer. It is a long slog up a consistent moderate grade all the way, as I recall. Not the most exciting trail, maybe monotonous at times. Lots of AT hikers, so it could be busy on a weekend. Flume Slide Trail loop over to Liberty is considerably harder and should not be done when wet. Personally, I did not really enjoy the Flume Slide Trail, but climbing up the Slide itself was interesting. Both are great peaks with 360 degree views in a fabulous section of the whites, you can't go wrong either way. __________________ -Steve TheSnowWay.com "Skiing is not a sport, it is a way of life." - Otto Schniebs 1

Jul 15, 2006, 8:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
MtnMagic Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lancaster, NH Posts: 892	Liberty Springs Trail was previously my most favorite trail as I like what I call the "trail of 10,000 steps" to the summit. I still like it, just that I hiked it too much. The views from the summit always is enjoyable. Hope you go the 1.2 mile to Mt Flume and share a quick trip report with us so we may read of your adventure. Happy Trails and Enjoy! __________________ Our New England Hiking & Adventurer's Group. http://hiking.meetup.com/283 Knowledge. Events. Fellowship. And more!

Jul 16, 2006, 10:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
Jonni Top of the Sunapee Express Join Date: May 2006 Location: Sunapee, NH & Lyndonville, VT Posts: 286	Well I decided against going up to Mts Liberty and Flume because of the extreme heat and humidity. Instead I opted for a hike up Cannon Mtn. I took the Hi-Cannon trail up and the Kinsman Ridge Trail down, trip report and photos coming soon. I'm not sure if either one of them would have been any easier than the other because Hi-Cannon was difficult in places for me as the footing was that great, and I found that the trail wasn't very well marked, but I still had a great time nonetheless. 6.6 miles for the whole day. Thanks for all the info! __________________ Northeast Regional Moderator of Skilifts.org http://www.skilifts.org Lift Drive Foreman - Mt. Sunapee, NH Curved Ski Poles n. 1. Expert skier's poles bent at the factory to fit around the body and thus improve control and reduce air resistence. 2. Beginner's poles bent during use to fit around trees, trail signs, snowmaking equipment, lift towers, and other skiers.

Jul 17, 2006, 11:34 AM	#7 (permalink)
MtnMagic Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lancaster, NH Posts: 892	I hiked the Hi-Cannon trail again a month ago with SilentCal and ghostdog, found it well marked and maintained, and met many very interesting folks when we left Cannon to hike over the Cannon Balls. What a superb hike! __________________ Our New England Hiking & Adventurer's Group. http://hiking.meetup.com/283 Knowledge. Events. Fellowship. And more!

Jul 15, 2006, 2:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
David Metsky Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 565	Here's my Liberty page. I have a Flume Slide trip report from last summer mostly finished but not posted yet. Liberty Springs is a nice walk up, steep in some places but nothing to worry about. Flume Slide is a much more challenging hike, with some scrambling and route finding. It's not great for wet weather or people afraid of heights. Don't plan on going down that trail. There will be water at the Liberty Springs campsite, so you can carry a little less as long as you have something to filter or treat the water. It's wicked hot out there this weekend, drink lots and lots of water. -dave-

Jul 17, 2006, 10:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
David Metsky Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 565	Hi-Cannon wasn't well marked? I've hiked it recently and didn't notice any problems. Where were things unclear for you? -dave-

Jul 17, 2006, 1:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mike P. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: CT Posts: 1,486	While Liberty Spring is different than Hi-Cannon, it's just as doable in hot * humid weather, the fact that you would need to go over Liberty to Flume & back on the Franconia Ridge trail would mean you are on a high cooler ridge for a mile each way (about 1.5 each way from the Liberty Spring trail junction & Flume Summit. __________________ Happy Trails, be safe & Good Luck Mike P.

Jul 18, 2006, 7:41 PM	#9 (permalink)
MtnMagic Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lancaster, NH Posts: 892	While both are doable in the hot weather, Liberty Springs Trail has more shade of the two. And one gets to see Liberty from a very different perspective. __________________ Our New England Hiking & Adventurer's Group. http://hiking.meetup.com/283 Knowledge. Events. Fellowship. And more!

Jul 25, 2006, 8:53 AM	#10 (permalink)
Jonni Top of the Sunapee Express Join Date: May 2006 Location: Sunapee, NH & Lyndonville, VT Posts: 286	I found that the trail wasn't well marked with blazes, but since it was traveled enough by other hikers it was still easy enough to follow. I tend to try and keep track of where the blazes are, as I love to stop and look around in the woods for a minute or two. Either way the trail was fun and challenging for me as this was one of my first real day-long hikes on hiking trails. I usually just hike at ski areas, but have recently found that hiking trails are just as fun for me as the ski trails. __________________ Northeast Regional Moderator of Skilifts.org http://www.skilifts.org Lift Drive Foreman - Mt. Sunapee, NH Curved Ski Poles n. 1. Expert skier's poles bent at the factory to fit around the body and thus improve control and reduce air resistence. 2. Beginner's poles bent during use to fit around trees, trail signs, snowmaking equipment, lift towers, and other skiers.

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