osseo trail and Mt's Flume and Liberty

[LongStep]

Im going to be camping at branch brook this week and im making it a yearly event to take some folks hiking. Having myself already dont the franconia ridge trail and bagged all but flume and Liberty I thought this would fit nicely. My question is how steep is the osseo trail? I know about the stairs/ladders and was wondering how trecherous they could be in wet conditions (id imagine falling/slipping on the stairs could be pretty devestating.) My hiking partner has hiked a few hikes with me but I would hate for it to be very dangerous under certain conditions. Also how is the hike from Flume to liberty?


As usual thanks for any feed back

 

[MichaelJ]

Flume to Liberty is very easy, a nice walk.
The Osseo is never more than a moderate steepness. For most of its length it's very nicely graded, and I remember even the footing is excellent.
The ladders are not bad or treacherous - here is a photo and you can see that yes, a fall would hurt, but no, you're not really exposed (the photo-taker is on solid ground).
Crossing Flume is the only spot where you might feel exposed, but so long as you step carefully and stay back from the edge, there's nothing to worry about. I did it when icy and was fine. You can always grab the scrub, too.
Looks like the weather for the next few days is not going to be wet - have a great time!

 

[David Metsky]

The stairs are just stairs, they aren't a problem unless you decide to run down them. A fall wouldn't be too devastating, it's not like you are far from the ground. If you fell at the top and rolled all the way down it would suck, but it's just not very likely.

From Flume to Liberty is just a walk in the woods, nothing tricky along the way. If you can stash a car at the Liberty Springs trailhead it is shorted to go out there then to backtrack over Flume.

 

[LongStep]

cool thanks for the replies. I didn't know if the stairs were the short narrow ones good to know. I may stash a care for the return trip although the idea of finishing the hike with a legit walk in the woods would be refreshing for a change.

 

[Mike P.]

As they said, it's a nice walk,