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Mt Liberty - page 2 of 2

In addition to a self-portrait and a shot of the summit rocks taken from my semi-sheltered spot, I was able to get some good views of the surrounding mountains, which as usual, were much better in person than my photos reveal. To the north, Franconia Ridge stretched up the ridge to Little Haystack, although I couldn't really see Mts Lincoln and Lafayette beyond. To the east, there was Owl's Head, the Bonds, the expanse of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, and in the distance, Mt Washington, which only photographed well with my zoom lens set as high as it would go.

To the southeast stood nearby Mt Flume and its numerous rock slides, all the more apparent when outlined in snow. To the northwest, Cannon and its famous cliffs overlooked the north exit of Franconia Notch. And finally, the ski slopes of Loon Mountain stood out starkly from an otherwise dark and hazy southern landscape.

By this time, even the new batteries were beginning to lose power in the icy wind. In good weather, Mt Liberty's ledges overlooking Franconia Notch are a nice (and popular) place to relax and enjoy watching the ants driving their tiny cars up and down I-93. But on this day, I was only anxious to get back down below treeline where the air was balmy by comparison.

The hike down was uneventful except that when I got near the bottom, I thought I'd try taking the shortcut mentioned in Mohamed Ellozy's Peakbagging website. This shortcut involves following an old abandoned logging road once used by the former F. W. Whitehouse Mill. This road, which is somewhat overgrown with young trees but still apparent, leaves the Liberty Spring Trail at its sharp right turn (sharp left going down) about a hundred feet below its junction with the Flume Slide Trail.

This worked out well, and got me to the bike path much closer to the Basin's parking lot. As Mohamed mentions on his website, the lower end of the trail is not at all obvious from the bike path but, going down, it's no problem because you can see the bike path from where the trail's corridor peters out in a wet area. And in the winter, due to its popularity, chances are that someone else will have already snowshoed out a packed path to mark the way.

Little Haystack Mtn. From Mt Liberty. The Franconia Ridge Trail winds it way to the north, first to Little Haystack and then on to Mts Lincoln and Lafayette.

Looking east. In the foreground, below, is the south end of Owl's Head. Behind that lie the Bonds with Bondcliff just visible at the far right. Mt Washington is barely visible in the distance.

Closeup of Mt Washington. If you look carefully, you can also see the thin line of the Cog Railway rising out of Ammonoosuc Ravine at left center.

Mt Flume. Scarred by numerous rock slides, the west face of Mt Flume looks down into Franconia Notch.

Cannon Mtn. To the northwest, Cannon and its famous cliffs overlook Franconia Notch

Closeup of Cannon Mtn. The building on the summit is the top of the Cannon Mtn Tramway.

Loon Mtn Ski Area. The ski runs are particularly visible when the snow provides a stark contrast to the surrounding trees.

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  Liberty page: 

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