Mt.Liberty, In the Spring

Since I've completed the New England 67, and I missed out on views from certain 4,000 footers, I though it would be a good idea to start redoing these summits to achieve the best experience on each. When I did Mt.Liberty and Mt.Flume years ago, the summits were socked in. Luckily, this trip offered some of the best views I had ever seen.

Franconia Notch and Mt.Lincoln from Mt.Liberty.

This time, my dad and I hiked with four other people, but I found myself alone, ahead of everyone for most of the hike, so I'll be telling this from just my perspective. As a group, we headed up Liberty Springs Trail, until we came to the bike path, and I went ahead.

The Liberty Springs Trail is part of the Appalachian Trail, and the path itself is tame. There are a few water crossings, but nothing that bad. The last brook crossing was wide, but it still wasn't that bad. The brook has no name, but it flows down to "The Pool" on the Pemigewasset River near the Flume Gorge.

The unnamed brook that flows to the Pemi.

The trail soon enters pines and an icy spine of snow formed on the trail. It was still easy to go around, and it didn't take away from the hike at all. I arrived at Liberty Springs Tentsite, and the water was flowing well. Franconia Ridge Trail was just ahead, and I soon found myself below the empty summit.

The bare summit of Mt.Liberty.

The approach to the summit was excellent, and I immediately noticed the Kinsman Ridge and Camels Hump in Vermont. Mt.Lincoln was towering behind me as Mt.Lafayette hid behind it.

Camels Hump behind North Kinsman.

The views from the summit itself was even better, as it offered views in every direction. The mountain towered above the town of Lincoln, and I saw Mt.Moosilauke to the southwest. I waited for an hour on the summit for the rest of the group to get there. Some hikers from Virginia told us that the snow in between Flume and Liberty was about waist height, so we decided not to head over.

Mt.Flume in front of the southern White Mountains.

Mt.Liberty is one of three 4,000 footers in New England that has a name with an unknown origin. The other two include Spaulding Mountain and Mt.Abraham, both in Maine.

Mt.Washington rises behind the Twin Range.

The entirety of the White Mountains could be seen looking east, and a lot of the Green Mountains could be seen behind the Kinsman Range to the west. I also saw Mt.Cardigan and Mt.Kearsarge to the south.

Looking south from Mt.Liberty with Lincoln below.

Below are some panoramas that we took from the summit. I had them labeled, and I took about two hours to label them, but when put on here they couldn't be read. I still left them labeled if you want to look hard enough to read them.

A closer look at Franconia Notch. Willoughby Gap can be seen in the background to the right.

GALLERY

The cliffs of Cannon Mountain.

Looking down Franconia ridge with the ledges of Mt.Liberty below.

Mt.Moosilauke and the Kinsmans.

The Presidentials over Mt.Guyot and Mt.Bond.

Mt.Flume

A wider shot of Mt.Flume.

Bondcliff with more summits in the background.

The descent was easy, and I stuck around them as we headed down. I'm glad to be bringing my readers more mountains, and this happens to be my first blog on a report up a 4,000 footer. I have made my blog on the New England 67 (link here), but this is a single report, and I hope you enjoyed it! Happy trails!