Flume

Flume is the southern most of the Franconia Range of mountains. I had read a new trail had been cut from the south east in 1983. Many trails in the Whites are older and have eroded to the point that you pretty much step from rock to rock, rather than walking on earth. Word was, the Osseo trail was soft under foot, well graded, and had almost 400 steps of either wood or rock to help you up the steep parts. After all the rock hopping we’ve done, I wanted to try this one. I did know there’s a cliff near the top we would have to negotiate, but I decided not to worry about that.

Joe drove us up the Kancamagus to the Lincoln Woods parking lot and we got a early start on the Lincoln Woods Trail. Walked that for 1.4 miles. It follows the remains of J. E. Henry’s East Branch and Lincoln RR. Many of the ties are still in place, so you need to walk along the edge of this wide path.

Soon we turned onto the Osseo trail and wound our way along the course of Osseo Brook in a beautiful open, level area. Looked like a nice place to stop for a snack on the return trip. The trail began to climb, and in no time we were into switchbacks. I do love a switch back. It lengthens the mileage, but sure makes the climbing easier. We often count them on the way up, and then we know how far we’ve come on the way down.

Next came the ladders, and I mean, lots of ladders. My past experience with trail ladders has been with old ones made from half rotten peeled logs–slimy and slippery and ready to break through. They often have steps missing and so you have a long reach onto a slippery, weak log. Not so, here. I was staggered at the amount of trail work that went into constructing these, from boards, no less. They were perfectly spaced, with landings after the long stretches, to give you a break, and allow for checking out the view. There were so many of them, we couldn’t believe it. Joe said he wished all trails were maintained as well as this one. Hopefully it will avoid the erosion that is so common.

Eventually we came to a level area where the old trail used to come in. At one time I had thought to camp here, with the intention of doing both Liberty and Flume. I changed my mind, due to lack of available water. It was just as well, since while it certainly was a large flat area, the firs were packed so tightly it would have been hard to find a place to pitch a tent.

At 5.5 miles we came to the junction with the Flume Slide Trail. That’s shorter but much steeper, climbing over an old land slide-- very difficult over steep slippery ledge and loose rocks. I was just as happy we had come the way we had.

We headed toward Flume’s narrow ridge crest and climbed along the exposed edge to the summit. That section wasn’t as bad as I feared, but it did give a funny feeling when you first break out into the open and stand at the sharp drop-offs. On the way up I kept my eyes on the trail, being careful of the footing, and didn’t stop to look around much.

The summit was a pleasure. There were a few people there sunning themselves and relaxing. We plunked down on the rocks and proceeded to devour a well deserved lunch. The weather was great. A nice breeze kept the bugs away, but it was gentle enough so we didn’t even need to put on jackets. We hung out for about 45 minutes, just enjoying the day.

As I sat there looking at Mt. Liberty, close by to the NW, I could see the col between the two mountains is very deep, and to travel between the two would involve a lot of elevation change and effort. I was just as happy we were doing the two mountains as separate trips.

Beyond Liberty we could see the rest of the Franconia Range, consisting of Little Haystack, Lincoln, and Lafayette. Lincoln and Lafayette are also on our list to climb. They looked massive. To the ENE we could see Bondcliff, another of our list we still need to do. It, also, was looking pretty impressive.

Finally, with 5.6 miles ahead of us, we knew it was time to head back. We took our summit shots for our photo album of the 48 over 4,000' we’re attempting to climb, and started back across the cliff edge, taking more photos as we went.

In no time we were back to the ladders, and then it was a long slog out to Osseo Brook. There we stopped for snacks and a rest, enjoying the sounds of the brook. Then out to the old railroad and followed it to the car. It had been a long hike, and the first 4K since I fractured my skull on the Sabbaday Brook Trail last summer. For a while it seemed like I was never going to hike any more 4K’s, and with Flume, I was happy at finally getting another 4K under my belt.

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