Our goal was to make it to the top, and the weather was making a good attempt to stop us
When Matt and I were on our way down from the summit, he described the hike as 95% tree tunnel. There was no doubt about it, the summit was on our mind all day. Our goal was to make it to the top, and the weather was making a good attempt at stopping us. The frozen forest enveloped us almost the entire trip. The only indication that we were about to get a 360 degree view of the world around us was the fact that we were hiking straight up hill for four hours.
About 100 yards from the top, we hit a false summit. I always appreciate a good false summit. It always happens that one person starts celebrating the fact that we finally made it to the top, only to have it pointed out by the other that we aren’t quite there yet. Fortunately for me, Matt was the one celebrating this time.
While I was pointing out the true summit, I realized I had seen this exact view in photos before; however, this time was different. Any image that I had seen of the peak of Mount Liberty was filled with the green of pine trees. That was not the case during our trip. Mount Liberty looked as if someone had shaken powdered sugar over its top. This dusting represented the frosted feeling that filled your lungs with each breath that wasn’t taken through my ski mask.
Looking around at the trees, each one was encased in snow. The snow expanded around it as if it had grown with the branches. Unfolding below us there were acres upon acres of trees with their branches frozen in place blowing to the east. This pattern stretched from Liberty to Lafayette, covering any evidence of the Appalachian Trail that passes between the peaks.
With the top being as exposed as it is, the ground was not as snow covered as the trail up. I took off my snowshoes in order to have a more sure foot over the rocky ground. Matt and I took the time to take a few photos (including one with our Articles of Incorporation!), but quickly felt the biting cold set in.
On the way up, we were maintaining our body temperatures by the exertion of going uphill. Now that we were casually about the top, not only were we not creating as much heat, but we were also subject to the wind that was blowing over top. The weather there at the top was around -25 degrees F in terms of real feel.
Below us there were acres upon acres of trees with their branches frozen in place
The trip down took half as long
In the article “Franconia Ridge Frozen Pine”, I mentioned that we had to make the decision on whether or not to return via the Mount Flume Slide Trail. We could see the peak of Mount Flume off to the South, and all that was between was the exposed saddle between the mountains. With the chill settling in, we decided that we would go back the way we came. Our avalanche safety studies would have to wait for another day.
The journey up took about 4.5 hours. The trip down took half as long. This was made possible in part by the fact that we were able to glissade down parts of the trail. Whenever we found that the trail was steep enough, we went down on our behinds and slid down the mountain. My pack was a bit too large to allow me to get too much momentum, but Matt was able to fly down.
Mount Liberty was a wonderful mountain. Snowshoeing to a peak in the White Mountains had long been on my bucket list. This trail did not disappoint. One thing to note about the trail that we took is that most of it is along the Appalachian Trail.
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