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When
I arrived at the north branch of the Tripyramid Trail, I took off my pack and
rested for a few minutes. From there, the Tripyramid Trail descended
steeply down a brook bank, then crossed the water easily over several
smooth stones and climbed up the
other side.
About
fifteen minutes later, I reached the foot of the North Slide. At this
point, the slide was little more than a pebbly outwash strewn along the
trail. But the slide gradually began to widen and become more obvious, and
soon the path turned left and came out into the open. Looking to the
northwest, I could see the summit of Mt Osceola behind a closer wooded
ridge.
Gazing
uphill, the slide rose seemingly endlessly above me. Here and there,
amongst the loose talus and occasional larger boulders where enough soil
had collected to sustain life, grew clumps of bushes and small plants. Climbing required careful placement of
both hands and feet, so I collapsed my poles and strapped them to
my backpack out of my way. Sections of smooth stable rock alternated with
loose stones. As
I scrambled up the steep slope, it was hard not to dislodge a few rocks.
This was definitely borderline technical
climbing,
especially in sections littered with loose slippery gravel. People
with a fear of falling would not do well here, but I welcomed the challenge
and the change from the usual graded paths.
Cautiously
making my way higher, the views opened up even more. Soon, I could see all
the way back to Mt Tecumseh and the Waterville Valley ski area, which
wasn't too far from where I started my hike on the Livermore Trail earlier
that morning.
Eventually,
I caught sight of the end. The slide petered out in the trees above, but
the trail, which up until now had been marked only with sporadic
weatherworn paint blazes on the rocks, turned sharp left at a cairn and
disappeared into the woods. |
The
foot of the North Slide. About 15 minutes after leaving the Livermore
Trail, the Tripyramid Trail reaches the narrow gravelly outwash of the
North Slide. |
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