New Hampshire’s White Mountains is a gorgeous area of New England. Here at Flume Gorge Loop in Franconia Notch State Park we’ll discover unique beauty over a 2-mile loop trail walk. The Loop Trail is one of the most visited in New Hampshire with crowds that don’t quit, but guess what? It is May and the young ones are still in school, the weather is a bit iffy, and we are pretty much alone in this spectacular and special treasure.
The lovely red bridge is the first of two covered bridges along our loop walk. This bridge, built in 1871, crosses the Pemigewasset River, an Abenaki (Algonquian language) word meaning “where side (entering) current is”. Locals call the river the Pemi. We’ll see more of the river on the second half of the walk, but first we will explore Flume Gorge with Conway granite and basalt walls eroded by ice, weather, and water.
Flume Brook continues carving the gorge, but here it heads to converge with the Pemi. Table Rock, our first feature, is a slab of Conway granite, 500 feet (150m) long and 75 feet (20m) wide.
Warning: stay on the trail, the wet rock is very slippery. I’m taking them at their word!
Conway granite is typically pink, but I don’t see pink. Regardless, this is an amazing slab of rock.
Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) are all along the trail. This native deciduous shrub adores rich, moist woods. It is a member of the Honeysuckle Family and also known as Moosewood and Alder-leaved Viburnum.
The trail continues over the bridge ahead, giving us a Flume Brook dry crossing.
As we enter the Gorge, mosses, ferns, lichen-covered rock walls speak of dripping water and deep moisture in the air.
A purple trillium (Trillium erectum) stands out against the mosses and wet rock walls.
The walls are dripping moss!
The Gorge is narrowing. The side walls are 70 to 90 ft (21 to 27 m) high and 12 to 20 ft (3.7 to 6.1 m) apart.
Up the stairs we go.
We are in the narrowest part of the Gorge now. The stairway ultimately leads to the main attraction–Avalanche Falls.
Avalanche Falls is a 45-foot drop and is making enough wind that the next part of our walk will be WET!
Wow, it is way too wet to stop for a picture straight toward the falls. From here we only occasionally get hit with some water, and we can see the top-of-the-falls overlook. Let’s go.
Let’s talk a minute about elevation. I usually take you on hikes at 5,000 feet or more and see mountains over 12,000 feet along the way, so why is a wimpy 1,600 feet notable? In New England the highest mountains are from 3,700 to 6,300 feet, but the valleys are only a few hundred feet high at most. The difference between mountain tops and valleys is very similar if not greater than many of our western walks! Let’s show a little respect.
Walking toward the top of the falls, we first see Flume Brook coming down from the mountains.
Special viewing platform at the top of Avalanche Falls. See the crowds of people? Aaaah, I love it too–the beauty of early spring adventures!
Up and out of the Gorge, we walk Ridge Path to the Pemi River. Can you hear the running water?
This is the first feature of Liberty Gorge on the Pemigewasset River. This 70-foot waterfall is called Liberty Cascade.
A better view of Liberty Gorge with our second covered bridge through which we will walk, Sentinel Pine Bridge.
This is the feature of the Gorge most revered, aptly called the Pool.
I’ll let the park sign tell the story.
No, you cannot go swimming, too dangerous, and it is hard to get to anyway.
The Sentinel Pine Bridge has an interesting story.
The Sentinel Pine tree stood for centuries on a high cliff above the Pool. At almost 175 feet (53m) high, and a circumference of 16 feet (4.8m), it was one of the largest pines in New Hampshire. The September 1938 hurricane uprooted the pine and it fell across the banks above the Pool and now serves as the base for the bridge, built in 1939.
We are beginning to see huge glacial erratics along the trail now, but why are rocks called by this unique name? Briefly, during the last Ice Age glaciers moved south leaving rocks of all sizes in its path. Those rocks are neither the size nor type native to the area, so they are called glacial erratics. This erratic, however, is so much more–it is a “rock garden”. Ferns, mosses, trees, and flowers bloom atop, eking out a living on the soil and moisture in cracks.
We are in Franconia Notch State Park, and have visited Crawford Notch and Pinkham Notch. So the nagging question is, what’s a notch? It turns out “notch” is a New England term meaning a deep valley created by glaciers. Makes sense.
Mt. Flume (4,327 ft) is to the right and Mt. Liberty (4,460 ft) to the left. They are the southern end of the Franconian Range. The kiosk on the trail encouraged me to look closer, now it is your turn. The top of Mt. Liberty (left) is referred to as “General Washington Lying in State”. What do you think, do you see it?
We have seen these “spider” trees many places, with their roots atop and around rocks. Why did they grow this way?
They were in a struggle for survival, and by the size of some of these trees it worked! The trees sprouted from seed, maybe carried by the wind or dropped by a bird, and germinated on a rock. As the tree grew, its roots stretched out to find soil below. In areas where soil is thin, terrain is rocky, and growing conditions are poor, as in this Notch, the phenomenon is common. However, do trees really grow fast enough to reach the ground over such large rocks? They must, but it still seems amazing to me.
It is just a short distance back to car and what an amazing walk it has been.
Just one more shot of a beautiful springtime-only painted trillium (Trillium undulatum).
Until next time my friend! Get out there, slow down, look around, and enjoy a “wilderness” near you. There are special discoveries around every corner!
