With a 1:00 pm start after a morning appointment, I figured I would still have time for a long foliage walk out the easygoing Livermore Trail to the NW side of Mount Tripyramid. My plan was to head up via the Mount Tripyramid Trail and a bushwhack to an open patch on the East Fork of the North Slide for a view of hardwood-rich Scaur Ridge.
A brisk walk up the Livermore Trail is a golden delight on a sunny foliage season day.
Still some reds mixed in.
White Cascade on Slide Brook slips into a gorgeous pool.
The time of year when Livermore Trail really shines.
The clearing at the site of Avalanche Camp.
Dazzling.
The post for the trail sign had broken, so it was leaning against a tree.
Into the Wilderness.
Along the Mount Tripyramid Trail.
Big yellow birches in here at the entrance to Avalanche Ravine.
Gorgeous off-trail glade on floor of Avalanche Ravine.
Dry bed of Avalanche Brook.
Between the trees, a peek at the top of the North Slide.
Leaf-carpeted base of the North Slide's East Fork.
In summer/fall, the East Fork is too wet and slippery to climb. To get to the view spot, I bushwhacked through the woods alongside, occasionally popping out to the edge for a look.
The whack alongside is steep but straightforward, with reasonable woods and no major obstacles.
There are nice cascades here when a brook is flowing down the slide.
The first significant opening on the East Fork is at 3250 ft., a 450-ft. climb from the base.
It happens to be next to a solitary white pine that rises amidst a sea of spruce.
Looking down....
...and out. The colors on Scaur Ridge were prime.
Mount Moosilauke sprawls in the distance through Thornton Gap.
Shadows on the Osceolas.
Heading back down after a half-hour sojourn.
Leafy pool at the base of the East Fork.
Parting shot.
Five o'clock in Avalanche Ravine.
Homeward bound on Livermore Trail.
