But I told Tracey of one more stop my friend Frankenstein mentioned. He collapsed in 2003 and a beautiful park was designed to honor him.Īnd a little more leaf peeping at Franconia Notch.įrom this point forward we just were ready to get on the road and head back home. This area has a tremendous story to tell.Īfter a short educational film in the visitor center we had lunch and mustered up a little strength to check out the famous old man of the mountain. I wish these boulders could talk to tell us their glacial story of landing here. The people in the photo next to the boulder give you a good idea of their size. Erratics are useful indicators of patterns of former ice flow).įyi….if you ever have to type the word erratic boulder most likely spell checker will try to change it to erotic boulder. (wiki-pedia: An erratic is a boulder transported and deposited by a glacier having a lithology different than the bedrock upon which it is sitting. It says rock garden but these are actually glacial erratic boulders. I try to think of it as God giving the trees a final blaze of glory before they lose their leaves to face a harsh winter.īy this point your legs are on fire and you just want this 3 hour hike to be over with (but in a good way), but not before passing a ‘rock’ garden. Sure it is always a little sad knowing that winter is imminent. I think the fall foliage in New England is like that of no other. The film we watched later said you can see all the way up to Canada from certain vantage points of Franconia. Right after the covered bridge there were breath-taking mountain views. My friend Frankenstein who now lives in Texas asked me to post some New England foliage. What else might you like to see for your $16? A wolf den and another covered bridge? Coming up. But not until after some more exhausting hiking. Yes, that’s two gorgeous gorges for the price of one. After peeking into the bear cave, you can either choose to descend along the rim of the flume or you can take the alternative route to see the next smaller but impressive gorge, Liberty gorge. You will feel transported far away and far back in time.Īt this point you can really feel the work out. I think this is truly one of the greatest outdoor things to see in New England. I think Tracey described it best when she said this feels like Yosemite. There are plenty of rocks with dark patches of dried up lava on them. Fortunately there are a few little resting spots along the way. Tracey asked me to mention that those suffering from vertigo may need to stop a moment to regroup. The walk becomes very exciting and intense. Over time the water and pebbles run over the rocks and scour them into a smooth surface. The first encounter with rocks are very smooth. The hike starts up just past a working covered bridge.Īs you approach the gorge you can hear the very loud roar of water. We wished we had brought our hiking sticks with us. It is completely amazing and the steep hiking starts quickly. Honestly, visiting Flume Gorge this time was like seeing it for the first time again. (Gorge: a narrow passage through land especially : a narrow steep-walled canyon or part of a canyon) What can you expect to see for $16 you are wondering? Two gorges, waterfalls, covered bridges, a bear cave, a wolf den and much much more. If you are looking for the perfect family fun-filled day, with older children strong enough for a 3 hour hike, then this is the perfect place and the best $16 entrance fee that you’ll ever spend. It’s a good 177 miles up to Franconia so we started off very early at 6 am. I’ve always wanted to return and mentioned it to my hiking buddy Tracey for the long holiday weekend. About 15 years ago I took a very poorly planned trip to the Franconia Region of New Hampshire and visited Flume Gorge just barely before closing.
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