A wooden walkway anchored to moss covered rock walls keep your feet dry on the Franconia Notch Flume Gorge Trail. -- Photo by Pat Bean
“It is only when we silence the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.” — K.T. Jong.
Travels With Maggie
Yesterday I took you on a summer day hike in the shadow of Wyoming’s Grand Tetons. Today I’ve decided we should take a fall walk up Flume Gorge in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
The trail begins in Franconia Notch State Park. You have to pay $12 to access it, but I doubt you’ll regret the expense.
After crossing over the the Pemigewasset River, the path begins its ascent up the flume, a geologic wonder created from molten rock deep below the surface millions of years ago. The rock cooled, fractured and was eventually exposed by the forces of erosion.
The narrow gorge section of the trail consists of a series of bridges and steps anchored to steep moss-covered walls below which flows a rippling stream. The final section of the trail requires squeezing past a torrent of plunging water known as Avalanche Falls, an appropriate name because the falls was created in 1883 after a storm washed away a huge overhanging boulder.
At the top, hikers can either take a shortcut back to the visitor center or continue on to Liberty Gorge, where another cascading stream makes its way down to the Pemigewasset River.
I continued onward, along with about half of the dozen or so hikers who had made it to the top the same time as me. While they set a fast pace on the trail, I dawdled, taking time to identify the birds and flowers and to photograph the beauty around me.
The result was that I soon had the path to myself. Miraculously it continued that way. I slowed my pace even more, drinking in the tranquility of nature’s whimsies right down to my little toes. Hug-able trees, fragrant flowers, a mysterious dark pool, water singing as it splashed playfully about, and scattered glacial rocks, one as large as a cabin with an interpretive sign to denote its importance.
“Life is good,” I told Maggie when I finally returned to my RV. Dogs weren’t allowed on the trail.
She wagged her tail and asked: So where’s my treat?
I gave her two
Pat Bean's blog 
I love your combination of nature writing, history and personal stories. A powerful mix.
Keep writing,
Edith.
I love the Flume. The last time I was up there I was probably 7 years old, and it seemed that hike went on forever. I will never forget how beautiful it was.
Another beautiful spot I haven’t seen in years. My husband and I loved that part of New Hampshire and visited many times when we lived on that side of the continent-camping, hiking and back-roading it. You bring back good memories. Thanks Pat.
What an awesome quote to go with these awesome pictures! You’re posting pics of places I’ve never been — and hope to one day see. I’ve never been west of the Mississippi River — and I know that there’s a whole other world – well, another part of the country – on the other side of that great river!
Another wonderful post and hike. Your pictures and writing almost make me feel as if I’m there.
(Adding this hike to the ever growing list.)
Thanks Robin ….
Keep writing … Pat Bean https://patbean.wordpress.com
With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any
issues of plagorism or copyright violation? My blog
has a lot of unique content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my authorization. Do you know any methods to help prevent content from being ripped off? I’d truly appreciate it.
Not really. As a journalist for 37 years, I was always seeing my work used without my getting credit. One time a college student reran a story in a student newspaper with her own byline. I wrote her a letter that said great article, best you’ve ever written, and included a copy of my bylined story with it. Do you think I should forward the compliment to your professor. She never did that again. Now with the Internet it happens a lot. Not all people know better. Thanks for commenting.
Gorgeous!