Tripyramids Dayhike - 19/Sep/98
After a summer of lousy weather and viewless hikes, this day shaped up
to be the perfect antidote to the end of summer. After a late start we
drove to the trailhead of the Livermore Road, in Waterville Valley. After
putting on boots and packing up, we hit the trail just before 11:00. Not
the earliest start we ever had, but not the worst either. The Livermore
Road is mostly level and flat with occasional
short climbs. There were tracks from recent work vehicles and occasional
mountain bikers sped past. The road is gated so no cars are on the
road.
After 3.6 miles the north side of the Tripyramid Loop branches off to the
right. It climbs gradually for a bit, then hits the
base of the slide. The bottom part is
often wet so take care heading up. This is not
a trail to be attempted in bad weather.
Soon we climbed out into the open and got ourselves
some nice views. Here, the slide broadens and people
who are afraid of heights could have a problem. We
passed a group of three hikers headed down, something
that isn't recommended but makes for an exciting trip. No pun intended.
Near the top of the slide, before it closes in, there is a
wonderful view north which goes all the way from
Tecumseh to Washington.
From the top of the slide it's a short climb to the
wooded summit of North Tripyramid. There's a small
view to the west nearby. From there, the trail runs along the ridge, dropping
sharply at first before rising again to the more open
summit of Middle Tripyramid, .8 miles away. There, we stopped for lunch and
took in the views west to Passaconaway, east to
Tecumseh, and south to
South Tripyramid. A large group had just left the
summit and we had it to ourselves for as long as we wanted. I guess that's
one advantage of being the last folks on a one way loop. The trip to South
Tripyramid was uneventful, and the peak is completely wooded. Just past the
top we met up with a hiker who was looking for the Sleepers trail, which he
had missed on the way up the South slide. He had finished his NH 100 highest
but there was a possibility that a new list would become official soon that
had one of the Sleepers that he didn't do as an official peak and he wanted to
climb it before that happened. Ah, peakbagging. But afterall, that's why we
were up there.
A short ways after the south peak we hit the
top of the South slide. This one is mainly
gravel and scree with occasional
big blocks of rock thrown in for good measure. We
met some folks headed up who were considering doing the loop but had
inadequate footwear and a dog. I hope they decided against it. We
were getting a bit tired, but made it down easily, stopping several times
to catch the very begining of foliage season. From the bottom of the slide
back to the Livermore Road is tiring but scenic. By the time we hit the road
we were ready to head out and wished we had stashed mountain bikes for the
journey. There are several short hikes off the Livermore Road, and we
took the .2 mile trip to the Big Pines. There are 4 old growth eastern white
pines, well over 100 feet tall, and they took our breath away. It's really
amazing to stand under these giants and imagine a whole forest of them, as
was here before NH was settled by Europeans. We wished them well and headed
back to the car.
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