Anyway, since we couldn't really go hiking anywhere because it was too miserable out, Compa had the great idea that we would stop in Fraconia Notch and see the Flume. We figured that with all the rainfall, the cascade would be marvellous. We were not at all disappointed. We suited up in our rain gear and set off.
According to Waterfalls of the White Mountains (Bruce, Daniel and Doreen Bulnick, Back Country Publications, Woodstock VT, 1999, 120-26), 'a flume is formed from a narrow band, or dike, of softer rock, such as basalt, that has plugged a fissure in harder bedrock. When exposed to running water, the dike erodes much more rapidly than the surrounding bedrock. The result is a narrow, sheer gorge that is gradually widened by frost action. The Flume in Fraconia Notch, therefore, is not really a curiosity. What accounts for its notoriety is its size: 800 feet long and 12 to 20 feet wide, with vertical walls 7 to 9 stories high.'
On the south side of the Flume. You can see how high the water was running.
Entering the Flume. Photo quality isn't so great because I couldn't really see what I was doing.
The drops on the camera lens come from the spray of the river. It is utterly amazing that one can walk through this site; people have been doing so for a century. Supposedly the Flume was discovered in 1808. There also used to be a huge boulder stuck up top but it came down in the great storm of 1883.
Looking back down from whence we came.
Avalanche Falls above the gorge provided us today with a 45-foot drop because the water was running so high. In other shots found on the web, the water daintily drops from rock to rock. Not so today.
The rocks are in focus so you can see just how hard the water is flowing.
Beyond that, there's Liberty Gorge cascade which was gorgeous.
And lastly there's the Sentinel Bridge (the covered bridge is built on a huge pine tree) with the Pool, a basin 150 feet in diameter, 40 feet deep, under granite walls 13 stories high.
I always have to remind myself that there are countless other waterfalls and cascades equally as beautiful hidden away in the mountains, many of which go unseen, others of which are viewed by hikers. This one just happens to be close to a highway and has been rendered more accessible for more people.
4 comments:
Wow! I went there many times as a kid, but I am talking about 40 years ago. I don't ever recall it with that much fury in the water!
As Merton once said- we are over the falls and into new waters. Indeed.
It is mud season at the wrong time in VT, no?
I will leave myself time to arrive on Sunday, so says Ms. Compulsively Early.
All the rain here has actually decimated my garden. The tomatoes are a wreck from too much water.
Great photos!
Great photos! So green and wet, like here!
I went to the Flume myself as a kid -- it was a staple trip for our summer camp in Vermon -- but don't remember that much water either. Beautiful photos.
Here it has been threatening to rain for three days --overast skies, high humidity-- and then it doesn't, which gives us the worst of both worlds: muggy weather AND near drought conditions. You'd think we could get a little clear sky as compensation for the lack of rain. (Actually, we did last weekend, and it was a joy. It reminded me of California, except it was hotter, and one could actually take a walk outdoors without wilting. I am doing vigorous housework indoors to compensate for the lack of outdoor walking this week. There have been "orange" air quality alerts, too.)
P.S. The word verification thingie says "raryn" -- as in "raryn' to go" ?! ;-)
Lovely. So refreshing to my soul on a hot day here in New Orleans. Thank you for sharing the lovely photos of such a gorgeous spot!
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