Welch Dickey Loop Trail Hike

The usually mild mannered Welch Dickey loop trail turned out to be a bit more of a bear than advertised.  Large areas in the woods were still covered in snow, and most of the trail still e hibited the classic “monorail” of hard packed ice in the center.  The open ledges, however, were clear, though a bit slippery in parts where the melt water flowed. Micro spikes and Yak Trackers came in handy (or is it footly?) on the icy snow cover, but needed to be removed for the open rocks.  Some of us got tired of that routine and kept them off from Dickey back down to the trailhead without any mishap.  As we approached our lunch spot on the top of Mt. Welch, the fog and clouds lifted up, and gorgeous scenery greeted us for the rest of the trip.  We all agreed that the lingering snow cover even made the views that much more alluring. The only drawback at this point is that the sun came out in full force,and though mercifully turning the day into a truly wonderful spring day, it also caused us to get sunburnt.  Still, as Ed pointed out, this turned out to be one of those great memorable White Mountains Hike.  We capped this all off by heading down to the old Swiss-German William Tell restaurant, which in its current incarnation is now an Irish pub named J.L. Sullivan’s. Great food and beer, and we highly recommend it if you are hiking in the Campton-Waterville Valley.  One of us,at least, liked his Black & Tan beer.  Somebody else, who shall remain nameless, did not.  I guess you have to be Irish to really like this.

The Welch-Dickey loop trail hike is the ideal Spring warm-up hike for two big reasons:  It is among the first of the trails in NH's White Mountains to be clear of snow and ice in the spring; and at barely five miles in length, it offers pretty much everything that the White Mountains have to offer, but in small doses.  No wonder the AMC White Mountains Guide describes it as a trail that offers excellent views for a modest effort.  However, do not be deceived by this comment, as there are some steep sections which will give you a workout, even if they are indeed short.

This being April, be prepared for any type of weather, so bring layers to put on and take off accordingly.  Also bring one or two liters of water, as there is no potable water on the trail.  We plan to hike counterclockwise, which will take us to the ledges below the summit of Mt. Welch, and then to the summit itself, where we will stop for lunch.  So bring a lunch and/or snacks to share.  We should be done hiking by 3:00 p.m or so.