Mt. Welch & Mt. Dickey(2.7K)
Trail: Welch/Dickey trail
Date: 11/09/02
Attending: Royal Ranger Hike!
Miles: 4.5 loop Time: 5 hours round trip
AMC huts, / shelters / camping site: None
Weather: Partly sunny, 55 degrees
Royal Rangers Outpost 88 Cornerstone Church (Winchendon MA) Trail Blazers and Challengers. Sounds Impressive Hugh!
In attendance: Adults… John Moylan, Gary Gillcrest, Nick Kuchta, Simone & John Chicoine; Boys… John Bauver, Gabe Chicoine, Dan Kuchta, Evan Huhtla and Joey Lilly.
This was an absolutely beautiful day, (Either we know how to pick em or a bad day hiking is better than a good day doing almost anything else.) Thank God for Indian summer! We met at the church parking lot at 7:AM, Packed a church Van, outfitted Joey with pair of boots, and hit the road by 7:10AM
The trail guide says to hike this loop counter-clockwise starting on the trail branching immediately to the right by the parking lot, but we hiked it clockwise. One of these days we may actually hike it that way, but “Not Today My Friend”. We could see the snow on the two peaks from Rt. 93 so I figured it would be best to bag Mt. Dickey first just in case the ice and snow made completing the loop too dangerous. I knew with enough determination and care we were likely to summit Mt. Dickey and safely descend it. Under dry conditions this trail is lots of fun and fairly easy, but not too easy. Because of the many steep ledges you have to traverse I don’t recommend hiking this trail in sneakers, (too much toe jamming without the support of a boot). We had some awesome icicles on the ledges ascending Mt. Dickey and there was some ice and snow covering melting off the granite slabs. (Thank God it was melting to the point that we had enough bare rock to hike on or it would have been a bit tougher hike). The trail has lots of open ridge walking, not for people afraid of high cliffs. At first Evan was just a little apprehensive of the cliffs, but within a few moments he adjusted to open cliffs. We took our time hiking the trails taking every opportunity to do a little trail-side teaching of animal tracks, following trail markers, and respect for the trail. Once we reached the summit on Dickey for lunch we did a little map and compass work pointing out some of the peaks in site. To this point we had not seen any other hikers on the trail and when we left the van in the parking lot there were no other cars. (I was wondering if the whole world knew something I didn’t). From Mt. Dickey I could see the heavily snow covered trail up the steep side of Mt. Welch that wasn’t getting the melting benefits of the sun. I knew if we managed to get down into the col we’d scramble up Mt. Welch regardless of conditions unless we hit ice. Just as we were dropping off the Side of Mt. Dickey into the col, we met our first hiker coming from the other direction. Good news! The steep side out of the col up Mt. Welch was slippery snow covered but manageable with lots of care, but the ledges down Mt. Welch to the south-east were mostly melted bare and dry. A first! We got to spend a few moments studying a 2Ft. long snake warming itself on the rocks across the trail. Wicked cool! This guy was moving real slow and we all had plenty of time to get to get a good look. (Later that night Gabe and I checked the books and we think it was an Eastern Milk Snake.) By the time we got back to the van we had few boys walking like old men. (And a few old men strutting around like a couple of kids) and smiles from ear to ear on every face. Mission Accomplished!
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Mt. Welch & Mt. Dickey
(2.7K)
Trail:Welch/Dickey trail
Date: 4/15/99
Attending: Matt LeBlanc, Gabe, Simone, & John Chicoine
Miles: 4.5 loop Time: 4 hours round trip
AMC huts, / shelters / camping site:None
Weather: Bright and Sunny, 55 degrees, with a moderate wind on the summits.
This was the first time we’ve done this one. We had originally planned to hike Mt Osceola but Tripoli road hadn’t opened yet. Bummer! The road had been clear for a long time because the snow season was short this year but the town is keeping the road closed anyway. It was a beautiful day, (either we know how to pick em or, A bad day hiking is better than a good day home schooling.) Anyway,,, The trail guide says to hike this loop counter-clockwise, starting on the trail branching immediately to the right by the parking lot but we hiked it clockwise. We liked it that way. You can see the faces of the people doing the trail the way the trail guide says to, instead of their buts as they pass us heading up the hill. The trail is lots of fun and fairly it’s easy, but not too easy. We had some awesome icicles on the ledges, and there was ice covering melting off the granite slabs we had to traverse. (Thank God it was melting to the point that we had some bare rock to hike on or we would have never made it.) The trail has lots of open ridge walking, not for people afraid of heights/cliffs. Matt and I had a very long, humorous discussion on a book we should write about the greatly feared Attack Mountain Chickens.
Gabe
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Mt. Welch & Mt. Dickey
(2.7K)
Trail: Welch/Dickey trail
Date: 9/5/99
Attending: Gwen and Gary Gilchrist, Gabe, Simone, & John Chicoine
Miles: 4.5 loop Time: 3 hours to summit. Rround trip 8:30 & 1:45
AMC huts, / shelters / camping site:None
Weather: Partly cloudy with thick haze, 75 degrees, with a light wind on the summits.
We hiked this trail for the second time this year; Once in late April with Matt. Lablank and this time with Gary and Gwen Gillcrist. They both agreed that this is a wonderful trail. Only 4.5 miles of moderate trail with almost 2 miles of it on open ledges with spectacular views from the open summits on both peaks. This is the nicest & easiest trail in the southern most parts of the Whites. Only 2.7k at the highest point these two mountains afford views of a dozen of the 4k’s. Today we really meandered along and took lots of time enjoying the warm weather and awesome views, so the 3.5 hour hike took 5.5 hours. The brook was dry this time of year, some one from another hiking party intentionally packed up had a 1-gallon water bottle and he was passing out water to the needy. Simone and I kept asking Gabe, “Where’s your hat?” so Gary asked talked this guy into asking Gabe where his hat was. If you can, remember to use the bathrooms at the info center as you get off Rt93 onto Rt49 towards Waterville Valley, (not the woods); the trail is heavily traveled. To get to the trail, take Upper Mad River RD, across the bridge, and follow the signs to the trailhead parking. As a closing note; It was really nice having Gary and Gwen along, for this hike, hopefully we can do some more hiking with them. I’d really like to see them get some good hiking boots so we can feel more comfortable inviting them to do trails we haven’t hiked before.