Hike Log

Short on distance, not short on views

Trailhead:

Welch-Dickey Loop trailhead

Type of Hike:

Day hike

Trail Conditions:

Trail in good condition

ROAD:

Road suitable for all vehicles

Bugs:

No bugs

Snow:

Trail snow-covered at times – Gear and expertise recommended

Welch-Dickey loop is one of the most scenic hikes in New Hampshire. This 4.3 loop trail climbs over summits of Mt. Welch and Mt. Dickey and it's located in western part of White Mountains near Campton and interstate 93. Both mountains are fairly small, Welch mountain 2605 ft., Dickey mountain 2733 ft., but they offer some great views on surrounding area. Also, there are some open ledges along the way that offer nice views. These ledges can  be tricky when wet or icy.

Trailhead is located around 7 miles from exit 28 on I-93. There is pretty big parking lot which gets really crowded on weekends, especially during summer and fall, so getting there early is highly recommended. There is $5 parking fee that can be paid on trailhead.

I started around 7:40am. There was couple of cars on the parking lot. First 1.5 miles of trail to first ledges are fairly gradual and easy. After reaching first open ledges trail gets steeper and views are getting better and better. Some of the summits that can be seen while hiking up to Welch are Osceolas (West, Middle, East and Osceola peak), Sandwich Dome, Noon Peak, Jennings Peak, Black Mountain. Trail was well packed and firm so I only used microspikes. There was few icy spots along the ledges, but nothing unmanageable or dangerous. Besides the peaks mentioned earlier, from the treeless summit of Welch mountain I could see summit of Dickey, as well as Mt. Tecumseh, Mooseilauke, and many other peaks. After short break on the summit I descended down to the col between two peaks and after short steep section I reached summit of Dickey mountain. This summit, although higher, has more trees and views are limited. There are few open ledges on the way down so I was able to see Cannon Mountain and Franconia Ridge (Flume, Liberty, Lincoln, Lafayette) although it Franconia Ridge seemed bit cloudy.

After the ledges I entered woods again and after a while I reached parking lot. I took me around 2 hours to complete this hike.

 

Responses

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  1. It looks like you had a perfect day for your summit! I haven’t hit this peak yet! Way to go! Stay safe and happy trails!

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