kltilton
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2004
- Messages
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Monday brought the opportunity to try some shorter trails in the Waterville Valley area. I was staying with my girlfriend Jess for a couple of days and had to kill some time while she was in class. I had read about the Welch Dickey Loop online and heard about its reputation as being for being crowded, but figured that wouldn’t be a problem on a Monday morning.
The trail was well packed out by the hoards of people that traversed the loop in the 2 previous days. I really didn’t need snowshoes but didn’t know what it would be like near the top, so I stuck with them. The trail through the lower woods was a little boring, but was well worth the time once I reached the first ledge area. Looking down into the lower Waterville Valley was breathtaking. The sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the snow was starting to soften up. It felt like I was in Tahoe. I headed for the summit of Welch Mt. and took in the sights. The landscape at the top reminded me of the Moats in North Conway. I left my camera at home thinking that I wouldn’t need it. Oh well, it just gives me an excuse to go back.
As I climbed up Dickey Mt. I noticed that someone had either skied or snowboarded the open areas in the past couple of days. It must have been a blast. The summit of Dickey Mt. had more incredible views and more sun. I didn’t want to leave. The lack of trail marking helped delay my descent. Most of the trail markers at the summit must have been painted on the rocks below the snow and ice. I searched for 20 minutes for the trail after following numerous snowshoe tracks.
On my descent I noticed a set of snowshoe tracks that were spread far apart. It looked like someone had been running on them. It was strange enough to see that someone else was up there on the same day, but also running on snowshoes at the same time. Further inspection revealed that my fellow runner was wearing Tubbs Piranhas. The descent was amazing as the trail popped in and out of the woods and followed the edge of a cliff for a little while before dropping back into the woods.
I met up with the other snowshoer back in the parking lot, 1:19:55 after I started. We chatted about snowshoe running, cross country skiing, and the outdoors in general. Great run on a great day.
Photos
The trail was well packed out by the hoards of people that traversed the loop in the 2 previous days. I really didn’t need snowshoes but didn’t know what it would be like near the top, so I stuck with them. The trail through the lower woods was a little boring, but was well worth the time once I reached the first ledge area. Looking down into the lower Waterville Valley was breathtaking. The sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the snow was starting to soften up. It felt like I was in Tahoe. I headed for the summit of Welch Mt. and took in the sights. The landscape at the top reminded me of the Moats in North Conway. I left my camera at home thinking that I wouldn’t need it. Oh well, it just gives me an excuse to go back.
As I climbed up Dickey Mt. I noticed that someone had either skied or snowboarded the open areas in the past couple of days. It must have been a blast. The summit of Dickey Mt. had more incredible views and more sun. I didn’t want to leave. The lack of trail marking helped delay my descent. Most of the trail markers at the summit must have been painted on the rocks below the snow and ice. I searched for 20 minutes for the trail after following numerous snowshoe tracks.
On my descent I noticed a set of snowshoe tracks that were spread far apart. It looked like someone had been running on them. It was strange enough to see that someone else was up there on the same day, but also running on snowshoes at the same time. Further inspection revealed that my fellow runner was wearing Tubbs Piranhas. The descent was amazing as the trail popped in and out of the woods and followed the edge of a cliff for a little while before dropping back into the woods.
I met up with the other snowshoer back in the parking lot, 1:19:55 after I started. We chatted about snowshoe running, cross country skiing, and the outdoors in general. Great run on a great day.
Photos
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