sapblatt
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A full six weeks ahead of schedule (after the birth of son # 2) I was able to get out and hike last Friday on Welch Dickey with LarryD, Mrs. LarryD (Kathy), and Alpinista. The forecast was for a great day but it was very overcast on the ride...a few minutes up the trail and the clouds burned off and we had a fantastic spring/summer day.
We headed up in the traditional counter-clockwise manner which quickly got us past a stream and slowly climbing towards the first open ledges on Welch. The views here are great - Sandwich Dome and the Trypyramids. We took a brief rest and managed to get going up the steeper section heading towards Welch. It is a quite a scramble in spots, in fact more so than many of the four thousand footers...even with the relatively low elevation of these peaks a forest fire many years ago has left them in quite an alpine enviornement.
As we headed up we marveled at what fantastic physical condition we are all in -
. The next person who says "we are almost at the top" is in big trouble! Of course, we eventually made it and took a nice break at the summit before heading down towards the col and heading back up Dickey.
The descent is pretty scrambly as well and then it is a pretty short jaunt to Dickey. The views from Dickey are also great. We were able to see snow on top of Linclon, Liberty and Moosilauke. On to the Dickey ledges.
I think that these ledges are the highlight of the trip. It is rare to fine such open space with constant views without having to spend a lot more hours climbing. There were a few wet spots, but nothing that would cause any trouble at all...pretty nice stuff to hike on. After the ledges end and the trail dips back into the forest there is a rock wall on the right that at this time last year was a wall of ice, slowly dripping away. This year there was only about a 4 foot by 2 foot section of ice remaining...a very different winter this year, especially at the lower altitudes.
The remaining woodland walk is very pleasant and easy. The temps approached the mid 70s and it was quite warm - I was glad I opted for a t-shirt and shorts today - I would have roasted otherwise.
We got back to the parking lot in a little less than four hours and we enjoyed a couple of beers before heading home. It was great to meet Kathy and to hike with Larry again - in fact, it is almost getting as common for me to hike with Larry as it is to drink with him. Very nice to finally hike with Alpinista (who will be posting pics) - and thanks for the ride - convertibles rock!
We headed up in the traditional counter-clockwise manner which quickly got us past a stream and slowly climbing towards the first open ledges on Welch. The views here are great - Sandwich Dome and the Trypyramids. We took a brief rest and managed to get going up the steeper section heading towards Welch. It is a quite a scramble in spots, in fact more so than many of the four thousand footers...even with the relatively low elevation of these peaks a forest fire many years ago has left them in quite an alpine enviornement.
As we headed up we marveled at what fantastic physical condition we are all in -
. The next person who says "we are almost at the top" is in big trouble! Of course, we eventually made it and took a nice break at the summit before heading down towards the col and heading back up Dickey.The descent is pretty scrambly as well and then it is a pretty short jaunt to Dickey. The views from Dickey are also great. We were able to see snow on top of Linclon, Liberty and Moosilauke. On to the Dickey ledges.
I think that these ledges are the highlight of the trip. It is rare to fine such open space with constant views without having to spend a lot more hours climbing. There were a few wet spots, but nothing that would cause any trouble at all...pretty nice stuff to hike on. After the ledges end and the trail dips back into the forest there is a rock wall on the right that at this time last year was a wall of ice, slowly dripping away. This year there was only about a 4 foot by 2 foot section of ice remaining...a very different winter this year, especially at the lower altitudes.
The remaining woodland walk is very pleasant and easy. The temps approached the mid 70s and it was quite warm - I was glad I opted for a t-shirt and shorts today - I would have roasted otherwise.
We got back to the parking lot in a little less than four hours and we enjoyed a couple of beers before heading home. It was great to meet Kathy and to hike with Larry again - in fact, it is almost getting as common for me to hike with Larry as it is to drink with him. Very nice to finally hike with Alpinista (who will be posting pics) - and thanks for the ride - convertibles rock!
