4.5 mile loop; 1,600 ft. elevation gain
Summits: Mt. Welch = 2,605 ft; Mt. Dickey = 2,734 ft.
Route: Welch-Dickey Loop Trail
Review: I did this hike a month ago under cloudy skies with a light mizzle at times. What a difference a month makes! The temperature Saturday was a boiling 91 degrees, with very high humidity. As I noted in my previous blog entry, quite a bit of this trail -- two miles in fact -- is over exposed rock, so there's no shelter from the sun's heat.
Though this is a relatively easy hike and only 1,600 feet of elevation, I found it to be very difficult today, due to the high temperature and humidity . I was seriously overheated, and my body wouldn't cooperate. I was huffing and puffing, and my legs became so tired that the ascent was difficult. Fortunately the group leader was understanding, and encouraged me to stay with my plan to hike Mt. Hale and Zealand Falls/Zealand Hut on Sunday. Knowing that I was fit enough for the hike, I vowed to hike, provided that the temperature and humidity moderated.
On the ascent, the views over to Tripyramid were wonderful, and we saw three A-10 airplanes fly by at low altitude while we were admiring the view. Strange looking planes, those.
Though the Mt. Welch summit had views, the Dickey summit was disappointing and in fact, was easy to miss. The entire round trip, even with my painfully slow ascent, took less than 4 hours.
After a nice shower and some R&R at my inn, I ate a lovely Italian dinner at Maestro's Cafe and Diner in North Conway. A pear, walnut and aged balsamic vinegar appetizer, followed by calamari and linguini. The choice of house wine (a burgundy) was a bit unusual for an Italian restaurant (where was the chianti?), but it was quite nice -- a nice way to end the day.
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