Dickey-Welch Hike

We had hiked Welch last week so decided to do the Welch-Dickey trail in reverse.  Craig, Rob and I met up at the parking area off Orris Rd and headed up to Dickey.  Heading up to the peak is a pretty constant rise with very few switchbacks to provide relief from the constant climb.   Once we broke out of the tree line, the path turned to rock and we crossed mostly rock the rest of the way up.   When we first broke the tree line, we found ourselves on a massive rock ridge with spectacular views.  We took some time to catch our breath and appreciate the scenery.  A short while later we hit the top of Dickey which looked like it extended in all directions pretty far.   After a short rest we started down Dickey, which is a very steep, almost entirely rock trail. There were several challenging parts of the trail on the way down to Welch and we were happy that we chose to descend this part of the trail instead of hike up it.  After providing some duct tape to an injured hiker, we found ourselves at the Welch peak and stopped for pictures and the view.   From there, we took the trail down Welch which is a much easier hike and met many hikers along the way.  It was a great day, the weather was awesome, the views were spectacular and the company was great!   

Stats:  Left at 10:03, finished at 12:58 pm for a total trip time of 2 hours and 54 minutes.  Length of hike was 4.4 miles at 1.5 miles per hour.  Highest point: 2,716 feet.  

We are planning to hike Welch-Dickey in reverse. I'm sure it's a strenuous-moderate hike. We did Welch on Saturday but because of schedules we turned around so... Going backwards sounds good to us.