Saturday and our last full day in the White Mountains brought more bright sunshine. Jill woke early and even stepped out of the cabin at 7.30am to take a photo of the view in early morning light. Her view was, it's a shorts day - not bad for the end of September and quite a change from a few days ago when the conditions were too cold to even attempt the Mount Washington climb! Carolyn, who we'd met on the Cascade Brook Trail had suggested the Welch-Dickey Loop as a great hike for views of Fall colours and surrounding mountains without being too demanding at 4.4 miles. The trailhead was also less than half an hour's drive from our cabin so off we went.

Jill did some splendid navigation of country side roads to locate our starting point which proved to be a popular spot with little remaining parking space. This was clearly not going to be one of our more serene days on the hills. As ever we set off in dappled woodland but not as ever in the midst of loud American families, couples and numerous dog owners some still glued to their mobile phones and assuming you have to shout as you're a long way from the person your phoning.

I don't think either of us have ever hiked in mountains with more people on the same route - this made the Lake District on a Bank Holiday Monday seem relatively peaceful. However, we were blessed with warm sunshine, clear skies and as we gained height and came out onto open granite ledges, wonderful views. The path had been wide and easy through the woods but next we were mostly walking on steep, smooth rock leading up to the summit of Welch Mountain at 2605 feet. The top was busy but the views west were too good to miss so we joined the twenty or so people and their numerous canine friends for a lunch stop.

We had a short, steep and rocky descent before climbing up steeply again to Dickey Mountain summit at 2734 feet. In all it was less than a mile between the two tops and we did wonder why they qualified as separately named peaks. As we moved off the top of Dickey views to the north opened up and we had a great view of Mounts Lincoln and Lafayette in the distance. Dropping down we crossed the most spectacular of the granite ledges and one we'd photographed repeatedly as we ascended Mount Welch. Below here we returned to woodland and a pleasant stroll back to the trailhead.

As we headed back to the cabin we reflected on our recent days and Dave in particular felt that the White Mountains had provided scenery and walking beyond his expectations. Ken and Carol's wooden cabin with its open fire and rustic charm had also been a lovely base where being cut off from TV, news and the internet had made for relaxed evenings. As ever on this trip we are leaving a place when we'd be happy to stay a few days longer.