Welch-Dickey Loop + Winter Hiking Safety
One of my favorite things to stare at is freshly fallen snow, especially piled up on trees. Ever since seeing photos of trees covered in snow in Lapland, I have been enthralled by this soft, pillowy cover on alpine trees. I spent today’s (Wednesday) day off hiking in the White Mountain National Forest on the Welch-Dickey loop trail, which summits Welch Mountain and Dickey Mountain. I don’t get outside nearly enough, and with the hours that my job requires I feel like I don’t have time to exercise on the days that I do work.
But today, I decided to opt outside. I woke up at 5 a.m, left at 5:45 a.m and drove up to the Whites while it was still dark out, and made it to the trailhead by 8:20 a.m. Long story short- I saw lots of soft, pillow cover on alpine trees. I expected there to be more people parked and already headed up the mountain, but there was only one other car there. The man saw that I was hiking solo, and he was as well. He asked if I wanted to hike with him. He was just looking to go to a false summit and then turn back around, but I was on a mission to do the whole thing.
He ended up hiking the entire loop with me which turned out to be a good thing, because he had hiked it before multiple times and the freshly fallen snow made the trail hard to find. A lot of the trail markers were on the rock faces, which were now covered in snow, but he had a good idea of where to go even if we went off the trail a bit. The hike itself is considered hard across the internet, and I think this is because of portions of steep steps and steep slabs of rock. What I really enjoyed about this hike though was that a lot of it was along a ridge and at or above treeline, which is my favorite part to be on when hiking a mountain.
If I had ended up hiking by myself, I know I wouldn’t have pushed myself as much as I did with the company. Because who wants to look weak and out of shape in front of someone else?! Not me! (Even though I told him I might be mad slow cus I’m out of shape, 🙃. Anyways, I got a great leg workout, saw some beautiful nature, and felt like I accomplished something. Not to mention mentally I felt so good for the rest of the day!
Welch-Dickey Loop
Town: Thornton, New Hampshire
Distance: est. 4.5 miles
Time: 4 hours
Route: Loop (best hiked counterclockwise)
Elevation: 2605’ (Welch Mountain), 2734’ (Dickey Mountain)
Difficulty: Hard
Winter Hiking Safety
Make sure you have the proper gear for where you are hiking and the weather conditions (i.e. hat, gloves, eye wear, spikes/crampons, rope, flashlight)
Wear layers! While you are hiking you will feel warm, but once you start standing still (especially at the summit if it is windy) you can start to get cold very quickly, especially from any sweat
Check the weather!!
Did it rain the day before and now it is freezing temperatures? Chances are the trails will be icy
Is it going to snow? What will the visibility be like?
Just like you would in the warmer months, bring enough water and a light snack.
It is always best to hike with someone else, but let someone know where you are hiking and let them know you will contact them when you are done.
Look at a map of where you are going and read up about the difficulty of the trail, and any tips. Alltrails.com is a great site for this, and you can see dated posts from people about their hiking conditions. This is how I knew that this hike would be icy when I went.
Know how long the hike may take you, and ensure you start early enough that you will be finished before it is too dark out for you.
Bring safety gear
This can include a small first aid kid, hand and toe warmers, flashlight/headlamp, Swiss army knife, rope, a light emergency bivy, fire starting tools, and extra clothing to keep you warm.