welchdickey1602

Trip to Welch Mountain 2605’
and Dickey Mountain 2734’ 1/6/02

4.4 miles 1800’ Elevation gain

Kevin, Judy and Emma

This was our first trip over Welch/Dickey. Usually we only do things we are familiar with in the winter but the descriptions of this loop made it sound easy enough, so we decided to give it a try. We could always turn back if it was too much. It was cold, but not bone chilling cold, and there was little wind so it was pretty nice to be hiking in the mountains on this day. There was crusty snow, but we climbed with our snow cleats. It is a little trickier to climb in the snow even with the cleats, so this was good practice as it is not a very taxing climb. We had plenty of time so we took it. The views were limited to the nearest mountains and hills, but they were looking quite nice, all covered in snow, so we were not discouraged. There were some spots that were solid ice that the cleats were not effective on at all. Here we should have had crampons, but we managed. I guess I would suggest bringing crampons just to be safe, though you may not need them. A good hiking pole is a necessity in the snow, though. Don’t go without one, they are especially useful on the downhills to keep yourself from sliding wildly down the trail. I would highly suggest this climb for winter beginners to gauge themselves for higher summits.