[pct-l] Northern Oregon Snow/Trail Conditions

[Lawton Grinter]

Hikers,
 
We just got into Cascade Locks yesterday (August 6th).  We hiked from Elk Lake Resort to Cascade Locks from July 30-August 6 and I'm happy to report that the snow situation in the northern half of Oregon was not a problem at all and even better . . . this section was mostly bug and mosquito free!
 
Check Freg G's post about snow in this section.  It's right on the nose.  We encountered an orange sign at Santiam Pass warning us of heavy snow and the need for crampons, etc in the Jefferson area.  8 of us went thru and we never came across anything that compared to hiking the Sierra earier this season in my opinion.  Once again it seemed to be more hype than reality.
 
So I'll say it again, if you are a thru-hiker and you've already come thru the snow in the Sierra this season, you don't have much to worry about with the Oregon snow.  The trickiest part for us was about an hour of finding the trail around the Cathedral Ridge area before Jefferson Park and that's because we were in a foggy cloud with low visibility.
 
The scenery of Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood has been amazing along with hiking the Eagle Creek trail and goind under Tunnel Falls.  Fantastic trail.  Enjoy it.
 
And as far as Washington goes . . . we've already met about 6 southbounders that started at Manning around July 1st and they made it thru so it's full steam ahead for us.
 
Best, Disco
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