[pct-l] Cold weather for Washington and Oregon Cascades, snow level close to 4000 ft.

[Eric Lee (GAMES)]

Matt wrote:
>
Point forecasts are showing lows of 25 degrees,  highs of 41 at  7000 ft in Oregon.
>

Just came off a six day, 140 mile hike of Oregon Sections D and E (Highway 138 near Diamond Lake to Highway 242 at McKenzie Pass).  Yup, it was definitely cold up there.  I was in the Sisters Wilderness yesterday and it basically never got much above the freezing point the whole day.  There were strong winds, intermittent showers of ice crystals, plus a fair amount of sun, for the first half of the day, and then about 4 PM it started snowing for real.  I was eating dinner at the time and watched the ground go from brown to white and it didn't look to be stopping anytime soon.  I was planning to hike out that night anyway but the snow definitely gave me a little extra push in that direction.  I got the hell out of Dodge and arrived at McKenzie Pass about 10 PM where it was warmer and much less windy.

I don't know what the total accumulation was up there; probably a few inches, which isn't a big deal if you're prepared for that kind of thing but a very rude shock if you're not.  It was a great reminder that even ultralight hikers need to be prepared for reasonably foreseeable conditions at all times . . . and snow in the mountains is reasonably foreseeable any time of year.  Be safe out there!

Eric