[pct-l] N OR & WA snow conditions

[Eric Lee]

Trekker wrote:
>
Also any personal knowledge of conditions in WA would also  be extremely 
helpful. The W Snowpack Map showed below average snow from  about mid-WA to 
Canada, for instance, but I just don't have the knowledge  of the Pacific NW

to know what to expect.
>

I'm not sure about the big picture but I dayhiked from Snoqualmie Pass north
to the Kendall Katwalk today and can report on that.  There was no snow to
speak of all the way to the Katwalk.  Standing at the Katwalk you can see
the trail wind in and out along the ridges for the next eight miles, and it
appeared to my unexpert eye that there was probably about 30% snow cover on
the trail.  It's very firm and stable snow, but a lot of it is at steep
angles.  It ought to be passable for someone who was determined and knew how
to use an ice axe properly, but probably a lot slower than dry trail.  I
suppose some 2009 south-bounders have already gone through there recently or
are about to.  I'm not sure when people started this year.

I would expect almost all of that snow to be gone two weeks from now.  

It was a great dayhike.  The sweet, pungent scent of fir needles baking in
the sun was sometimes almost overpowering.  I could see big clouds getting
kicked up by Mt. Rainier to the south, like a wake from a boat.  There's
apparently a bit of lightning striking around western Washington tonight but
nothing while I was up on the trail.

Eric