[pct-l] How early is too early for Washington north bound?

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon, Ralph,



Some prognosticators suggest that this winter could possibly be somewhat
more mild than average in the Pacific Northwest region.



Wow! I should be a politician.  That first sentence contains nine
“weasel-words”, i.e, non-specific equivocations.  Regardless that we are due
for a light winter in the NW, starting as late as practical is a good idea.
Sometimes it is difficult to wait when we want to hit the trail, but August
will have less snowpack, there will be fewer obnoxious mosquitoes, and there
is a better chance of encountering -- and hiking with -- some of the early
thru-hiker-trash.



A mid-July start will help satisfy the urge to hit the trail, there will be
less chance of encountering rain/snow, and the greater number of available
hiking days will lessen the pressure of needing to book big-mile days.  A
June start should be only for those experienced with, and willing to
negotiate, possibly extensive snowpack; and to do so substantially alone.



Crampons are best used on snowpack.  If ’10 was a heavy snow year -- and you
started early -- traction aids could be useful, at least as far as White
Pass north of Goat Rocks.  After that, they probably just be along for the
ride.  Late in the season, when the next year’s snow starts, a hiker will
have to walk/wade through the fresh fluff in which crampons are only
marginally useful, at best.



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT -- 1965

 http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

 http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 10:56 AM, Ralph Alcorn <rbalcorn at gmail.com> wrote:

> We will be section hiking Washington this summer, to complete our last
> segment of the pct. We could start as early as mid July, but this year the
> few southbounders we encountered all said start as late in August as
> possible and still make Canada. This was due to both navigation on snow
> covered trails, and due to mosquitos.
>
> Any advice? Also how does Washington compare to Sierras re crampon need?
> --
> Ralph Alcorn
> http://www.backpack45.com/pct.html
> http://timecheck00.blogspot.com
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