[pct-l] Modifying hike

[Eric Lee]

John wrote:
>
Would like any pros/cons about hiking from Campo to Kennedy Meadows and then
jumping to Oregon/Wash and coming back to finish Sierras?
>

It depends on the specifics of any given year, but in general, while the
northern states are lower in elevation than the Sierra, they're also, well,
more northern.  Snow coverage on the PCT tends to be about the same in both
places in the spring.  If you're worried that the Sierra will be too snowy
for you, flipping up to Oregon is not likely to solve that problem unless
there's a very specific set of weather and snowpack conditions.

If you're choosing between the Sierra and Oregon given the same amount of
snow, here are some things to think about.  You have far fewer river
crossings to contend with in Oregon than in the Sierra, so that's a plus.
On the other hand, navigation across snow in Oregon can be a little trickier
because you're often in trees and don't have long sight-lines to figure out
where you're headed next.  Those trees are likely to be strewn across the
trail, too, and they won't have been cleared out by the trail maintenance
crews yet.  Climbing over lots of downed trees is no fun.

Quite often doing a flip like that is just exchanging one set of problems
for another.  Sometimes it's a net win, but sometimes it's not, and there's
no way to predict which it will be until you get to Kennedy Meadows and
collect reliable information about current trail conditions in both places.

Eric