[pct-l] Persistant Snow Drifts Above 5, 000 feet north of Santiam Pass Oregon

[Blanchard, Sym]

FYI ... I attempted to hike from Santiam Pass to Timberline Lodge Oregon this last weekend, but had to abandon my trek to Snoqualmie Pass.  Unfortunately there were still lots of snow drifts above 5,000 feet (20 feet in places) covering the trail.  Absolutely beautiful, but it was much more snow than what I had expected.

I lost the trail dozens of times, my compass malfunctioned, my GPS ran out of battery, and I could not get a bead on the sun or landmarks due to the low hanging clouds.   Turned out to be an unsafe situation for me, so I stuck out cross-country downhill until I hit another trailhead.  Five minutes later I got a ride to a road (Hwy 22) and ten minutes later a ride to the Redmond Airport.  Lucky me.

It was fairly warm and raining intermittently so hopefully the snow will melt soon.  I am back in the Bay Area now eagerly awaiting the melted snow in about 3 weeks I reckon (with a better compass and an extra GPS battery).

Symbiosis