[pct-l] Southern Oregon snowpack

[Judson Brown]

Last year was definitely an aberration, but on *any *year in the OR
Cascades you can expect snow through late July. The only stretches of the
OR PCT that are reliably snow-free earlier than that are:

   - I-5 northbound toward Hwy 140, but only as far as Howard Prairie.
   After that, it re-enters the Cascades. I've hiked this section Memorial Day
   before.
   - the forest lowlands (relatively) between Olallie Lake and Hwy 26
   - the last 10 or 15 miles descending to the Columbia River

It's forecast to be in the low 90's for several days here in Bend, so there
should be some good snowmelt happening.

Judson/Bunny Slayer

On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 11:22 AM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote:

> Good morning,
>
> I hiked that same section NoBo last year in early July and the snow in her
> photos looks just like what I experienced.  Thielsen Creek was totally
> covered with snowpack except for about 20 yards of open water.  After that
> I walked on snowpack with the GPS from one HalfMile waypoint to another.
>  It
> got a little old after a while.  I was glad I carried traction aids.
> Because of the trees the snowpack was very humpy-bumpy without much
> distance on the flat.
>
> Steel-Eye
>
> -Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 10:59 AM, Jane Espasandin <
> Janeespasandin at charter.net
> > wrote:
>
> >
> > June 30th Rockin' tried to hike through Mt Theilson area which is just
> > north of Crater Lake. She ran into too much snow and had to turn back.
> > Evidently the rangers at Crater Lake said it might not be clear for
> another
> > month due to late season snow and a cool spring in southern Oregon. She
> > said solid snow started at 6900 ft. Looking at weather cams around Crater
> > Lake they still show some snow. Couple that with dense trees that don't
> let
> > in a lot of warmth plus a cool spring and the snow lingers on. Read
> > Rockin's blog at http://ladyonarock.wordpress.com
> > http://www.craterlakelodges.com
> > Jane
> > Sent from my iPhone
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