[pct-l] Southern Oregon snow condition update 7/16

[Daniel Ahlvin]

Hi all,
I am section hiking nobo all of Oregon and Washington. I made it to the rim of crater lake today and wanted to give a recent update on the snow status for the first 130 miles of Oregon. The patch by observation peak was pretty thick, but if you parallel it you can get to the summit of observation peak without going over any snow. There is minimal snow until devils peak, just a few sections which would necessitate going around a small patch here or there. After reaching the top of Devil's peak, I glissaded down the approx 200 foot snow section with no problems: the slope diminishes towards the bottom so no self arrest was necessary. I tested the snow and self arresting was easy and stopped me quickly. I recommend the Devil's peak choice instead of the seven lake trail alternative (just 1/4 mile before the devils peak pass, one could go left instead of right). The seven lake trail has a few snowfields where you must traverse along the slope instead of down it, so it is more difficult. Once down the glissadeable snowfield off Devil's peak, there is a fair amount of snow but I was able to find the trail in a few minutes because of copious blazes carved into the trees and the trail is an obvious dirt path. There is some more smaller snow sections into mazama village but these are short and have easy walks rounds (they are predominantly on flatish ground.)
I hear the section north of crater lake is supposed to be snowier, so I will post another update when I get through it. Hope everyone is safe and having a good time!
-Dan
Sent from my iPhone