[pct-l] Washington Section Hike Plans

[Nancy Ging]

I am hoping to hike the Washington state portion of the PCT next summer. It
will be my first long distance hike, so I've been monitoring this list for
several months now to pick up as many pointers as I can.

I've got some basic questions, though, and hope you'll be willing to share
some tips.

1. What is the best time of year to do the Washington portion of the trail?
I've tentatively been planning to leave early to mid-August, and I'm a
fairly slow hiker (I'm 62), so am thinking it will take about 5 weeks.

2. Given that I only plan to walk through Washington, would it make more
sense (in terms of weather) to walk north to south instead of south to
north?

3. My weakest skill is river crossings. I plan to carry hiking poles to
help with stability. I haven't seen much information about Washington
stream crossings (except prior to the new bridge). Are the WA stream
crossing not a big deal by August? Which crossings are the most challenging?

Any other suggestions for this portion of the trail would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks!
Nancy Ging
Lummi Island, WA