[pct-l] Northbounders

[Barry Teschlog]

As an observation on the weather here in Washington, it IS right about that time when the trail "normally" shuts down / becomes impassable at the higher elevations as a practical matter.  Hopefully folks still out there will do the wise thing and bail to town if they're ill prepared for the foul weather conditions.  As Brick notes, if hikers have sufficient budget to wait it out in a hotel until there is the predicted break, that may be a viable strategy, before a "run for the border".


As a suggestion, future thru's should be planning their schedules, and keep moving on trail, such that they'll finish by mid September if at all practical.  Feel the schedule pressure - a little is a good thing.  Don't dilly dally out there on trail - keep moving north if you can.  Given this year's low snow conditions in the Sierra, starting early / earlier than late April was entirely practical.  


Even with a mid September finish, folks may get caught by weather (like in 2007 - another low snow in the Sierra year).  Or, you might get lucky and have great weather well into October, like 2006 (which paradoxically was a high Sierra snow year).

Luck (for those counting on hiking into late September / early October) is a poor substitute for a plan that plays the odds in your favor based on historical data, and that data says that any time after about mid-September and the odds of bad weather in the high country of the North Cascades begin increasing rapidly.  

Side note:  Snow on the ground at this instant (afternoon, Sept 30) at Stevens Pass.  See the WADOT camera at:
http://www.wsdot.com/traffic/passes/stevens/default.aspx