[pct-l] Snow in Oregon

[Vimal Golding]

Thanks for the update Dennis,

I'm hiking from Etna to Manning this summer, started June 1st at Etna
Summit and am now resupplying and hanging out with some friends near bend
(got off at Mackenzie Pass Hwy 242). Here are the conditions I saw:

Etna to Crater Lake: Almost entirely snow free. Trail clear and easily
followed.

Crater Lake to Shelter Cove Resort: Crater lake rim very snowy, but the
road is open. You can still walk the trail if you don't mind walking on
snow. Dropping down the north side the trail became tricky to follow.
Climbing up Thielsen the trail was tricky to follow, long periods on snow.
Tipsoo Pass (OR/WA high point) was completely snowed in (Jun 25) and took
all of my map and compass skill plus a sloppy wet kiss from lady luck to
end up on the trail coming down the other side (plan B was to follow my
compass needle cross country to Miller Lake and hope I didn't miss it). GPS
and willingness to travel on snow without a trail recomended. After Tipsoo
I took the OST Alternate to Shelter Cove which was completely snow free.
Diamond peak looked snowy.

Shelter Cove to Sisters: Mostly snow free until a few miles after Elk Lake
Resort. From there all the way through the sisters until Mathieu Lake (only
a few miles from hwy 242) had about 98% snow coverage. I saw maybe 100
yards of trail in this whole stretch, though I had bare spots to camp on.
Navigation wasn't terribly difficult however, basicallly you just try to
contour at a steady elevation. The sisters are always in sight and can help
you judge distance. Still, GPS recommended and willingness to trash over
suncups endlessly with no hope of a trail absolutely required.

The view north: The low spots look good, but the peaks all have quite a bit
of snow. I'm considering taking a few days to let things melt, but the snow
pack is heavy and getting heavier northward for sure.

Disclaimer: I have quite a bit of map/compass experience and actually kind
of like trashing around semi-lost in the snow (Though I would bring a GPS
if I had one). It's consolidated and mushy right now so no real postholing
or sliding out of control. The suncups are very tiring though.  Be safe out
there, don't expect any easy miles, and if you're worried or nervous wait a
couple weeks.

Hope that helps,

Veg

Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2014 14:56:05 -0700
From: Dennis Keis <keis1 at shaw.ca>
Subject: [pct-l] Oregon - Crater Lake, Olallie Lake, Timberline Lodge
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID: <a06240800cfda2ac28de7@[192.168.0.101]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

I dropped my partner and her friend at Green Springs Summit (Hwy 66)
near Ashland on Monday. They are hiking all of Oregon. Temperature
was 90 degrees. On my way home I proceeded to drop their food
resupply boxes at Crater Lake's Mazama Village, Shady Cove Resort on
Odell Lake, Olallie Lake Resort, and Timberline Lodge.

Between Crater Lake Lodge and the last viewpoint of the lake from the
West Rim Road the trail has a lot of deep, 4+ feet deep snow patches
where it is close to the West Rim Road, with vertical dropoffs at the
end of each patch, so perhaps walking the road might be necessary.

There was no water cache at the usual spot just north of Crater Lake
where the trail crosses Hwy 138. Maybe the angels are waiting for the
herd to arrive.

The fellow at the Olallie Lake store said EVERY SOBO hiker has
returned to the lake, NOT ONE has yet made it past about 10 - 12
miles south of Olallie, due to deep snow. All returned to Olallie. He
said even those with good navigational skills and GPS could not keep
on the trail. It seems that when the front of the herd gets there
they might encounter snow. However at Olallie on Tuesday the
temperature at 7:00 am was 58 degrees, so melting must be happening.
There was no snow at the lake itself, but lots of bugs.

Olallie Lake Resort no longer accepts mailed boxes, but will accept
those driven in. Quite a drive, an extremely rugged last 8 miles of
dirt and rock track, though the resort claims the USFS is about to
send in a grader since the resort now manages all the USFS
campgrounds in the area.

Very little snow around Timberline Lodge, the temperature there at
2:00 pm was 75 degrees.