[pct-l] Washington questions

[William Canavan]

Hi WaSabi,
Mosquitoes are still hanging out in August but the numbers are dropping off
by then.  Two years ago I started in Cascade Locks on August 4th and was
very glad I had a headnet.  In the last week and a half of August I don't
think I saw even one.

I have hitched from Portland to CL several times.  The place that worked
best (fastest) was hitching from the Lewis and Clark Park on I-84 onramp
just east of the Sandy River bridge that is under construction. You can
walk to the park from the end of the MAX line in 1 1/2 hours or so.  I have
also hitched from Troutdale to Corbett and then to Ainsworth on the old
highway and then to Cascade Locks on the freeway (I-84).  That way was much
slower but very scenic.

 This was posted on PCT-L 2 months or so ago...

The Oregonian reported today that a new bus service starts in May that will
run from Vancouver, Washington to Carson Hot Springs with stops along the
way.  One of the stops will be The Bridge of the Gods PCT trailhead.  The
bus will run twice daily during the week and four times daily on Saturday
and Sunday.  It will be called the WET Bus, the Gorge West End Transit bus.
 To get the bus schedule and to get picked up at the trailhead call
Skamania County Transit @ 509-427-3990.

Hitching from the Hwy 23 trailhead to Trout Lake is not really difficult,
it is just slow.  I've sat on the road there for two hours without anyone
driving by.  But I have been lucky with rides otherwise.
Good Luck,

Little Brown

Message: 7
Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 13:39:12 +0200
From: "Sabine Schroll" <vet at schroll.at>
Subject: [pct-l] Some WA- questions: mosquitos, transport and resuplly
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID: <004801cfa40f$3b3cd1a0$6401a8c0 at PC1>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

hi folks

first email didn't get through ... do again:

I am planning my hike on the WA-PCT starting in about 2 weeks from Cascade
Locks:

1 - mosquito situation

in a few weeks I will be back on the trail doing the section from Cascade
Locks to Canada.
In order to keep my packweight low - are there still mosquitos around in WA
in august?

Last year in OR I was quite happy to have my Skyscape and set it up even for
my long lunch break and the nights as the mosquitos came with their full
army. In CA in 2012 I had only a bug canopy for some nights. While hiking I
never used any deet or bugnet so far.
So - I can tolerate them most of the time, but not when they come in
thousands to sleep with me.

What is the situation with mosquitos usually in august in WA - possible to
predict? Would I risk to be really unhappy without a bug protection for the
night?

2- how the get to the trail from Portland > Cascade Locks

I heard there is a public transport from Portland to Cascade Locks - but
couldn't find any information on the Internet?
Hitching from CL to PDX last year was a matter of minutes - where would be a
good place in Portland to hitch a ride back to CL? I will arrive in PDX on
8/6 - doing all shopping and packing on 8/7, going to CL either thursday
(7th) evening or friday (8th) early morning.
If someone could give me a ride I would pay my share for the gas, off
course.


3- Resupply - Trout Lake isn't recommended because of diffult hitch?
As I need to get my trail legs I would like to have a resupply in Trout
Lake, but if it is overall not recommended I would carry the food til White
Pass.


thanks and see you out there!
WaSabi