[pct-l] Wash State Snow Levels--Harts Pass Report

[csiechert@hotmail.com (Carl Siechert)]

> One negative side to the lack of snow is the increase in fire danger. Who
> knows what the North Cascades are going to be like in late September when
> most of the through hikers arrive?

Maybe it'll be like '77. When we entered Washington in mid-August, it was so
dry that the forests were one step away from being closed altogether. As it
was, we were (legally) prohibited from using our stoves.

But after a week or so, it started raining. And raining. And raining. By the
time we got to Cascade Lake, we were sick of hiking in the rain, so we
decided to wait out the storm. Waited seven days...and it was still raining.
(Can you tell we're from sunny California?) The Chairman and the Portland
Trailblazers dropped out at Pear Lake because of the rain. We later heard--I
don't know if it's true--that it was "the wettest August in Washington
history."