[pct-l] July 4: section O and P?

[pcnst2001 at covad.net (pcnst2001@covad.net)]

For the period July 2-10 I have been thinking in terms of section O.    There is
no perfect
time for all of it, but around July 4 seems to be a good compromise between too
hot and too 
snowy.    And it's a good section to do alone, saving the spectacular stuff to do
with people
who aren't trying to complete the whole trail.   Fortunately I think I will be
able to get
car shuttle help for a one-way hike.

I would like to extend it to Hwy 3 in Section P, another 60 miles including some
hot dry ones
above Castle Crags, with the bonus of a not-too-far-off-trail mid-trip town night
at Dunsmuir.
However those 60 miles include several above 7000' and many above 6000'.    According
to the guide book, much of that is south-facing and quick-melting, but ongoing
reports of
new snowfall this late in the season at Crater Lake, which is not that far away,
are kind of
bothersome.

So I wonder if any of the local Northern California people have any comments
about section P's condition this year.
Instead of starting at Hwy 3 and heading east, I could skip most of the snow by
starting at road 40N45 or whatever it is,
the first fairly major forest road that reaches the crest west of Castle Crags,
near Gumboot Lake.