OR and WA only, South to North, best start time?

[chinemyel]

Does anyone have advice/suggestions for the best date to start if I'm only hiking OR and WA, from South to North?

I'd like to end before mid-October, and I can't start before June.

Thank you! If you have any other advice regarding this plan or this section of the trail, please let me know.

[map man]

I don't know how fast you hike. But you should try to finish before September is over if you want to be on the safe side. October can be harsh on the PCT in the Washington mountains.

[Slo-go'en]

I'm thinking about trying that section SOBO during August and Sept next year. I figure SOBO, as it would be easy to get to Portland via Amtrak from here. Maybe spend a week in Glacier on the way out too. Probably have better weather in Oregon in September then in Washington although maybe it doesn't make a big difference. Be fun to meet all the PCT NOBO's too. They could be a valuable source of info.

[Moose2001]

If you go in June, depending on the past winter, you could encounter a lot of snow along the trail. Typical PCT southbounders start in June and they often see a lot of snow. Sept through Washington can be very beautiful with the Fall colors. As Map Man said, Oct can be very harsh, cold and snowy.

[chinemyel]

Thank you for all the replies! I was thinking of starting late July, finishing before October.

[Shutterbug]

Does anyone have advice/suggestions for the best date to start if I'm only hiking OR and WA, from South to North?

I'd like to end before mid-October, and I can't start before June.

Thank you! If you have any other advice regarding this plan or this section of the trail, please let me know.

Don't plan to cross the Goat Rocks Wilderness in Washington before August 1 unless you will carry snow shoes. This year, the snow didn't melt out until late in August. The first part of September is the best, because the goat hunting season starts on Sept 15.

A couple of years ago, I forgot about the hunting season and hiked that section the first week of the goat hunting season. Seeing the hunters walking along in the fog scared me enough that I cut my hike short.

[Malto]

A late July start NOBO sounds about right but monitor the snow melt as the date get closer. 2011 was a monster snow year and there was significant snow, many said it was impassible (wrong), in August in both WA and OR. I left the OR/CA border on July 27 and finished in Canada on August 27th. You will get all kinds of answers depending on the type of hikers you ask. We used to joke that you could tell the type of hiker by how they describe upcoming snow. A thru hiker will say "there's a bit of snow." A section hiker will claim there is significant continuous snow. And the weekend hikers will declare it impassable.

[trovar]

The snow in Oregon this year was very heavy; I crossed the CA/OR border on July 13th this summer and pretty much every time it went above 6000 feet, there was significant snow (Devil's Peak, Thielsen, Sisters Wilderness after Elk Lake, Three Finger Jack, and Jefferson Park). Almost all of the snow had melted out by the time I got to Washington (August 1st), though, and the only noticeable patches were in the Mt. Adams area and Old Snowy in the Goat Rocks but it melting quickly and navigation wasn't really an issue.