Escaping the Pacific Northwest in Rainy Season

The Trinity Alps (near weaverville, ca) or the South Warner Wilderness (near alturas, ca) are the first things that come to mind. The trinity alps are dense, pnw style conifer forests with beatitful alpine lakes and jagged peaks while the south warners are more open, kind of a high alpine forest/high desert with cool volcanic rock formations.

I live in Portland, try to avoid rain, I’ve done 5 night trips every month for the last 10+ years, with a few exceptions.

You have to watch weather reports and be flexible.  Sometimes it’s rainy everywhere so you just have to wait.  Sometimes it’ll be dry south, or east, or wherever but rainy other places.  You got to have good rain gear just in case.

There’s always a few windows of good weather on the beach of the Olympic Peninsula.  Few people in the winter.  Or those low valleys like Dosewallips or Quinalt.

The Rogue River seldom has snow

Trinity Alps probably snow free in November, but that’s pushing it

Columbia Gorge is usually snow free but it rains a lot so you have to choose opportunity

The Deschutes River is my stand-by.  East of Cascades so usually dry.  Sometimes it gets bitterly cold.

Warner is on my list but I haven’t got there yet.  Hart Mountain is nearby and similar.  May be relatively snow free in March, but April or May is better.  I think Warner is lower elevation so might be good earlier.

Metolius River is another one East of Cascades, but just barely.  Not real good backpacking though.

Check out http://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Winter_and_Spring_Backpacking

Thanks Jerry, and Justin. Jerry, my favorite places in the Gorge are Benson, Tanner Butte, Silverstar, and Soda peak… those 4000ish elevations seem to have snow on them a fair amount December to May. I guess if I stayed lower, like most of Eagle Creek, Hermann, or Trapper creek on the Washington side I could get more season watching for nice weekends as you suggest. I appreciate field guide as an info source, but think it has more to offer day hikers than backpackers. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Justin: How far into fall / winter would you go to South Warner? I just stumbled across your thread from a ways back saying you went in September?