What are your early season backpacking recommendations? I just did Ancient Lakes recently and want to get back out there!
Monte Cristo
Is mountain loop highway open all the way now?
The unpaved portion between Barlow Pass and Bedal is still closed. You can hike (or bike) to Monte Cristo from the Barlow pass closure
Ingalls Creek, Navaho Pass, Duckabush River, North Fork skykomish to Big log camp, lakeshore trail, enchanted valley, ozette triangle, Rialto beach, shi shi
Yeah. This time of year is hard.
Where are you at and what kind of distance are you looking for?
Seattle and 3-8 miles
Can’t help much. I’m down in So Willamette Valley in Oregon.
Enchanted Valley as others have said will be clear. Eagle Creek as well (near Portland). Anything coastal will be OK but options are always limited.
This time of year is always hard. I have been wanting to get out. The weather is improving. But the snow is still low. And then it will be bug season. So when you decide to get out into the cascades, bring a headnet and gloves. As well as repellent.
By "Eagle Cap," do you mean the Eagle Cap Wilderness, near Joseph, OR? That's 5+ hours from Portland, 6+ from Seattle, and there are only a couple trails not under snow. That's a late summer/early fall destination unless you're local. Definitely not worth driving for this time of year.
My bad. No. Eagle Creek (now fixed in the comment above).
Must be brain fade. As I personally do not go in to Eagle Creek because it is too close to Portland and hence too many people. And I love Eagle Cap.
But yes. Eagle Cap is stunning and worth the drive. In AUGUST.
Eagle Creek(and lower Deschutes) are open now.
Ha, that makes more sense! 👍 There are fewer (and less nice) places to camp along Eagle Creek since the fire. But yeah, it’s definitely snow free! Herman Creek also is snow free for a ways. It’s not really “epic,” but the old growth red cedars in Cedar Swamp are pretty magical in a low-key way.
Check out the Kalmiopsis wilderness in SW Oregon. I just did a 50 mile loop there last weekend. Lots of ridge hiking, a peak summit, a river canyon, no people.
Is it pretty burnt?
Yes. 2002 Biscuit, 2017 Chetco Bar and 2018 Klondike fire. Lots of ghost trees, and manzanita and ceanothus. Was actually kind of cool to see how the landscape is recovering and imagine what it must have looked like before it burned. But you aren't walking through any ash or anything.
I went when the highs were in the high 80's in Cave Junction, and I wish I could have gone sometime in the next week when highs are in the 60s and 70s instead. But it was the only time I had. May and October are typically the best times to go.
Heybrook lookout maybe? That's short and near Seattle
If you liked ancient lakes, there are some great backpacking opportunities further northeast of ancient lakes, just North of the town of Odessa. Rattlers are out and about by now, but would recommend it anytime before May.
Baker Lake is pretty nice
We went to Lena lake in March! That's really early season lol.
We did Ipsut Creek Camp a couple weekends ago. It was beautiful, and we were the only ones there.
Baker Lake is pretty much frontcountry but the views are fantastic before it gets too crowded
Middle fork Snoqualmie. I did that this past weekend and it was great. Easy trail, low elevation so now snow. Only went 6 miles in to the ducks bush creek junction where there is a campsite. Had to ford a river for the last campsite since we were so late though (5pm when we got there or so).
The Olympic Coast is doable all year round. I was there last weekend and caught the Auroras.
Enchanted Valley, Chelan Lakeshore trail