Recommend an "adventurous" 3-day backpack that isn't on fire

[leiavoia]

Greetings friends,

3 experienced hikers are looking for a good backpacking trip in late September. One of them is getting married shortly after so he wants something "adventurous" in case marital bliss precludes his doing this sort of thing in the future. For reference, "adventurous" would be something like MSH Loowit trail (which we have already done). I've considered the full 360 bushwack around Mt Adams, but that might be a bit too risky.

The gotcha is that so many options are on fire right now. I'm not sure what good options are.

Can you recommend something amazing that isn't on fire? We are willing to drive up 5 hours from PDX.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Don Nelsen]

Greetings friends,

3 experienced hikers are looking for a good backpacking trip in late September. One of them is getting married shortly after so he wants something "adventurous" in case marital bliss precludes his doing this sort of thing in the future. For reference, "adventurous" would be something like MSH Loowit trail (which we have already done). I've considered the full 360 bushwack around Mt Adams, but that might be a bit too risky.

The gotcha is that so many options are on fire right now. I'm not sure what good options are.

Can you recommend something amazing that isn't on fire? We are willing to drive up 5 hours from PDX.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I returned yesterday from three days hiking in NW Washington mostly in the Mt. Baker area. No smoke, no fires and much cooler weather. All of NW WA is within 5 hours driving and the scenery is spectacular. (Just make sure you go through the Seattle area either before noon or after 7 pm.)

[drm]

With regard to fires, you really just have to have a Plan A, B, and C in different areas and decide as late as possible. We don't know if it will rain and put these fires out or if new ones will start. At the moment, northern Washington is a better choice than most of Oregon, but it is quite often just the opposite. But probably one of your plans should include Olympic National Park, which has probably the lowest threat from fire and smoke in the region (which doesn't mean no risk).

In the mean time let us know what you mean by adventurous. For some that means off-trail, for others it means high mileage, and for others it just means a really lot of elevation gain, (or some mix of all).

[BigBear]

I'm thinking your best option lies with the sand on the beach...Olympic Peninsula?