Southern Washington 2 Night Backpack suggestions

[Subaruski]

Looking for some suggestions on a 2 day backpack option in early May. Something under 20 miles as I'm bringing my wife along.

Couple of routes we were looking at but unsure of weather in early May.
-Siouxon Peak Loop, or just the upper or lower creek sections if we do a shorter trip.
-Killen Creek to High Camp/Adams Glacier Meadows. Not sure about snow coverage and navigation ability in early May.
-Huffman Peak Loop
-Horseshoe Ridge Loop
-Sheep Canyon Loop

Open to suggestions and recommendations as you folks always have the best input.

Thanks

[drm]

Maybe, just maybe, Siouxon will be snow-free by early May, but certainly not Killen Creek. That won't be snow-free most likely till late July this year, you probably won't be able to drive to the trailhead to late May. For early May snowfree means below 4000 feet and maybe below 3000 feet, depending on how warm and dry the spring is.

Places to consider:
Eagle Creek
Herman Creek
Trapper Creek
Lewis River
Salmon River (S of Mt Hood)

Wahtum Lake will probably melt out in late May and upper Trapper Creek areas, like Soda Peaks Lake, in late May or early June. Mt Hood, Mt Adams, and Indian Heaven will not melt out until late July.

There are places further afield: the Olympics, Rogue River, Hells Canyon, etc.

[Aimless]

Early May is never an easy time to find open trails above about 3800 feet. This year's snowpack is deep, so you can push that number down to about 3200 feet for early May, lower on slopes with northern exposure. You can track current snow amounts in WA state in a general way by going to https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nr ... rdb1248202 and click on the link for the SWE Basin Map. Right now the region that includes Mt St. Helens, Mt Adams and Goat Rocks stands at 134% of what's normal for this date.

[justpeachy]

You'll find a list of spring backpacking suggestions here: http://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide ... ackpacking

This spring is going to be particularly difficult, though. It's been a cold wet winter with a lot of snow. And apparently we're in for several more months of rain. Even if snow isn't an issue, the trails took a severe beating this winter and there will be landslides and downed trees to contend with.

[BigBear]

If this were a normal year, I would suggest Lewis River Trail starting from Curly Creek Falls TH. The snow should be gone at this elevation before May, but no guarantees this year. With the road to Cougar closed, and the road from the south going over a snow park, you will want to check the USFS website first.

Siouxon Creek would be okay, but Trapper Creek is a no for anything above the lower section of the trail system on a normal year.

The Mt. Adams hikes would not be snowfree on a normal year in May or June. Even Indian Heaven at 4,000-4,600 feet will have snow into the summer this year.

[Subaruski]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Might stay in the Gorge area and hike up to Benson Plateau or if there is enough snow melt Siouxon Loop or Blue Lake in Indian Heaven.

We'll see, hopefully it starts to slowly warm up the next couple weeks.

[BigBear]

I can guarantee the snow will not be melted out for your trip to Blue Lake in Indian Heaven in May. In fact, you would be better off not waiting for the snow to melt out due to the mosquito harvest. I fear that the snow will linger into August and perhaps to Labor Day with the mosquitoes peaking during September, as was the case just a few years back when we had heavier snowfall than normal.

[drm]

Benson Plateau will probably melt out in June.

[Subaruski]

Looks like as anticipated the snow melt is happening very slowly.

Most of the routes I have looked at for memorial day appear they will still have significant snow coverage.

I would really like to avoid Benson Plateau as I'm assuming it will be busy.

A couple other routes I was looking at were Serene Lake, lots of mixed reviews on that one as far as it being crowded. Most likely too much snow coverage any ways.

Twin lakes hike from Elk Lake. Most of the trail is above 5k feet so probably too much snow pack there too.

Salmon River to Kinzel Lake. Might actually be clear of snow?

[drm]

Benson Plateau is not usually that busy - for campsites. It's a big climb and there aren't many views and no waterfalls. And besides the two main camping areas, there are vast amounts of flat land to camp on - it is a plateau after all, so plenty of overflow (i.e. if one place is crowded, just grab some water and walk out into the flatlands). The trailheads will be absolutely packed for Memorial Day weekend so parking could be an issue. But if you camp on BP, it won't be too bad, probably one of the less crowded areas, assuming it is fairly melted. If not, you will be almost alone. From the reports I've seen the edges might be melted out, but the center of the plateau holds snow longer. It's actually one of the better choices for MD to avoid crowds if you're not willing to go into the snow.