60+ mile backpack recommendations in June (avoiding snow)

[renegadepilgrim]

Or you could go to Canada and do the West Coast Trail (40 miles one way) on Vancouver Island...permit season starts June 15th, so if you get there before then, it's not restricted, though you still have to pay the fees. And you need to have passports to get into Canada.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim ... v6a/v.aspx

I am going next week to do the WCT and will post a trail report on here, if you're interested.

Also, the North Umpqua Trail is 70 miles long and I think once you get far enough out, it's fairly remote (and not hugging the road on the other side of the river as it does early in the trail), though not very challenging, it is quite beautiful out there. Shouldn't be much snow either. I did a two night backpack down there in February.

There's the Oregon Coast Trail too...I recommend the southern part of the state, around Brookings.

Good luck!

[drm]

Pulling together some other posts, four good long-mileage snow-free hikes in June would be:

1. Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness (Blue Mtns) on the Washington-Oregon border. TexasBB knows this area better than me - I've done shorter trips there. Once more than 5 miles from a trailhead in June, you will have it to yourself.

2. Hells Canyon on the Oregon-Idaho border (but hiking on the Oregon side). This would probably be crossing Freezeout Saddle and doing a loop via the river and bench trails. Conditions get much rougher if you try to go north of Temperance Creek.

3. Siskiyou mountains in Southwest Oregon. This could be the Rogue River Trail or something in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, like the Chetco Loop, which is over 50 miles and usually melts out by May.

4. Another option might be the trail on the east side of Ross Lake east of North Cascades National Park. Ross lake is an inland fjord, and the trail stays at low altitude and goes to the Canadian border. I think it is 30+ miles each way. Depending on the snowmelt, the eastern Pasaytens might be melted out by then, but might also be very buggy and muddy then.

And they all have completely different terrain and ecosystems. I've done the first two and am planning on the third this year, in late May hopefully.

[payslee]

The more I'm thinking about it, you could put together a pretty sweet Tour de Gorge with that mileage and timeframe. And if the current rate of snow melt holds, by June you shouldn't have much to worry about in the way of snow. Us Portlanders typically think of the Gorge as dayhiking or overnight territory because it is so accessible, but almost all of those trails link up on the back side, and there's a lot of beautiful country and many options.

If you Started from the East end of the gorge you could head up from Wyeth to North Lake or Rainy Lake.

From there explore the trails on Nick Eaton Ridge, and tag Indian Point, then take the Herman Creek Trail back in up toward Cedar Swamp Camp, Mud Lake, or Whatum lake.

Take the PCT from Whatum lake over to the Benson Plateau, then come down Ruckel Creek and back up the Eagle Creek Canyon. (Eagle creek canyon should not be missed. From what I understand many if not most of the PCT thru-hikers divert from the PCT here to take Eagle Creek, it really is lovely.) Follow the trail in to a connector trail west up to Tanner Butte. There's a nice camp site at Dublin lake.

Then head back north on Tanner Butte (tagging Wauna Point if you're feeling fiesty) and West along trail 400, which is some sections here is a paved hiker/biker path. Plenty of great waterfalls within a mile or two of the path here if you feel like side trips. Or, serious scrambles to astonishing viewpoint which I would not attempt with an overnight pack on.

From John Yeon State Park, you can head back up and in to Nesmith Point, and then head west on trail 425 over toward Horsetail and Oneonta Creeks. The loop options are many many in this area... if I were doing it I would probably take trail 459 over to 424 and 444. In June the Rhododendrons should be blooming, and there are a lot of them on Franklin Ridge there. You can also loop up to Larch Mountain Viewpoint where you will amaze and astonish all the folks who made the arduous 0.25 mile trek to the veiwpoint their from their cars.

In either case, then it's back down trail 441 and then keep heading west toward Wahkeen and Finally, Angel's Rest near the Gorge's west end.

So if you're looking for solitude, this is probably not the itinerary for you, but it's got a lot to offer and has the advantage of being almost infinitely adjustable on the spur of the moment. There's a "trails of the Columbia Gorge" map that I presume you can buy on line which will be very helpful for trip planning.

Wherever you end up, hope you have a blast!

-payslee

[mattisnotfrench]

Payslee, were you thinking of this itinerary?

With a shuttle that would probably fit in with what the OP wants.

[retired jerry]

On the Olympic Coast, it's about 21 miles between Ozette and Rialto Beach and 18 miles between Third Beach and Oil City - two nice wilderness stretches. About 9 miles of road connecting them. And it's 15 miles North from Ozette to Shi Shi. Most of it is walking on the beach which can take longer than a regular trail. You could probably do an out and back that came close to your goal. You have to look at tide tables - there are places that can only be crossed at low tide.

That area is really nice and that amopunt of wilderness beach is unique.

[payslee]

Payslee, were you thinking of this itinerary?

With a shuttle that would probably fit in with what the OP wants.

Thanks for the link, Matt! I hadn't seen that one before. Mostly I was just looking at my own gorge map, which I've been using to plot my spring shape-up hikes (it's been a while since I climbed any snow mountains, and I'd like to do some of that this summer, so I've been undertaking a classic "spring conditioning series" along many of these trails.

Looks like I threw in some extra loops down to the "bottom" of the gorge, mostly cause I love the viewpoints and waterfalls you get by tagging back and forth. Plus, they'll add to the mileage (and elevation!) which if they're training up for the Sierras is all to the good.


But you can't lose in a tour-de-gorge!

-payslee

[Dustin DuBois]

Payslee, were you thinking of this itinerary?

With a shuttle that would probably fit in with what the OP wants.

Oooh... a new project. Thanks for that link!