Hi all. Planned a trip with some friends to do Paradise the first week of August for the wildflowers but a scheduling conflict arose. Now we're trying to decide if we should do the week before or the week after?

Looking for one night backpacking trip recommendations that can be done this time of year. My friends are I are experienced backpackers who could do up to 15 miles RT and 3000ft elevation gain. Thanks!

-- Had posted in r/AnimalTracking but no response... Pics from 14April2024

Not sure if this is mountain lion or coyote. No tracks to speak of; poop was in the middle of a not-too-used trail in the Trapper Creek Wilderness in southwest Washington. I'd seen a similar poop the day before with what looked like a nearly-intact hoof-half, like from a small deer (it was about the size of my thumb). Both poops about the same size & composition, lots of fur and small-ish bone chunks. Question then - whose poop, and what were they eating? Thanks!

Poop (regular Bic for scale)

Teeth

I’m planning a 2 night backpacking trip in July and weighing the pros/cons between Upper Crystal Lake (via Crystal Lakes to Sourdough Gap) or Upper Palisades Lake. It’ll be my first time hiking in this National Park. I’m experienced and have all the requisite gear, and won the permit lottery.

Does anyone have nsight into either of these trails and lakes in regard to which you prefer and why? I love the idea of exposed terrain, expansive views, lakes that a fit for a swim, and as much solitude as one can get in that area. Thanks!

I'm staying between Sedro Wooley and Everett in the middle of May to help a friend out with some things, and want to do some hiking in the 2 weeks I'm there since I'm from oregon and never get to hike those more northern cascades.

I know most of the northern cascades higher peaks around this time are pretty snowy still, which is fine, but I've also heard a lot of the higher mountains to climb are avalanche prone in May which I don't have experience with. Snow is A-OK, but not avalanche snow.

My friend tells me I might be in luck, since there is a drought going on right now that has decreased snow by about 40%. He's not a hiker though so he has no idea.

Of course checking trails in the area on WTA and checking May usually brings up a bunch of stories of people not being able to finish or running into issues, but not with a decrease in snow pack like this year.

I'm looking for good 2000-4000 elevation gain hikes to do around 7-10 miles round trip. Or any really unique beautiful ones would be cool too this time of year.

I'll have his car, so reasonable 1 hour drives are ok.

Any good ones to hit in the area? Or am I better off driving south more toward North Bend for the classics in May?

Hey all - I’m thinking of doing Dog Mountain hike with my husband this weekend. Any tips? We just did Saddle Mountain last weekend and have done King’s Mountain before but never something this long and steep. Any recommendations? Thanks!

Hi! Sorry if this is a little against the spirit of hiking, but I wanted to ask for some opinions. My parents are coming to visit me in June and I would love to take them to a beautiful place to enjoy some natural wonders of Washington.

My dad has serious heart issues and cannot do basically any inclines or moderate trails. He can walk maybe 1-2 miles of flat trail. He loves nature and is happy to sit/birdwatch/paint while my mom and I go on a short ish hike. Their perfect nature trip was Yosemite, because all of the valley floor is so easily accessible. Even there a walk to an island was pretty tough. He enjoys fishing and canoeing, so options to do those are bonuses!

I'm really flexible on where to go: I was thinking Olympic National Park, Orcas Island, or maybe Mt. Rainer (though I'm a little worried about him at altitude lol). If there's a nice town or airbnb nearby where we can stay and chill out that's awesome!

Is there a place in Washington where you think gives the best nature closest to a parking lot? Or somewhere else in Oregon/BC? When I'm alone I am happy to hike, but want to give my parents as full an experience as possible.

For the road to Paradise at Rainier from Longmire.

The wife and I moved to the greater Seattle area 3 years ago and have discovered a love for hiking. After doing alot of the moderate level hikes within 2 hours or so of Seattle, we decided to test ourselves by doing Mt Si this past January when much of top half was heavy with snow. Took us just under 6 hours round trip, but that included some breaks for photos of the scenery and a quick lunch at the base of the haystack (we didn't feel comfortable trying the haystack Scramble with our experience level, in the snow no less)

Feeling pretty accomplished, we're looking for a few hikes of comparable (or slightly more) difficulty to continue to test ourselves with. Tenneriff, Dirty Harry's Peak, and Mailbox seem to fit the bill, but was curious if anyone who has actually done all of them could offer suggestions on how they measure up in comparison to Si. Also open to suggestions in Olympic National Park or down by Rainier for future weekend trips.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

We're headed to Seattle for the first time in August with my in-laws, and we plan to spend 1 night in Port Angeles to check out a sliver of ONP. My husband and I love hiking, so we're looking for some walks/hikes that would be doable with his parents, ideally still with great views!

My in-laws would be up for a 5-7 mile, relatively flat hike. In a perfect world it would be paved, but flat trails are OK. They are fairly fit and frequently do long walks, but cannot do any water crossings, scrambling, or extended steep stretches due to balance issues. They have hiking poles.

Right now the following two have emerged from our research:

• Climbing Hurricane Hill
• Lake Crescent: Marymere Falls or Spruce Railroad Trail

Is there anything about these places we should know or avoid? Do you think we can do both in 1.5 days or should we pick one? Please also share any advice on other places we're missing, parking, bathrooms or other advice for traveling with older family members. Thank you!

I have 5 permits for Mt St Helens on Saturday, May 25th and need to change them to Friday, May 24th. Is there any chance anyone is on here with permits and wants to trade?

Hello,

I will be visiting the Seattle area for the first time for a week in about 10 days. I wanted to see Mt. Rainier and get some hiking in, but am concerned about the feasibility of this. My plan was to drive to Paradise Visitor Center and do the Skyline Trail. However, based on the webcam at the visitor center and some comments I've seen about visiting in April the trails might be closed/covered in snow. With that being said:

• Are the trails open? The statuses on the NPS website said they only actively update them in the summer.
• If they are open, how compact are they? Would I need to rent snowshoes or are hiking boots (maybe with some yaktrax) sufficient?
• Do the trails close if the weather is poor?
  • I probably wouldn't go if the visibility was terrible and it's just downpouring, but if it's a light rain with some potential breaks in the weather the trip would still be worth it to me.
• I see a lot of talk about permits/reservations, but from my understanding I do not think I would need anything like that for a day hike in late April. Just an entrance fee for the day. Is this assumption correct?
• If my hopes are true and it's as simple as paying the entrance fee and bringing the appropriate clothing and footwear, are there other recommended hikes in the Paradise area?
• If I'm SOL on these plans to go hiking in the park, is there something else I might be able to do to see some good views?

Thank you all in advanced!

So, I have a rather unique request for you all. I am looking for distinctive true stories from around the Olympic Peninsula, covering activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and more. I'm interested in anything that occurred outdoors in the wilderness of the OlyPen. These stories can range from paranormal experiences and odd happenings to anything interesting in between.

I would like to use these stories as voiceovers for my design session videos, which I plan to post on YouTube and Instagram. All of the designs are tasteful and are inspired by the (PNW) in some way. I will give full credit to the individuals whose stories I select and will need your permission to post them.

Hey all,

Olympic National Park's backpacking permits for the 2024 season will be released tomorrow, April 15 at 7 AM PT. You can book here: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4098362.

All permits are released at once. There is no extra walk-up quota, but you can still get a permit in person if permits are left for that date.

In 2024, East Fork Quinault River Trail and Enchanted Valley sites will have a quota. Here is a map showing which campsites have a quota.

Other parks are releasing permits in April, you can see the full list in the latest issue of my newsletter: https://outdoorstatus.com/newsletter/

Hi! I’m new to the PNW but wondering when the best time to see lupines at Mt Rainier is? Or if there’s a better place to see them, I’d open suggestions!

Looking to get in as many backpacking trips as possible this year, anyone know any good trips for early spring? I'm equipped for cold weather just not anything too crazy, I'm going to southern Olympic national park soon but need more ideas

I'll be visiting Washington from the 22nd of June to the 8th of July with my girlfriend. I'd like to do a few backpacking trips during that time and I have a few questions:

I know it will be slightly early for the snow but from the SNOTEL data I saw online it seems this year snowpack is significantly lower than the median. Should it be possible to hike in the high country? I don't mind carrying micro-spikes and an ice axe for the passes or to cross a few snow fields but I don't want it to turn into a winter hike and walk moslty on snow, camp on snow or see frozen lakes.

Do you have recommendation for 20 to 30miles backpacking trips? I was considering the following options:

- High Divide and Seven Lake Basin OR Enchanted Valley in ONP. If I understood well I have to get the permits for the High Divide and Seven Lake Basin by calling directly because the official period opens on July 15th? For the Enchanted Valley I can try to get a permit on the 15th of April for the campsites.

- Mount Rainier Northside Loop OR Eastside Loop OR Carbon Glacier, Mowich Lake and Ipsut Loop. Sadly I didn't get the lottery so I'm hoping I could get a few spots to do one of these loops when the remaining permits are released on the 25th of April.

- Alpine Wilderness, didn't get the lotery for the Enchantments Area too but it seems there are tons of amazing trips in this area. I thought of Alpine Lake High Route OR Marmote Lake, Tuck Lake, Robin Lakes, Deception Lake Area OR Necklace Valley and Tank Lakes OR Alpine Lake Loop via Citadel Pass. If I got it right I don't need to reserve backcoutry permits for this area? Seems odd to me as it appears to be splendid.

If you have any advice, trips recommandation, places to visit absolutely or even day hikes recommandation I am all ears. I was also thinking of doing Baker guided and maybe a few day hikes in ONP, North Cascades National Park and in the Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Might have to stay longer there's so much to do...

Thank you all for the help!

I'm hoping to get a little clarity on terminology because my friends and I are in a distracting debate while trying to plan a backpacking trip for the PNW. I am not from the area. Could someone confirm or deny that the North Cascade range includes Mount Baker-Snoqualmie range, Stephen Mather wilderness and other areas, not just the "North Cascade National Park"?

This is what I've learned so far having read up on various pages including the national parks page, wilderness and forest pages.

The confusion began when i mentioned "going for a trip in the North Cascades" making the mistake of not being specific. An Oregon friend explained A permitting process (reservations advance booking on recreation.gov etc.,)that sounded more like that for the national park. But I meant the "northern area" of the cascade range, not inside the national Park boundary.

Edit: can I say "North Cascades" without meaning the National Park proper?

I wanted to do 23 hikes in 2023. A year later, here's my update.

https://youtu.be/4wsch0A1Hww?si=FKB61Dcn9xdjP7kf