I am creating this thread to share images from backpacking in the PNW in 2021. As much as I love skiing, the hiking season at elevation around here is fairly short, so even though this is only my second summer here, I am learning to savor the warm weather while we have it. The most difficult time for me is the gap between hiking and skiing in the fall.
My first trip of the year in mid-May, not far from White Pass:
The next three were in mid-to-late June, all on the Olympic Peninsula:
The next one was in the Teanaway, just as the crazy heatwave was starting up in late June. We hiked in at 6pm and started hiking back out before 8am to avoid the worst of the heat:
Next, back in the Olympics to see the Blue Glacier over the long July 4th weekend:
Exploring the area north of St Helens the next weekend (Mount Hood is in the center):
Heading up to the North Cascades for the first time of the season in mid-July:
Taking some time off before starting a new job, first stop in the Wind River range in Wyoming - I'm cheating here a bit, this isn't the PNW:
The original plan was to backpack in the Tetons afterwards, but the smoke and the thunderstorms were forecast to be pretty bad, so we retreated back to the PNW:
That's it for now. I am hoping to fit in a few more trips over the next couple of months, and after that it's a toss of the dice as far as conditions go. As long as the transition to winter is quick, I am happy as it means that the ski season is coming shortly. My least favorite is when there is too much snow to comfortably backpack, but not enough to comfortably ski.
My first trip of the year in mid-May, not far from White Pass:
The next three were in mid-to-late June, all on the Olympic Peninsula:
The next one was in the Teanaway, just as the crazy heatwave was starting up in late June. We hiked in at 6pm and started hiking back out before 8am to avoid the worst of the heat:
Next, back in the Olympics to see the Blue Glacier over the long July 4th weekend:
Exploring the area north of St Helens the next weekend (Mount Hood is in the center):
Heading up to the North Cascades for the first time of the season in mid-July:
Taking some time off before starting a new job, first stop in the Wind River range in Wyoming - I'm cheating here a bit, this isn't the PNW:
The original plan was to backpack in the Tetons afterwards, but the smoke and the thunderstorms were forecast to be pretty bad, so we retreated back to the PNW:
That's it for now. I am hoping to fit in a few more trips over the next couple of months, and after that it's a toss of the dice as far as conditions go. As long as the transition to winter is quick, I am happy as it means that the ski season is coming shortly. My least favorite is when there is too much snow to comfortably backpack, but not enough to comfortably ski.