[pct-l] Snow in Washington state update

[meadowed at comcast.net (ed)]

I read the old gals report on snow in Wa. so i checked it out and shes
right. if it stays like this  you folks who still plan on coming out to the
kickoff and start your hike at the border may want to consider the old
flipflop that the class of 98 did. From what my records show only 9/10
people went thru the Sierras and did a complete s/n hike. then you have
about 24 doing a flip flop and even 9 who did a complete southbond one.,
that includes Scott Williamson.
Its still too early to rethink your plans about dates etc, but even now i
would say don't be sealing your boxes and by all means hold on to your guide
books with your maps. If you are going to use a bumpbox then put the books
there. You also should go to AAA and get a Wa. Oregon and a Ca. map so you
can see the towns near the trail. You can reach a few spots close to the
trail by train, Dunsmier Ca, Chamut Or has a car shuttle to Diamond Lake and
Crater area, Portland to start at Bridge of the Gods going north is not a
bad option as you would have less snow there then at Manning Park going
south.
 The one thing i remember talking to some of the FFers was in some cases
they made the mistake of not ff far enough and trudged thru snow in Sierra
City or section O. If the snow pack is heavy in Ca as it is now, then jump
to Ashland or Canada. Its a pain to mess up a complete oneway hike and it
messes up the flow But. I have done most of Wa and Or as a southbonder and
only once got messed up by going the wrong way at a trail junction.
 Oh one more thing about the Guide books you will note that in some cases
the overview map for a section is on the last page of the prevous section.
In those cases zerox the map so the complete section is together, cann't
tell you how many people end up with the overview map missing.
If a lot of you folks coming out to the gathering want i can hold a special
talk about doinf a ff. In 95 you also had only 10 folks do a compkete hike
and 4 of them did a ff too!   Meadow Ed