I can't wait for all this green to start coming back! | Little White Salmon River, WA, USA | [OC] [5075x6767]FirePhoinex290 t1_j84fojq wrote
Reply to comment by riannaearl in I can't wait for all this green to start coming back! | Little White Salmon River, WA, USA | [OC] [5075x6767] by CameronKelsey
Will do, thank you for all the recommendations. Is highway 20 dangerous because of falling rocks, or something else? Late May/early June seems like the best time for me to go anyway, I’m glad I’ll get the best of the scenery at that time.
Just curious, what do you define short/t-shirt weather as? I’m from Colorado where short weather ranges from 35° to 110°F haha.
FaolanG t1_j84ommb wrote
That’s about right for here. The only thing to remember is that WA is very wet, so the 35 doesn’t always feel like 35, even up north it can feel a lot colder and it’s important to have good rain gear in case, especially in May/June.
Everyone has mentioned the northern part of the state, but this picture is from the southern part of WA (this river enters the Columbia which is the border between WA and OR). If you’re time limited I recommend the norther part of the state as well, but if you like to mtb our area is amazing and we have Bend not to far.
White Salmon is known to be “where the sunshine meets the rain.” Our town is green and looks like everything that is Cascades west in the state, but a ten minute drive east and the entire environment changes to the eastern parts high desert/arid vibe with tans and browns. The Gorge is a deep scar through plains that roll all the way to Idaho and there are tons of areas beautiful in their own, different flavor from the west. It’s rad because almost anytime if the rain is getting to me I can drive east and boom, here comes the sun baby :).
riannaearl t1_j852z8r wrote
Yes! 100% everything you said!!! Little white is gorgeous! My friend had her Bachelorette party there, and we rafted down LWSR, had drinks and food in hood river at pFriem, got an airbnb in Carson.. man it was amazing.
Then I had the opportunity to visit the area again in October when I was picking up salmon eggs from the Carson national fish hatchery. I really love it down there. It's really beautiful.
FirePhoinex290 t1_j89e7g9 wrote
Good point, thank you! I’ve lived in dry areas my whole life so I’m not sure how I’ll handle a wet summer haha. I am traveling from a state south of you guys, so visiting southern locations then working up to the northern half will be easy.
FaolanG t1_j8a38gh wrote
Eh it isn’t too bad but the June gloom thing is real, especially up north. Just have good gear and you’ll be fine. Everyone makes fun of how we all wear hardcore outdoor brands up here but gear opens this region up to be enjoyable year round.
Example: we skied this morning and now to mtb. I’m two months we get the option for the coveted three sport day: ski, mtb, kite or whatever your pleasure is!
riannaearl t1_j85k0ek wrote
Highway 20 is closed during the winter due to avalanche danger. And yes, shorts weather is about that degree range over here. The west side of the cascades, I'd say probably 50° on the low end just because of the humidity. The east side is dryer, so shorts weather is more of what you're accustomed to over here. The entire state is incredibly geologically diverse, from the rain forests on the peninsula, to the San Juan Islands and puget sound, the cascades range, to the channeled scablands in the central part of the state, awesome forests in the NE corner, down to the walla walla Valley, blue mountains, and clarkston in the SE corner, which is the gateway to hells canyon. There is a LOT to check out here! :)
FirePhoinex290 t1_j89beu0 wrote
Makes sense, I’m really interested to see how I’ll handle humidity. I’ve lived in dry places my whole life and have only visited southern states in the winter, so I’ve never experienced summer humidity before.
That’s awesome, I’d didn’t realize how diverse the ecosystem was there. I’ll see if I can extend my trip a bit longer to cover more area, thank you for the help.
riannaearl t1_j89mc1u wrote
No problem! Happy to help. The humidity isn't crazy like pea soup air you hear about in the south, but it definitely can make the cold get down to your bones if it's chilly out.
upstateduck t1_j85zk38 wrote
if you go that way you will be within an hour of Dry Falls State Park which is worth an overnight, especially if it is around the new moon/dark skies
The campground is in a box canyon that obscures light pollution and makes it like stargazing from the bottom of a well. The stars are visible clear to the horizon
FirePhoinex290 t1_j89bj2d wrote
Sounds amazing, I’ll see if I can fit that in!
upstateduck t1_j89wamn wrote
we took a 75 day trip with a camp trailer and followed the Columbia River from the Gorge to it's headwaters in BC. The night we spent at Dry Falls was a highlight that we hit by accident
It happened to be a new/late rising moon and half the campground was folks with huge telescopes who let us look at what they were focussing on. Very cool
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