Where To Backpack In April

Good to hear you had a good trip. Snakes scare the hell out of me too, I've had a few close encounters. Quartz creek is in the Washington Cascades, between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. I did a trail description a couple years back for the first couple of miles, but the trail is actually fairly long and connects to a few additional trails. The description is here: http://trailsnw.com/index.php?fuseaction=Trails.DisplayTrail&hike num=135 Ape Cave isn't backpackable, but there may be other backpacking options around it. On most trails over a few miles long, you can usually find someplace to camp. I'm definitely not a sleeping bag only backpacker, I like my tent, and for us it was just a matter of finding a lightweight tent.

Great suggestions. We ended up backpacking the Deschutes this weekend. I wasn't all that thrilled about it...until we got there. I typically prefer hikes with lots of trees over desert hikes but it was actually very nice (except running into the snakes - scared the tar out of me). I will research and try some of your suggestions over the next few weeks. I'm having a hard time finding trail information on Quartz Creek. Is that in Oregon or Washington? Also, is the Ape Caves backpackable? We are still somewhat new to backpacking and I never know which trails we can camp on. We are definitely "tent backpackers"...I'm not ready to be a "bivy backpacker" or "sleeping bag only backpacker". : ) Please keep the ideas coming because there is always next winter and spring to plan for.

This is a tough one. Spring backpacking has its limits, but can be an adventure. I don't live in the portland area anymore, so I'm not sure of the snow pack around there. Forrests suggestions should work. Here are few more. Siouxon creek should be clear. I've been 4 miles in, but I think you can go further. Some great water falls on this hike. Trapper creek might be open. The salmon river in the salmon-huckleberry wilderness. Most trails in the gorge. If you camp around swift lake south of st. helens, you could do any number of hikes: Lewis river, mount mitchell, ape caves, lava canyon, ect. The answer to this question depends on how many miles you want and your feelings on snow.

The Lewis River and Quartz Creek could also work this time of year. Relatively low elevations. You may be able to backpack up Quartz Creek, or do a camp/hike option there as well.

April backpacks can be tough. Herman Creek in the gorge is an option, hiking up past Triple Falls is also a possibility. The Badger Creek area is like 2.5 hours from Portland I believe, but a backpack up Badger Creek can be a good option this time of year (at least the lower reaches, you may want to call the forest service to get current conditions). There are also campsites over there so a camp and hike weekend is an option. I'll see if I can think of any other options...