Winter Backpacking

If you are interested I have ahike planned for the Trapper Creek Wilderness area on feb 3 and 4. 13.5 miles. email me at irishharmon@comcast.net or sing up on thebackpacker.com.

The Rogue River may be good this time of year. In order to do the full trail, you'll probably have to take a long shuttle to drop your car off at one end, but the river bottom should remain snow-free and accessible.

Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge would be a good choice. There is the coast trail on the Olympics which you could look into. I'd be a bit concerned about fording some of the creeks though. Put your food in containers or tie it up. Racoons will get to it. Siouxon Creek would be good too. If you don't mind driving down to the Grants Pass area, you could go to the Graves Creek TH and hike to Illahe (40 miles). You have to pay to have your car shuttled. That may be a problem though if there is snow. The FS road is not your friend. If you do go, drive to Agness and back through Gold Beach and DO NOT take the FS road. Take bear canisters. The bears are aggressive. I can't think of any other places that will be out of the snow.

Olympics have some good valley bottom hikes (Hoh, Quinalt, Elwha, etc...). Even some of the Cascade hikes are open during the winter if they're low enough elevation. Several of the trails in the Columbia Gorge are hikeable year round.