Anyone been hiking in the PNW this spring? Are there any trails that are reasonably dry? This weather just sucks! [Yes, I am aware that folks in other parts of the country have had it worse. That doesn't mean I can't whine, does it?]

Around here (Portland area) this year it's not a case of staying dry but of not encountering an unseasonably low snowline. As for wet, we learn to live with it.

Trails in the Columbia River Gorge below 3,000 feet are now officially snow-free. On the rare occasions we have more than one sunny day at a time, they will be a bit less soggy. For more info, check out trip reports on www.portlandhikers.org

We haven't hiked much yet this year (new baby!), but as far as I know you pretty much have to drive east of the Cascades to find dryness. I also heard a rumor that the area around Sequim is technically in a rainshadow, but I have no idea if there are any good hikes around there.

To be honest, I haven't put much thought towards dry hikes. After having grown up in SE Alaska, Western WA's rain is very tolerable... I have an aversion to snow, though, so my main concern has always been finding hikes that have little or now snow.

Trails are definitely drying out at the east end of the Columbia River Gorge, and wildflowers (several weeks late) are at their peak in places like Catherine Creek, Dalles Mountain Ranch and (on the Oregon side) Rowena Plateau/Tom McCall Nature Preserve. It will be 2-3 more weeks before the famous balsam root and lupine fields on Dog Mountain are in bloom. This is the time of year that a lot of precipitation never makes it past the Cascade Crest. Only the wind goes that far, and while it may making standing up on ridge tops difficult, it dries the trails really fast.

I'm seeing reports from eastern Washington (Yakima and Wenatchee areas) that say wildflower bloom is peaking there, too!