Hey everyone,
I’ve been overnighting a few times, but this August Im trying to plan a 5 day trip (hopefully 40-50 miles) with some college buddies. I want to do it on the Pacific Crest Trail. I bought a few books with advice on water recsources, and descriptions of every part of the hike. What Im here for, is trying to find a good 5 day trip, that will offer a good amount to see! I am looking for something in Northern Oregon or Southern Washington! Thank you for any input!
Jmed
Indian Heaven Wilderness, or near Mt. Adams, or the Goat Rocks would all be great choices. A number of the hikes on the PCT can be done into loops as well 
sarbar
You might look into doing the Timberline Trail, that circles Mt. Hood. That covers a little part of the PCT, but is a loop, about 40 miles but probably more with side hikes you’ll want to include. Here’s the first site listed on google:
http://www.intangibility.com/Photography/Travel/Hood03/index.html
markv
The Timberline would be really easy logistically and gets you part of the PCT. In August you should run into some thruhikers also. Here is a link from a trip I did on it with everyone’s favorite pack maker:
http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett/local/timberline/index.html
If you are willing to deal with shuttle issues, hiking north from Sisters (MacKenzie Pass or that other one) through Jefferson Park and to Ollalie Lake would also be sweet.
suge
All the suggestions above are good. For a 40-50 miler, I would pick a volcano and hike around it. Most seem to have loop trails. Look for terrain quality to maximize your experience, not PCT miles.
Adams, Jefferson, Hood, or the Sisters would all be sweet. If you are dog-free, surely part way around Mt. Rainier could rock your world also. Get some good maps of each option and check out the terrain and mileage. Think mostly of scenic campsites (near to above timberline in my book) evenly spread about.
Topozone.com provides a free look at USGS quads, the best maps in the world, but you should check with the USFS to make sure trails listed are still maintained.
I would recommend Adams or Sisters for less crowds in August. ENJOY!!!
Hans Berg
My sons and I will do the 30 mile loop around South Sister July 30, plus a summit trip. We are doing this in preparation for a Shasta summit trip right afterward.
We are used to hiking bear country, but don’t have bear canisters. Are they needed for this trip?
WarrenK
FYI check the NPS site for info on the Wonderland trail around MT Rainier. They had a major flood and I think I read that the trail was closed this year. They are not taking reservations. The Three Sisters Wilderness is great, we have never even seen any wildlife while hiking in that area, did hang our food at night - old habit of my hiking partners. The roads around Mt Adams are also washed out from the same flood, you can get info at the Gifford Pinchot web site for the roads and trails in the Adams and Indian Heaven wilderness area. The goat rocks wilderness also has a web site that will give info on the trails in that area. I have not heard that they were washed out by the flood but, the roads into the area were affected. So sorry for the bad news, southern Washington got pretty beat up this year. Happy Trails, The Lee’s
the lee’s