PCT snowpack plunges

The Pacific Crest Trail’s 2026 hiking season is opening under a snowpack collapse across much of the West, with some basins already near bare-ground conditions. (backpacker.com) Snowpack is measured by snow-water equivalent, or how much liquid water is locked in the snow. In northern California’s Klamath basin, that figure was 6 percent of the 30-year median in mid-April; Oregon’s Willamette and Deschutes basins were at 13 percent and 17 percent. (backpacker.com) California’s April 1 survey at Phillips Station found no measurable snow, and the state said its statewide snowpack was 18 percent of average that day. By April 17, California’s automated network showed the statewide figure at 19 percent of the April 1 average, including just 8 percent in the northern Sierra. (water.ca.gov) (cdec.water.ca.gov) For northbound hikers, that likely means an easier walk through the High Sierra than in heavy-snow years. Backpacker reported southern Sierra snow-water equivalent at 66 percent of median, with most thru-hikers expected to reach Kennedy Meadows in late May or early June after much of the melt has already run off. (backpacker.com) The bigger problem is timing. California water officials said this year’s snowpack probably peaked on or near February 24, and Andy Reising of the Department of Water Resources said runoff is arriving “a month or five weeks early.” (water.ca.gov) (backpacker.com) Earlier runoff means creeks can crest before hikers reach them, then shrink or disappear sooner in summer. The Pacific Crest Trail Association tells hikers to check the trail’s crowdsourced water report before starting and says hikers should not rely on water caches. (pcta.org) Federal drought monitors said Oregon set a record-low April 1 snow-water equivalent this year, while California posted its second-lowest April 1 value since SNOTEL monitoring began in the 1980s. The same update said peak snow-water equivalent across Western states came 21 to 34 days earlier than normal on average. (drought.gov) The low-snow year also shifts fire season risk onto the trail calendar. Backpacker reported elevated wildfire danger for Pacific Crest Trail hikers, and Drought.gov said the April-to-June outlook favors continued warmth across the West and dryness in parts of the region. (backpacker.com) (drought.gov) That leaves 2026 hikers planning for a trail with fewer snow obstacles but less margin for error. In a year when the mountains are shedding winter weeks early, the safest itinerary may depend less on ice axes than on current water reports, heat forecasts, and fire closures. (backpacker.com) (pcta.org)