Timberline Trail — Mt. Hood

Snow is the main thing to think about on this trip. Long Lake SNOTEL at 840 ft is still holding 92 inches with a falling trend — that's a lot of snow for late April at lower elevation, and the Timberline Trail above 5,000 ft will be heavily snow-covered. Route-finding on the upper flanks of Hood will require navigation skills; expect large snowfields obscuring trail, especially on the north and east sides where shade keeps the pack deeper. Annie Springs at 6,021 ft shows only 12 inches, so higher terrain is melting out, but the mid-elevation zone around the trail corridor is going to be the crux. Microspikes and poles are worth having for the icy morning crust — south-facing slopes will soften fast once the sun hits, but north-facing traverses will stay firm all day.

Stream crossings are where snow creates real timing risk. The stream flow gauges in the dataset are geographically mismatched to Hood (they're pulling California data), so treat them as no-data — don't rely on them. What you do know: 92 inches of SWE-loaded snowpack at mid-elevation plus daytime highs in the low 50s means melt-driven flows will peak in the mid-to-late afternoon. Sandy River, Zigzag River, and Eliot Branch are your most serious crossings on the Timberline Trail. Hit them before noon, ideally before 10 AM when overnight cold has suppressed melt. If you're camping near a crossing, scout it the evening before and set a turnaround time for the morning attempt.

Weather is solid today — sunny, high 52°F, winds under 6 mph. Enjoy it. Monday and Tuesday bring a chance of light rain (26-27% precip, temps holding at 49°F) which is a non-event for hiking but will add a small amount of surface melt on top of whatever diurnal cycle is already running. Nights stay above freezing at 37-38°F through Tuesday, which means the snowpack doesn't fully refreeze overnight — that's the driver for high afternoon flows. Plan your daily mileage so you're through major drainages before 11 AM each day.

No active fires, no avalanche bulletin, and 14 hours of daylight give you a lot of flexibility. Start early each day to bank miles before rain arrives in the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday, and to catch firm snow for travel. You're in good shape for this trip — just respect the melt timing on crossings and don't push a sketchy ford late in the day.