Camping and hiking: Heading through the Pacific Northwest, where should I roam for the most beautiful scenery, wildlife, and flowers?

I disperse camped in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho, hiking to Sawtooth Lake and Alpine Lake where the snow still surrounded the lakes, so camping earlier in the season would have been difficult. From Idaho, I continued to Mount Hood in Oregon and hiked to several waterfalls. Then, I descended to hike waterfalls near Portland on the Columbia River. After Crater Lake, I drove through the Redwoods. Then, I hiked in snow on Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen. The road was still closed past Mount Lassen due to deep snowpack.

You missed the boat, Skippy. The BEST season to hike and camp in the Pacific Northwest is spring. Now, it's mid summer. Daytime temperatures are high, and we're into forest fire season. A lot of public parks and campgrounds are restricted.

If you MUST hike and camp in the Pacific Northwest in July and August, stay close to the ocean. It's a lot cooler there.