When to do tour from Pacific City, Oregon to Missoula, MT

Hi,
I'm planning on doing a tour starting on the Pacific coast at the
town of Pacific City, OR. Then riding back to Portland, across the
state through the Columbia River gorge, then up near Spokane, WA over
to Coeur D'Alene up to Kalispell, MT then down to Missoula, MT for the
finish.
I'm thinking about starting the tour either around the middle of August
or maybe the first week after Labor Day. I think there would be less
traffic overall if I started after Labor Day.
Does anyone know what the weather is like up there in these areas
in the beginning of September? It would be nice to have some chilly
weather at night for camping and some 60 to 70's during the day.
Actually I don't mind some chilly weather during the day as long as
it's not freezing all day long. I was also wondering about rain. Does
it tend to get very rainy during the beginning of September?
This trip should take about 2 to 2.5 weeks.


Thanks for any info,
Ted

Ted wrote:
Hi,
I'm planning on doing a tour starting on the Pacific coast at the
town of Pacific City, OR. Then riding back to Portland, across the
state through the Columbia River gorge, then up near Spokane, WA over
to Coeur D'Alene up to Kalispell, MT then down to Missoula, MT for the
finish.
I'm thinking about starting the tour either around the middle of August
or maybe the first week after Labor Day. I think there would be less
traffic overall if I started after Labor Day.
Does anyone know what the weather is like up there in these areas
in the beginning of September? It would be nice to have some chilly
weather at night for camping and some 60 to 70's during the day.
Actually I don't mind some chilly weather during the day as long as
it's not freezing all day long. I was also wondering about rain. Does
it tend to get very rainy during the beginning of September?
This trip should take about 2 to 2.5 weeks.


Thanks for any info,
Ted

You should go to some of the weather sites and look at archives. NOAA
should have good info.

These are just guesses based on living in the general region all my
life. Beginning of Sept. is going to be dry-ish. Fall is really quite
pleasant generally. Temps can top 90 during the day, or it can actually
snow, especially near Missoula. Most of the time you can expect fair
weather, highs 70-80, lows 40s.

Coastal Oregon is cool and wet year-round, of course.

--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the
trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view,
the most insidious of traitors."
George H.W. Bush, April 16, 1999,

I rode the Lewis & Clark trail starting at Astoria so this is similar
to your proposed trip. I did it starting after Labor Day and had
pretty good weather. This was a couple years ago when the West had a
really hot summer. I had at least 1 day of 90 degree weather along the
Gorge and then I had some cooler weather crossing Idaho with a bit of
snow at Lolo Pass. Personally, I think September is a great month for
touring and I've done a number of my tours in the fall. Weather is
usually fine and the summer vacation traffic is gone. But it is
certainly possible to get bad weather (eg, snow) in September and it is
even possible during the summer.

Denis

Ted wrote:
Hi,
I'm planning on doing a tour starting on the Pacific coast at the
town of Pacific City, OR. Then riding back to Portland, across the
state through the Columbia River gorge, then up near Spokane, WA over
to Coeur D'Alene up to Kalispell, MT then down to Missoula, MT for the
finish.
I'm thinking about starting the tour either around the middle of August
or maybe the first week after Labor Day. I think there would be less
traffic overall if I started after Labor Day.
Does anyone know what the weather is like up there in these areas
in the beginning of September? It would be nice to have some chilly
weather at night for camping and some 60 to 70's during the day.
Actually I don't mind some chilly weather during the day as long as
it's not freezing all day long. I was also wondering about rain. Does
it tend to get very rainy during the beginning of September?
This trip should take about 2 to 2.5 weeks.


Thanks for any info,
Ted

I'm from Oregon, have ridden to Pacific City many times from Portland.
Great ride. The weather in early September can be quite warm, in the
high 80's. You won't have to worry about chilly weather at all (perhaps
early in the morning, however). Typically, there's little rain at that
time of year. Now that I've jinxed the entire trip, prepare for rain.
The trip from PC to Portland should take a day. I've made it from
Portland to PC in 5.5 to 7 hours, depending on the route. You won't have
any troubles getting to Portland. Best of luck. Sounds like fun.

Thanks for all the information. I wasn't sure what the weather up there
was like, I'm from south Texas. It sounds like September should be a
good time to start my ride.

Yup, I figured going from Pacific City to Portland would be a long day.
I measured the route at just a little under a 100 miles. I just hope I
don't end up going into a headwind all the way!


Ted

Ted wrote:
Thanks for all the information. I wasn't sure what the weather up there
was like, I'm from south Texas. It sounds like September should be a
good time to start my ride.

Yup, I figured going from Pacific City to Portland would be a long day.
I measured the route at just a little under a 100 miles. I just hope I
don't end up going into a headwind all the way!


Ted

You won't have a headwind. You'll probably have a tailwind since the
wind will be blowing off the ocean. The trip to Portland (I live a
little west of Portland) is around 93 miles, probably a cool 100 if you
go into downtown Portland. Once over the coast range, it's mostly flat,
as you're in the Willamette Valley. You'll hit hills if you go over Mt.
Hood. Take I-84 east and you'll be in the Columbia Gorge. THAT's where
you'll get headwinds, without the mountains.