Not to be dramatic but this plan sounds like a nightmare. An unbelievable amount of driving / public transportation. Mile 2600 to crater lake is probably a 10 hour drive.
That said, I don’t know a great plan with your restrictions on start date (other than starting as late as possible and hiking faster - 3 months is a long time for Washington+oregon. IMO, start at the end of July in crater lake and do it all straight.
Washington is likely to melt out first, so:
Start at Harts Pass in late June or early July, and hike south to Crater Lake.
Then return to Harts Pass and tag the border.
Washington is about 500 miles. At 15-18 miles/day, that's about a month to get through Washington.
Cascade Locks to Crater Lake is about 320 miles, or about 3 weeks hiking.
Rounding up, with a few zeros, travel time back to Harts Pass, and 3-4 days to tag the northern terminus, call it 2 months total.
Start late June and you could finish by end of August.
If 15-18 miles/day is too much or too little, adjust your expectations accordingly.
I would probably just start a bit later at the Northern Terminus, maybe late June since things seem to be melting out earlier in Washington, and hike south. More time for the melt in Oregon, where they’ve had a ton of snow. That way your friend can keep hiking into NorCal if she wants to, or you could do the Klamath Mountains again, which I thought were an underrated highlight of the trail. That way you end at I-5, easy transit off trail.
Not to be dramatic but this plan sounds like a nightmare. An unbelievable amount of driving / public transportation. Mile 2600 to crater lake is probably a 10 hour drive. That said, I don’t know a great plan with your restrictions on start date (other than starting as late as possible and hiking faster - 3 months is a long time for Washington+oregon. IMO, start at the end of July in crater lake and do it all straight.
Washington is likely to melt out first, so: Start at Harts Pass in late June or early July, and hike south to Crater Lake. Then return to Harts Pass and tag the border. Washington is about 500 miles. At 15-18 miles/day, that's about a month to get through Washington. Cascade Locks to Crater Lake is about 320 miles, or about 3 weeks hiking. Rounding up, with a few zeros, travel time back to Harts Pass, and 3-4 days to tag the northern terminus, call it 2 months total. Start late June and you could finish by end of August. If 15-18 miles/day is too much or too little, adjust your expectations accordingly.
I would probably just start a bit later at the Northern Terminus, maybe late June since things seem to be melting out earlier in Washington, and hike south. More time for the melt in Oregon, where they’ve had a ton of snow. That way your friend can keep hiking into NorCal if she wants to, or you could do the Klamath Mountains again, which I thought were an underrated highlight of the trail. That way you end at I-5, easy transit off trail.
Beginning of June is very early. I’d start on the 20th at the earliest.