Still snow in the high country.
Makes sense. Ive yet to encounter that problem. Still too scared to hit the true backcountry yet. 
Dont even got a solid working GPS
Scott and I got a little skunked this weekend on our trip. Had an idea for a totally off trail hike to a tough to get to area...turns out it was tougher then we imagined...5.5 hours of hiking netted us 1400 ft of elevation, and included some basic climbing (which was a first), blowdown navigation, creek walking, lots and lots of sidehilling, and the dreaded vine maple/slide alder fight for hundreds of yards.
Basically it was awesome/sucked!
But my point being that we have never carried a GPS in the backcountry. We use topo maps, or we just downloaded a topo map program onto my IPhone which allows us to run it in airplane mode saving the battery.
I second the opinion that you should just GO. Try and pick something with some elevation where you can be alone. It adds to the experience exponentially. Grab a buddy (or Ms. Smossy) and rock and roll.
