3-4 day Thanksgiving Day Backpacking

[Deepak]

Hey folks.

I am looking for suggestions for some good (possibly strenuous) backpacking trip suggestions for the Thanksgiving weekend in 2015. I live in the bay area in California and most of the not too far options in Oregon, Washington, California are either closed for Winter or the weather is too unpredictable to plan anything yet.

Here are some requirements that I have for the trip -

Distance - 40 to 65 miles in 3-4 days with camping (either backcountry or developed sites)
Elevation Gain - not more than 6000ft in a day, not over 13,000 total
Location - Open to any location not over 8-10hrs one way travel (fly+drive) from San Francisco area
Weather - Some snow on trail or during hike is fine. Will try to avoid rain and extreme heat

Would be really helpful if any of you had suggestions.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Welcome. I'm not from out west and not experienced enough to give much good advice... but your requirements are broad and your circumference HUGE. So I'd suggest spending some time going through all of the fantastic reports in the trip report section and narrowing it down. I think it'd be easier for people to give you input if you have specific questions about specific places.