Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

Over four days, I completed a 671 mile adventure (not counting the additional 465 miles to get to the starting point and back home again) following an overland route through the Cascade Mountains of Washington state, stretching from the Columbia River near Carson, Washington to Chopaka at the border crossing with British Columbia. From my records, about 63% of the overland route was on forest roads.

Over these four days, my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser was driven hard, physically traveling roughly the same mileage that it would take to get to Los Angeles from Seattle via I-5 without leaving Washington state (is this what is considered “severe service” by the manufacturer?). Near the British Columbia border, the odometer on my LandCruiser also achieved the 190,000 mark.

Through all the abuse I dished out to my 80-series Land Cruiser (all these forest roads were not nice graded roads), the only mechanical failure I had was a broken catalytic converter support bracket (once I had climbed up the Bethel Ridge road I noticed a new knocking sound that was terrain specific). The only physical damage occurred while driving the FS-1701 on Manastash Ridge when I heard something hit (stick, rock ?) underneath the body. I stopped and could not locate any damage, so I continued. It wasn’t until I was at home, under the vehicle doing maintenance, that I noticed a dented rocker panel under the drivers door.

Had I known local road closures and conditions better, I could have eliminated some of the backtracking and alternate routes that I followed. I guess that’s why this was also an exploratory route finding trip.

Since I began posting my trip reports, I’ve received suggestions for several possible alternative routes to explore. Obviously, a person could substitute more 4×4 trails to the route, especially in the Naches/Cle Elum/Liberty areas. There may also more 4×4 trails or unimproved roads that are not clear on the maps that could be added in the route. Since I was traveling solo, driving designated 4×4 trails was not a goal for this trip.

After mapping out and driving this route, I’m hoping that this trip may lay the groundwork for an official overland route such as the Oregon Discovery Route (too bad the Oregon Discovery Route ended near Walla Walla and not closer to the Cascades).

My goal for this trip was to break down the North-South route through the Washington Cascades into manageable daily drives. I had originally planned each as follows:

Day One: Carson to Packwood.
Day Tow: Packwood to Cle Elum.
Day Three: Cle Elum to Chelan.
Day Four: Chelan to Chopaka.

The only day I did not reach my daily driving goal was on day one. Had I got an earlier start and eliminated some backtracking and/or driving dead end roads, it would have been an easily achievable goal. If a person desired to stay in comfortable accommodations, you could easily plan out each nights stay.

Would I do this again? In a heartbeat! (probably not this year though). I would rather have some friends/vehicles along to include more designated 4×4 trails. I would also add an extra day or more to the time frame to not be so rushed. I would also like to spend a day exploring the ghost towns and mines of the Okanogan region of Washington state.

Trip Summary:
Total Miles Driven: 671 miles (approximate)
Paved Highway: 95 miles (14%)
Paved County Roads: 158 miles (23%)
Paved Forest Service Road: 133 miles (20%)
Improved Gravel Forest Service Roads: 252 miles (38%)
Limited Maintenance Forest Roads: 33 miles (5%)

In case you missed some of the trip reports, you can catch up on each day by following these links.

Trip Report: Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Introduction
Trip Report: Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Day One
Trip Report: Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Day Two
Trip Report: Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Day Three
Trip Report: Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Day Four
Trip Report: Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Final Thoughts

Here is a short trip report with photos from expeditionportal of a recent trip from Salt Lake City, through Susanville, to the Northern California and Oregon coast and finally through Pendleton and back home. (I’ll count Nor Cal as Pacific Northwest for our purposes).

You can read the trip report at http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7419

Here is an article of interest from survivaltopics.com on assembling a wilderness survival kit.

How to Make a Survival Kit to Save Your Life

For those of us who travel in the wilderness on a regular basis, the idea of equipping oneself with a survival kit seems trivial. Survivalists are sure to have a survival kit on hand at all times and are prepared to use it. This is because the experienced survivor knows the unexpected can happen without a moments notice.

Help or rescue may not always be immediately available so you need to be able to take care of yourself come what may. Making your own survival kit from a judicious selection of gear is the first step towards getting out alive.

Below is a discussion on how to make your own survival kit. Of necessity it is a bit wordy, as I believe it is important to know something about why certain items should be included in a survival kit, rather than just blindly following instructions for creating a kit without understanding why pieces of gear are included.

Read the entire article at http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/how-to-make-a-survival-kit-to-save-your-life/

“Revolutionary Emergency Messenger and Personal Tracker Allows Users to Summon Help from Virtually Anywhere on the Planet”

“The SPOT messenger gives consumers a vital line of communication, independently of cellular coverage, with emergency services, friends, and family. SPOT is a revolutionary product that is designed to raise the safety factor for hundreds of millions of people around the world.”

If this device works as well as it sounds, it could potentially save a lot of lives as well as making trips into the backcountry safer and less worrisome for family members.

Read the entire press release at http://home.businesswire.com/

Here is another recent (August 3-5, 2007) Pacific Northwest trip report I found on Expedition Portal. It’s a trip that was taken by “teotwaki”. Great pictures of the dams and of some of the hikes in the area.

You can view the trip report at Ambling in the North Cascades, Washington

Over on Expedition Portal, there is a great post on a backroads trip a member (beers_52) took from basically John Day to Prineville, Oregon. Great story and photos.

You can read the post at http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7122

Enjoy.

Unless you never leave the coastal side of the Cascade Mountains, you’ll eventually encounter a rattlesnake while venturing into the outdoors. So far, my only encounters with rattlesnakes have been seeing one slithering away at a mountain bike race in Leavenworth years ago or dead ones along the road.

My great-grandmother (who was born in Bayhorse, Idaho and basically walked most of the way from Idaho to California and back as a child following the mining camps) gave me sound advice about rattlesnakes when I was probably around eight years old on a trip to Idaho. Her advice was always step onto a rock or log and see what was on the other side (like a rattlesnake hiding there) before stepping over and possibility stepping on and/or getting bite by a rattlesnake. Wise words I always remembered for the last 35 years.

In addition to the words of wisdom from my great-grandmother, do you really know how to avoid getting bit? Or what to do if you do get bitten? C. Alexander Leigh posted a very informational article on this subject over on Adventioneering.com on this very subject.

Additional information about rattlesnakes and other snakes native to Washington state can be found on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife site at Living with Wildlife: Snakes.

Well it looks like another forest service road will soon be off limits for backroad explorations.

Today, the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest was scheduled to close the last 7 of the 25 miles of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road to all motor vehicles. The road will be maintained as a trail for hikers and mountain bikers, resulting in making multiple popular day hikes into overnighters.

The forest service cited “kegger parties”, theft, vandalism and the costs to maintain the road. The closure was also supported by environmental and hiker groups.

Read more at Off Limits: Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road closing this week.

More closures of forest roads are on the horizon. The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is taking public comment on its Recreation Site Facility Master Plan. More than 200 sites are being reviewed in the plan. Public meetings are scheduled. For more information regarding this planning process, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/rsfmp/.

After the floods in the Fall of 2006, many of your favorite Washington state backcountry roads and hiking trails have some amount of damage. Before you head out you may want to find out if you can even reach your intended destination.

Even though many of you do not agree with their agenda, the Washington Trails Association has kindly provided a database and map of damages hiking trails and backcountry roads throughout Washington state that will be kept up to date as conditions change (and as the snow in the high country melts).

If you’ve been looking for an alternative to standard tent camping, a roof top tent on your expedition vehicle may be a viable option for your needs.

Imagine only taking minutes to set up and tear down the tent. No more trying to find that perfect level, lump-free, dry spot to pitch your tent. No more valuable cargo space taken up by a tent, mattress and sleeping bags. Maybe I getting old but it sounds good to me.

There are many roof top tents available in the United States, each with features that are great for specific purposes. The latest entry into this market is the Simpson II tent from ARB. From the early versions I had the privledge to view, its a nice set up to have. It would sure look nice on my Land Cruiser.

For further information, please read the ARB Press Release.