Exploring the Quilomene: Expedition I

[Jerry]

Trip Report - Part 1, Saturday

Exploring the Quilomene: Expedition I
July 21 - 22, 2007


Saturday was a beautiful day for driving. Meeting at the Bar 14 Restaurant in Ellensburg, Washington were Rich and Jan, with granddaughter Tara, from Aloha, Oregon in their Jeep Grand Cherokee, Steve and his daughter Korinne from Edgewood, Washington in his Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser and me, Jerry from Yakima, Washington driving alone in my Ford Bronco II.

Our goal this day was to drive as many green-dot roads within the Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area as possible and if time allowed we would venture into the Quilomene Wildlife Area as well. The green-dot system is used by various governmental land management agencies because it is an inexpensive way of marking roads that are open to public travel. If at the beginning of a road there is a white Carsonite (plastic) post with a big green dot affixed near the top, feel free to drive it. If there is no post consider the road closed to the public.

The weather was perfect, temps in the low 80's, a gentle breeze and because it had rained the day before the dust was minimal. We drove much of the route with our windows open and air conditioners off, very comfortable indeed. Our trek started by entering the Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area from the Vantage Highway at a location known as The Corrals. The first three or four miles into the shrub-steppe was over a dirt road with several eroded sections that any high ground clearance two-wheel drive vehicle could manage - preferably with another vehicle in case of trouble. As we climbed the first ridge, enjoying vistas of nearby hills and valleys, we came upon a lone hiker who had found a quiet place to sit and contemplate the meaning of life…until we came along, that is. He assured us that he was okay, that he frequently hikes the area and that the car parked at The Corrals parking area was his. Before we drove off we offered him some bottled water, but he was already well stocked.

Shortly afterwards we reached the top of a high ridge offering a fantastic territorial view. We could see farmland for miles east of the Columbia River, the town of Quincy glittered in the sunlight and peek-a-boo views of the river and the forested hills around Colockum Pass added that Northwest flavor. By then the road had turned bumpy with shale bedrock, a surface we would become accustomed to for most of our two-day journey.

Progress had slowed to between 5 and 10 mph due to a mix of rocky roads and sandy ruts, but the scenery was worth it. The roads were not four-wheel drive trails but we shifted into 4-wheel making it easier on the driver, the vehicle and less impact on the roadway. As all of our vehicles were equipped with automatic transmissions and relatively high gears we found it convenient to run in low range much of the way due to several steep downhill sections.

There was a lot of up and down driving through canyons and the views from the ridge tops were fantastic. The closer we came to the river the better the views. One road showed on our map as ending at a locked gate where it continued into the Ginkgo Petrified Forest. The gate was open and a bundle of signs lying on the ground stated something to the effect of "No Entry", but the accompanying signs made reference to keeping your vehicle on the roadways and not disturbing or taking samples of the petrified wood. It was sort of like saying, "Do Not Enter, but if you do please follow these rules". What? If we had driven the Ginkgo road we would have ended up in Vantage, way off course for our objective. But, the road intrigued us so we will investigate the possibilities at a later date.

By now we were following ridge tops next to the Columbia gorge and had several wonderful views of the river, or more correctly Wanapum Lake formed by the narrow backwaters behind Wanapum Dam. Still following the gorge our next road took us to Whiskey Bay where we found a parking area close to the water. We enjoyed the stop, put away some snacks and used Mother Nature's facilities.

Our road continued north and the map indicated it dead-ended at a locked gate near a canyon leading to Scammon's Landing on the river. When we reached the turnoff to the landing there was no gate, but the road was not marked with a green dot and therefore not open to the public. However, another green-dot road, not shown on our map, continued in a westerly direction to God knows where. And being explorers, we followed it.

After a fairly steep hill climb over loose shale rock, a narrow roadway that generated much speculation as to whether we were still on a legal road, we decided to take a GPS reading and found we were on our way to the Army Road in the Quilomene Wildlife Area. Well, that pretty much killed our original intention of methodically driving every road, one after the other, but it was a pleasant surprise none-the-less.

I might add that we were equipped with GPS units; some doing a better job than others for our purposes and Steve's Magellan handheld unit was the best of the bunch. His unit referred to road names and other details not even shown on the map. We consulted with Steve at several intersections and his input was invaluable. None of us were real savvy on the technical aspects of operating GPS units and because there were no really bad sections of roadway and every mile offered outstanding scenery, we never got around to marking waypoints.

Once on the Army Road, a main east-west road (if there is such a thing), we drove toward a bay on the Columbia River. We had visited there several years ago on a Backroad Drivers Northwest tour and back then you could ford Quilomene Creek and drive right to the river. Since then the Department of Fish and Wildlife has deemed that fording the creek is hazardous to fish so they blocked the crossing with big boulders. And that's okay. There is a large parking area and the river is still within easy walking distance. Another new addition, still in the construction phase, is a heavy gate being installed about a quarter mile up the road from the parking area.

The day was lingering and the sun was dropping lower in the sky so we decided to head back to civilization. It was not a fast return, not at all. The upper reaches of the Army Road were very rocky, a mix of shale bedrock and heavy pit run base. A good test for finding loose bolts and nuts. At the end of the Army Road we turned west on the Parke Creek Road and followed it back to the Kittitas Valley.

On the way down the grade Steve experienced some electrical problems with his rig and we stopped while he made a quick fix. When we reached Ellensburg we stopped at an automotive parts store where he found some parts to make-do for the next day's run.

Jerry from Yakima

[Steve]

A great trip report Jerry. How you can remember all the details amazes me. I have to take a lot of notes just to piece something together. At least the photos help.

Anyway, I posted a trip report for Saturdays adventure at http://www.pnwadventures.com/adventu...and-tour-2007/