Winthrop and Vicinity

[Jerry]

The following is a trip report submitted by Gary from Olympia, trip leader of the Backroad Drivers Northwest 'Winthrop Tour'. Photos courtesy of Brian & Cindy from Gig Harbor and Jerry & Evelyn from Yakima.


Trip Report

Winthrop and Vicinity
August 11, 2007

Due to the Harts Pass road being closed because of the slide at Deadhorse, an alternate route was put in its place.

Saturday morning was bright and sunny...breakfast was at the Virginian Resort (Vitttles Restaurant) with one waitress per 50 people....after a long wait, during which time we watched several people walk out due to no service, we finally received our ordered breakfast. We departed the parking lot a little later than planned due to the poor service for breakfast. The group consisted of 4 vehicles. Gary and Sheila from Olympia in their Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jerry and Evelyn from Yakima in a Ford Escape, Brian and Cindy from Gig Harbor in a nicely outfitted Toyota 4Runner, and Mark and
Kathy from Lyman, Washington in a very clean molten lava colored Nissan X-Terra. The dusty roads would soon take care of a nice clean vehicle.

Leaving "downtown" Winthrop heading west on Hwy 20, we turned onto the West Chewuch Rd for about a mile and then turned onto Rendezvous Road. Rendezvous Road is a smooth gravel road that is also known as FS road #5215. This road runs over Grizzly Mtn (about 3000 ft elevation) with views of the scattered farms and homesteads in the Boesel Canyon.
The hills are covered with grassy areas dotted with scattered Pine, Cottonwood, Birch and Aspen. Several deer were seen throughout the area. We then dropped down onto a paved road for about 3 miles to the goat Creek Sno-Park, where we had a necessary stop at the facilities before starting back into the Okanagon National Forest.


(Taking a break on Grizzly Mountain)



(Brian going for the good shot. We had elected Brian as Trip Photographer,
I think because he could properly pronounce the word. But the joke was on
us as we later learned he and Cindy were professional photographers! Cindy
and Mark working hard to take pics of a grasshopper)


(Gary and Jerry - there's always something to dig out)


(Here's one of Brian's hillside photos)

From the Sno-Park we followed FS road #52 up and over Banker Pass, a little over 4000 ft elevation. On the East side of Banker pass we turned onto the FS road #5220 towards Cub Pass....at Cub Pass we decided to take a short side trip up to the radio tower on the top of Sweetgrass Butte at about 6100 feet in elevation. The view is well worth the short side trip....views to the West of the Cascade range and to the East of the Methow Valley. Looking North I imagine we were looking at Canada.


(We were enjoying the beautiful scenery from Sweetgrass Butte until.......)

Did I mention that Gary and Sheila had a pair of dogs with them....??? Ruby a Black Lab and Benjamin a long haired Chihuahua both love to ride in the Jeep, so they joined the group for the trip. They were playing around on Sweetgrass Butte and found fresh cow droppings to roll in......Ruby the Black Lab was now a Brown Lab....when she shook, pieces of manure actually flew off in all directions....what a mess. With a collection of water from some of those on the trip we
got the dogs rinsed well enough to allow back into the Jeep.....what is it about manure that makes dogs want to roll in it??....I think they feel it is a wonderful perfume.


(.....until another sight distracted us from the scenery. Cleaning up...hee, hee.
"What? No, I wasn't laughing. Humph, ahem." Sheila & Gary got lots of
encouragement in the form of laughter from the troops)


(Driving down from Sweetgrass Butte)

After the cleanup of the dogs, we drove down from Sweetgrass and hooked back up with FS road #5220 and followed Cabin Creek for a while then over Island Mt to the intersection of FS road #5130. FS road #5130 is paved at this point and runs past a couple of very nice National Forest campgrounds and puts us back on the West Chewuch Road.


(The wagons are circled at a quiet little
campground where we pose for a group shot)

We had quite a bit of day left so we followed the Chewuch River North past Eightmile Falls and on to Thirtymile Creek where we stopped to visit the memorial for the 4 firefighters that lost their lives on July 10, 2001.


(The foot bridge at Thirtymile Creek where Ruby gets a swim.
Better to have a wet dog in the car than a stinky one)


(Memorial to firefighters who lost their lives in the forest fire
of July 10, 2001. There were some somber moments)

On the way up to Thirtymile we passed a National Forest Campground with some campers that had their helicopter
parked next to their tent.....what an unusual sight!! As we were returning to Winthrop we drove through the campground to get a better look at the helicopter and the campsite....Brian and Cindy are professional photographers and wanted to take some pictures....they had been designated the official photographers for the trip. Hopefully they will upload a few pictures to the forum.


(Ah, the feeling of roughing it. Just you,
your tent, nature and your helicopter)

From the helicopter we drove back into Winthrop and had a wonderful meal at Three Fingered Jacks. After our meal we all decided an ice cream cone from "Sheris" would be a wonderful way to end the trip. If you are ever in Winthrop be sure to stop at Sheris ice cream and candy store for a real treat!!

After eating our ice cream cones, we all said good bye and headed different directions. We will all take home some memories of a wonderful day trip and our visit to the unique town of Winthrop, Washington.

Gary from Olympia

[Photog]

This was our first organized trail run, and we had a great time. It was wonderful meeting this band of Backroad Drivers. Cindy & I felt like we fit in the group, right from the start (waiting for breakfast ).

The roads were easy, and the views were huge (although a bit hazy). The group communications while driving, were consistant and clear. Although I think I may need a different mic for my CB. They said mine was clear; but quiet, compared to the others in the group.

I have the photos prep'ed for the web, and I will try to post them this evening.

Thanks for a great weekend.

[Photog]

We drove home (Gig Harbor) on Sunday. We added a little side trip to our drive. Leaving Cashmere (Hwy 2), heading south on the Mission Creek road to the top of the ridge, we hooked into FR 9712, west to Hwy 97. This road system would be great for another tour, later. It is not for low clearance vehicles.

Nice diversion that added 4 hours to out drive home. We ate in Cle Elum, and headed home. We arrived at 11:20pm.

What a weekend!!

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Photog

We drove home (Gig Harbor) on Sunday. We added a little side trip to our drive. Leaving Cashmere (Hwy 2), heading south on the Mission Creek road to the top of the ridge, we hooked into FR 9712, west to Hwy 97. This road system would be great for another tour, later. It is not for low clearance vehicles.

Nice diversion that added 4 hours to out drive home. We ate in Cle Elum, and headed home. We arrived at 11:20pm.

What a weekend!!

I traveled that same route on Sunday too. Only I traveled from Hwy 97 to Cashmere. I arrived in Cashmere around 10:30 am. Great drive along the ridgeline.

Steve

[Photog]

Steve,

We missed you by a few hours, as we went in from Cashmere at 3:00pm, and came out at Swauk pass (New Blewett) at 7:20pm. We didn't get any photos of the crux spot, where the road slumped in the rocky slope.

It would have been great to see you along the trail.