OBCDR - Route 5 section 4

[Toy Man]

Trip report from another participant.

Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 18:24:19 -0700
From: "Todd Brooks" <todd.brooks@dsl-only.net>
Subject: OBCDR Leg 3 - Meecham to Walla Walla - Trip Report with Pics

Editor's Note: Following is the write up of a recent we trip we took along the last section of the OBCDR. I drafted it and then tried to get Ed Bodnar to liven it up with gross exaggeration and embellishment of four wheel drive adventures, but he said it was OK as is. So if you are bored, blame Ed (j/k)! OBCDR is not really a wheelin' route, per se, but more of a tour route with grand vistas. On another note, I think Gil may be working on a report for his own trip with Dale and several others which he took in late July.

Ed and Pat Bodnar and I took the last section (northern most) of the Oregon Back Country Discovery Route from Meecham to Walla Walla. We started from Portland early Saturday Morning (Sept. 29) and drove 260 miles on I-84 to Emigrant State Park. Emigrant S.P. is where several of us had finished up last Fourth of July with Leg 2 and we wanted to do the last stretch to the Washington border before the end of this year. After a break at the park, lunch, and a few pics, we paralleled I-84, through the town of Meecham and Kamela.

From there, we crossed I-84 and headed north mostly on gravel Forest Service roads and entered the Umatilla National Forest. About 1:30 we took a short detour to Whitman Overlook, which has a plaque marking the route of the Whitman's as they came into the area 150 years ago. We took the short 1/4 mile hike to a lookout point above Horseshoe Ridge. Quite spectacular this time of year, the hillsides were a blend of golden brown grass and dark green firs. Elevation here is about 4,200 feet.

We tried to go around Spring Mountain on NFD 3109 and loop back to the main OBCDR, but on the backside of the hill we found 3109 gated. We looked for a short cut straight over Spring Mountain, but couldn't find any roads. So we backtracked and were on the main route in short order. I'm not a hunter, but we realized about this time that it must have been opening day for deer season as the place was crawling with orange foam rubber hunting caps, hunter camps, blue tarps, trailers, generators, and satellite dishes - I guess hunting has changed a little over the years. Traffic on the roads was much greater on this leg compared to the Fourth of July when we were in central Oregon. I think we saw a dozen cars the first four days of Leg 2, but on this leg, we passed about a dozen cars an hour. So on our way we went, still on mostly gravel roads.


About 4 p.m. we hit Langdon Lake on road 204. There is a campground, but it was closed for the season. And the lake looked a little too developed for our tastes anyway as there were several private homes along the shore. So we went on up NFD 64 and pulled into Jubilee Lake around 5. The place was packed but we managed to get the last campsite in the place. The campground was partially closed for the season and only about a third of the sites were open. We were worried that all the noise from the heavy crowd would carry on through the night, but it turned out to be a very quiet place after the sun went down and the cool temperatures drove everyone into their sleeping bags. After setting camp we started a fire 'cause it was getting chilly. Ed and Pat busted out the wine to go with dinner - now this is how camping was meant to be! Sable burrowed into her dog bed. Ed helped me get my ham radio programmed with some local repeaters. Pat fiddled with the star map (the celestial one, not the Hollywood one), and we enjoyed the almost-full moon and a very clear night. We debated which way was north, and had to have a discussion about magnetic declination. Did I mention it was chilly? I went without a tent and was cold but managed to survive with all my toes. I think Ed and Pat were snug with their dome tent. About 8:30 the next morning, Ed checked the thermometer and it was a brisk 32?F. By 9:30 we were on the road.

The section from Jubilee Lake north is more interesting as it follows some dirt roads - nothing the family station wagon couldn't handle, but better than gravel, nonetheless. We had plenty of time, so we headed east on NFD 6415 to an old wooden fire tower on Lookout Mountain. This was about 25 miles extra, but was well worth it because the view from the tower over the Grande Ronde River was grand indeed. After a number of snap shots, we were back on the road backtracking to the OBCDR route.

Along the main route, there is a particularly spectacular view point (Indian Ridge) where we stopped and had lunch. The view is to the west over multiple ridges and there appeared to be no roads or houses for miles. From there, the route begins to drop rapidly into the Mill Creek drainage and up to the Oregon-Washington state line. The end of the official OBCDR route is marked only by a vague transition from gravel to paved road at the state line. We saw not a single OBCDR sign between Meecham and Walla Walla. After gassing up in Walla Walla, it was a long drive back to Portland, but we made good time and I was home unpacking the Jeep by 8:00 p.m. The official OBCDR mileage for this leg was only about 120 miles and made a perfect two day trip.

So Ed and Pat completed the whole OBCDR route from California to Washington this year spread over three trips and about 11 days and something like 800 miles (depending on who you ask). Congratulations to them (and to Gil, Dale and MaryJoe for completing it earlier this summer)! I did about two-thirds of the route this year and am thinking about doing the southern leg next summer, if anyone is interested.



All in all, this section of the OBCDR has some great views, but is not particularly challenging if you're looking for any kind of four wheeling.

Here's a link to some photos of this leg, mostly landscapes.


http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=82351703203&n=1907752380

-Todd