Experience Winter Adventures on Snowshoes (Washington)
Contacts:
Snoqualmie Pass Kim Larned, 509-852-1062 klarned@fs.fed.us
Stevens Pass Nan Lammers, 360-677-2414 nlammers@fs.fed.us
Children race through the snow, kicking up clouds of snow and playing on their snowshoes. Sometimes they get to meet Smokey the Bear. Guides lead walkers through winding forest trails, teaching safety and winter ecology, while advanced snowshoers muscle through the backcountry, navigating the Commonwealth Basin. In the snow covered Cascades, outdoor enthusiasts enjoy their favorite trails on snowshoes.
Starting the first week of January, the Forest Service offers classes through March at Snoqualmie Pass off I-90 and Stevens Pass on US 2. “Nearly anyone can slap snowshoes on and start walking in the forest,” said Kim Larned, snowshoe guide on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Read more…
Categories: Press Releases Tags: backcountry, cascades, commonwealth basin, forest service, mt baker, mt baker snoqualmie national forest, snoqualmie, snoqualmie pass, snowshoe, snowshoers, snowshoes, stevens pass, washington, winter
Exploring the Washington Okanogan – 07.08.2009
Day Two – Wednesday, July 8, 2009
After a relaxing and leisurely morning in Conconully, Washington, we followed my cousin Frank and his wife Diane on their quad up to the Buck Mountain Lookout.
From the Shady Pines Resort, the Buck Mountain Lookout (48° 26′11N 119° 49′15W) is approximately a 15 mile drive (give or take a few miles) on mostly well maintained gravel road. From the West Fork Salmon Creek Road (County Rd. 2017), the road becomes NF-42 (Okanogan National Forest).
Somewhere in the vicinity of 48° 26′33N 119° 50′17W ( give or take a mile or so – I did not record the location with my GPS) there is a road to the left that leads to a gravel pit (I can’t remember if it’s marked or not – it’s not on the forest service map or my GPS). This road winds through the forest, passes a seasonal pond, then begins to climb and eventually meets up with Buck Mountain Road (that leads to the 6135 foot elevation summit and lookout tower. The last section of the road requires a high clearance vehicle (preferably four wheel drive to prevent causing damage to the loose road surface).
From the summit of Buck Mountain, you have a 360 degree view of the the surrounding countryside. From the forested mountains to the drier lands to the East and South. The lookout tower at the summit (maintained by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources) is a 20 foot tall wooded structure that is used for emergency use only. From the information I could find, the existing tower was built in 1961 and is listed on National Register of Historic places. Unfortunately (but probably a good thing), access to tower is restricted to DNR personnel.
Note: You can also drive to the Buck Mountain Lookout from SR-20. Its about 15 miles West of Okanogan, Washington just before Loup Loup Summit. The Buck Mountain Lookout trip is listed as Tour 30 in the book Washington Byways: Backcountry Drives For The Whole Family available HERE.
On the way back to Conconully, my wife experienced here first ride on a quad (as a passenger). from the smile on her face, I think she had a great time.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing. We did a little fishing where my daughter caught here first trout – one of the few caught from shore. Since the trout fishing was slow, I played around with an old Mepps spinner I had and caught quite a few small bass.
Note: This is the second installment of a five part series on our family trip to Conconully, Washington in July 2009.
Part 1: Exploring the Washington Okanogan – 07.07.2009
Part 2: Exploring the Washington Okanogan – 07.08.2009
Part 3: Exploring the Washington Okanogan – 07.09.2009
Part 4: Exploring the Washington Okanogan – 07.10.2009
Part 5: Exploring the Washington Okanogan – 07.11.2009
Categories: Adventures Tags: 4wd, 4x4, backcountry, bass, buck mountain, buck mountain lookout, conconully, dnr, fishing, forest, forest service, four wheel drive, gps, lookout, lookout tower, loup loup summit, map, mepps spinner, mountains, national forest, national register of historic places, okanogan, okanogan lookout, okanogan national forest, quad, seasonal pond, shady pines resort, summit, trout, washington, washington lookout
Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route Trip
Over on the forum at OBCDR Trip Report, Decidion posted up a web page with a trip report of a recent 4-day trip through the Oregon Backcountry.
Decidion describes the trip as follows:
“The Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route is a series of gravel and offroad/4×4 trails that leads from the California border all the way up to the Washington border along the eastern edge of the Cascade mountains. It is primarily US Forest Service roads, some of which are maintain, but a lot of them have not seen any cleanup since the last person who ran the route.”
Read the trip report at Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route Trip.
Categories: On The Web Tags: 4x4, backcountry, california, cascade mountains, obcdr, offroad, oregon, oregon backcountry discovery route, washington
High Rock Loop Backroads Tour – 06.24.07
Since I worked the night before and my wife's nephew was coming over for dinner, I had to keep the day's adventure somewhat local from my home. Flipping through the book Washington Byways, I found Tour 49 - High Rock Lookout Loop and it fit perfectly into the day's time restraints. I loaded up the dog in the Land Cruiser and headed towards the Cascades in hopes of finding some sun above the low hanging clouds.
Categories: Adventures Tags: 4wd, 4x4, adventure, Adventures, ashford, backcountry, backroads, cascade mountains, cascades, catt creek, cherokee, dnr, elbe, fj80, forest, forest road, forest service, four wheel drive, greenwood lake, high rock, hiking, jeep, kernahan road, land cruiser, landcruiser, lookout, mt rainier, national forest, national park, overland, packwood, park, randle, road, sawtooth, skate creek, snow, snowmobile, teeley creek, tour, towhead gap, toyota, trail, trailhead, trip, washington, wildlife, wrangler
High Rock Loop Photos
Last Sunday (June 24, 2007), I ventured into the High Rock area near Mt. Rainier. The weather was overcast and rain most of the day meaning in no great views of Mt. Rainier. These are the photos I shot on this adventure. Most are taken from the inside of my Toyota Land Cruiser.
The complete story of this adventure will be coming soon.
Categories: Photos Tags: 4wd, 4x4, adventure, Adventures, ashford, backcountry, backroads, cascade mountains, cascades, catt creek, cherokee, dnr, elbe, fj80, forest, forest road, forest service, four wheel drive, greenwood lake, high rock, hiking, jeep, kernahan road, land cruiser, landcruiser, lookout, mt rainier, national forest, national park, overland, packwood, park, randle, road, sawtooth, skate creek, snow, snowmobile, teeley creek, tour, towhead gap, toyota, trail, trailhead, trip, washington, wildlife, wrangler
Washington State Backcountry Road and Hiking Trail Damage Database
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).
Categories: On The Web Tags: backcountry, hiking, road, trail, washington
Considerations for a Expedition Vehicle GPS System
If you’re new to GPS (like me) and want to use your GPS unit for vehicle dependant expeditions and exploring, paddlenbike over at 4wdtrips.net has a great post titled “Thinking about GPS? Some things to considerâ€.
Categories: On The Web Tags: backcountry, expedition, gps, off road, vehicle
