Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

For the past year, I’ve had the desire to map out and drive an overland route through the Cascade Mountains of Washington state from the Columbia River near Oregon all the way to northern border with British Columbia.

Last year (August 2006), my son and I completed a portion of this route from Cle Elum to Mt. Adams (see Cascade Overland Adventure - August 2006) but did not go any further South because of time constraints. At the time, I knew little of any possible routes from I-90 North to British Columbia.

Shortly after that trip last August, I sold my Jeep YJ Wrangler and purchased my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser with the goal in mind to make it into an overland expedition vehicle.

Winter and Spring came and finally the snow thawed in the high country. With vacation scheduled for August, I started getting serious about mapping out a route through the Washington Cascades.
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I just uploaded photos from day one (08.10.07) of my cross state overland tour of the Cascade Mountains of Washington state.

These photos were taken between Carson, Washington and the first day’s campsite near Mt. Adams.

See all of the photos at Washington Cascade Mountains Overland Tour 2007 - Day One Photos

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

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.

Summer in Western Washington usually doesn’t start officially (at least weather wise) until July 5 of each year. Today (06.24.07) was no exception. The forecast for the day was for rain and a snow level of 5000 feet.

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.

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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.

High Rock Loop Photos

The complete story of this adventure will be coming soon.

Winter on the West Slopes of the Cascades usually lasts well into Summer, with many places not being snow free until late June or even early July. With the recent summer-like weather in Western Washington, I had a desire to go see how high the actual snowline was at this time of year. So I set off for another day of exploring. This time, the rest of my family decided to stay home and do other things. Only the dog was anxious to go, as always.

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This past Saturday was a typical spring day in Western Washington - “Rain Turning to Showers”. Of course, if you never lived in Washington, you may be puzzled by such a forecast. I wanted to get out of the house and do something outside so I checked the statewide forecast for Washington. The coast was supposed to clear up that afternoon and Eastern Washington was going to mostly cloudy but only a 20 percent chance of rain. Sweet, over the Cascades we go.

With no real destination in mind, my son Steven and I loaded up the dog, camera gear and some basic emergency supplies (sleeping bag, tools, water, food, etc. in case the unexpected happens) in the Land Cruiser and left our home in Edgewood, Washington and headed east on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass.

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Not much of an adventure but I finally had a chance to get out with the family for a spontaneous day trip to the snow.

The family was excited to see a small herd of elk, including a nice bull, laying along the side of the road in the driveway to a cabin.

Here are some random pictures off Highway 410 east of Greenwater, Washington near Buck Creek.

View Photos…

With an actual weekend off, and knowing that I would probably soon be selling my Jeep Wrangler to buy a larger adventure vehicle, it was time for a three day Jeep adventure.

Our first goal (my son Steven and myself) was to travel from I-90 near Cle Elum, Washington to Highway 410 near Cliffdell, Washington via logging roads. I heard people talk about such a road in the past, but have never attempted to locate it.

Our second goal was to travel from Highway 410 to Highway 12 over logging roads. We would then travel Highway 12 over White Pass to Packwood. From Packwood, we would head South on logging roads towards Mt. Adams and locate a campsite for the night.

As in previous adventures, I turned to the book Washington Byways: Backcountry Drives For The Whole Family by Tony Huegel for some of my planning. The most likely route was to use Tour 43 - Quartz Mountain as a starting point for our weekend adventure.

Cascade Overland Adventure: Intro | Day One | Day Two | Day Three

I just completed an overland adventure by Jeep from Cle Elum, WA (I-90) to SR410, to US Highway 12, to Mt Adams, to Mt. St. Helens and posted the pictures at Photos from Cascade Overland Adventure - August 2006.

Enjoy.