Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

Each time I venture to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the South Cascades of Washington state, I am simply amazed at the beauty of the country. In this region, not only are you are surrounded by four major peaks of the Cascade Mountains (Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood), there is an extensive variety of terrain ranging from deep valleys and canyons to exposed buttes and cliffs, alpine meadows to old growth forests, and of course, the Mt. St. Helens blast zone. I could easily spend days or even weeks just exploring the region.

With that in mind, I decided to host a Backroad Drivers Northwest tour in the area just south of Randle, Washington. This region is an area which I am fairly familiar with having spent a lot of time hunting, camping and exploring with my father while growing up. The tour would follow one of my favorite routes in the area, Forest Road 77 from the Burley Mountain Lookout along the ridge past Pinto Rock and Mosquito Meadows. From Mosquito Meadows, we would would take FS 99 to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at Mt. St. Helens and follow FS 26 back to Randle.
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American hunters and anglers were some of our nation’s first conservationists. Led by Theodore Roosevelt, sportsmen called for laws regulating sustainable fish and wildlife populations and set the stage for foundation of the North American wildlife conservation model, an enduring legacy. On Saturday, Sept. 22, sportsmen will celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day, honoring the history that unites us and planning for the future of the activities we love.

National Hunting and Fishing Day is an appropriate occasion for considering a legacy of a different kind - an unfortunate legacy that continues to negatively impact American hunting and fishing and that calls the future of our sport into question. More than a century of hard rock mining on America’s public lands has left its mark on fish and wildlife populations. The TRCP is working to correct the problem, and we urge sportsmen to join in an effort to reform the 1872 Mining Law.

Currently, a movement is afoot in Congress that has great potential for real change. House Natural Resources Chair Nick J. Rahall has introduced a bipartisan solution to the mining problem: HR 2262, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007. Sportsmen must get involved now to protect the future of hunting and angling. Sportsmen United for Sensible Mining represents millions of hunters and anglers, fish and wildlife professionals and citizens who enjoy our public lands.

Take action to ensure that sportsmen’s interests - and the interests of America’s fish, wildlife and public lands - continue to be represented in HR 2262. Contact your members of Congress and ask them to support the campaign’s four tenets for sensible mining reform.

Sign up for the Sportsmen United for Sensible Mining Campaign.

Tell a friend about Sportsmen United for Sensible Mining.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
House Natural Resources Committee

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Support HR 2262 and Uphold Sportsmen’s Interests in Mining Law Reform

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As a constituent who loves to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors, I strongly urge you to support sensible hard rock mining reform that will make it possible to continue these pastimes.

For many years, Congress has considered reform of the General Mining Law of 1872. While America’s economies, cultures and politics have changed during the past 135 years, its mining law has not. More than 270 million acres of federal land are open to hard rock mining under the law, mostly in the Rocky Mountain West. Because the law has not been meaningfully reformed, many of America’s most treasured public lands are at risk.

As you consider legislative reform of the 1872 Mining Law, I urge you to consider the following recommendations:

- Assess a royalty from any minerals taken from public lands to fund fish and wildlife conservation programs and abandoned mine reclamation.

- Strengthen protections against mining impacts for fish, wildlife and water resources.

- Allow “Good Samaritan” reclamation incentives and common-sense liability relief.

- Prohibit patenting or sale of public lands.

Moreover, I ask that you work to uphold environmental standards currently in the bill, including provisions that prevent new claim-staking in roadless areas and on special places and that place time limits on mine permits other than “life of mine.” Doing so will help conserve millions of acres of American lands and fish and wildlife habitat and will uphold the sportsmen’s opportunities and local economies that depend on them.

Thank you for considering my recommendations.

Sincerely,

[your name]

Day One: August 10, 2007.

Daily Goal: To Drive from Carson, Washington (Highway 14 off the Columbia River near the Oregon border) to Packwood, Washington (Highway 12).

Map Reference:
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Map
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Adventure Routes - SUV and Dualsport Motorcycle Routes

Today was going to be a very long day. Not only would I be attempting to reach my destination in Packwood, I would also have to include the drive from my home in the middle of Washington state to the southern border near Oregon to start the tour of the Washington Cascade Mountains. My goal was to complete the drive from the Oregon border to the British Columbia in four days (see Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 for the introduction to this adventure).

After four hours of driving I-5 and Highway 14, I reached Carson, Washington - the designated starting point of my Cascade Overland Tour. From Carson, I headed north on the Wind River Rd. to Bear Creek Rd. (FS-6808) and ascended to Triangle Pass. From Triangle Pass, I followed FS-68 down to FS-66 and headed north.

FS-66 follows the east side of the Big Lava Bed for about 10 miles. Big Lava Bed is a 10 mile long lava flow from about +8000 years ago. There are no roads into the flow, only around the perimeter. From FS-66, you can see the exposed lava flow through the sparse forest.

At the end of the Big Lava Bed, I reached an area called South Prairie. You see meadows and and a small lake.

From South Prairie, I followed FS-6615 to FS-6621 to FS-60 which leads to Goose Lake and a what looks like a nice campground. There were a few people fishing but the trout weren’t biting that day. It would have been easy to hang out there for a few days.

From Goose Lake, I made an attempt to make a side trip to Red Mountain Lookout to get a better view of the Big Lava Flow however. When I reached the access road to Red Mountain (FS-240), the gate was locked. Back to Goose Lake to continue the tour.

From Goose Lake, I to took FS-6040 to Forlorn Lakes. This was the first road of the trip that lived up to the signage “Limited Maintenance”. Nothing difficult, but the ruts and waterbar crossings limit the route to high clearance vehicles.

From Forlorn Lakes, I intended to follow FS-6035 along the east perimeter of the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area, however the sign said that the road was closed five miles ahead so I followed FS-6030 to FS-6020 instead.

From FS-6020, I made my way on FS-24 along the northwest corner of the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area, past huckleberry meadows and Indian Camps of the Sawtooth Berry fields. The huckleberries are in season in August and there are a lot of native americans out picking them throughout this area.

Once past the Twin Buttes area, I followed the native surface FS-8854 (another fun limited maintenance road) past Steamboat Lake to FS-8871 and then to FS-88.

From FS-88, I made an attempt to follow another primitive forest road (FS-150) but found the road blocked. I then followed FS-200 which eventually becomes FS-150 in a few miles and eventually dead ends where a bridge once crossed the Lewis River at Twin Falls Campground. I had to then backtrack to FS-88. At least it was another limited maintenance native surface road. The national forest map is not very clear on this route.

Once back on FS-88, I followed it to FS-90. Ahead, FS-23 was washed out, so I detoured out of the valley on FS-585 (another primitive limited maintenance native surface road) to FS-2334 and onto FS-23.

Once I reached Babyshoe Pass, it was getting time to find a campsite for the night. Just past the pass was FS-335 so I followed it up Babyshoe Ridge and found a great spot on top of the ridge to camp for the night. This spot provided a great view of Mt. Adams to the southwest and Mt. Hood further south in Oregon. Elevation 4690 feet.

I didn’t meet my goal of reaching Packwood, Washington. If a more direct route was taken, it could have easily met the daily driving goal. It turns out that I was about two hours short, considering my backtracking and driving the more primitive routes in the area.

Daily Summary:

Total Miles Driven (approximate) - 102 miles (Carson to Mt. Adams)
Paved Highway: 7.7 miles
Paved County Roads: 8.5 miles
Paved Forest Service Road: 16.2 miles
Improved Gravel Forest Service Roads: 55.4 miles
Limited Maintenance Forest Roads: 14.2 miles

See all of the photos from day one of this trip at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Day One Photos.

Next Day: Day Two: Mt. Adams to Blewett Pass

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

Anytime I’m traveling through Eatonville, Washington to get back to my home in Edgewood, one of my favorite routes to miss the infamous State Route (SR) 161 traffic through Graham and South Hill is to take the leisurely scenic drive on Orville Road East through the Ohop Valley, past Lake Kapowsin and into the Puyallup Valley to Orting. My description of this route will be from the town of Eatonville heading towards Orting.

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Just launched is a new forum at http://www.pnwoutdoors.net for all of you to discuss and share your favorite Pacific Northwest outdoor activities.

Discuss and plan trips. Discuss outdoor activities including wheeling, camping, hiking, snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking and more. I’ll be adding more categories as the forum takes shape.

Registration is simple and free. Join today and introduce yourself on the forum. Share your passion for the Northwest outdoors.

If you’re like me, you enjoy enjoy exploring and playing in the Pacific Northwest outdoors. You have your adventure vehicle (sometimes a four wheel drive, sometimes not) that takes you to your destination to enjoy your favorite activities (camping, hiking, exploring, climbing, mountain biking, fishing, hunting, rock hounding, prospecting, water sports, snow sports, etc.).

As time goes by, this site will evolve into a member inspired site where you, the member, has input on the direction this site takes.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Steve B, Webmaster
pnwadventures