Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

Mt. Rainier reflecting off Hugo Lake near Packwood, Washington.

You can read about this trip at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007.

Unknown waterfall near Mt. Adams, Washington.

You can read about this trip at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007.

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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On Saturday (October 6, 2007), we headed out for a visit to take photos at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, located just north of Lacey, Washington off of I-5. This was going to be the last weekend that the entire wildlife refuge would be open until February 2008 due to seasonal hunting closures.

The night before, we made all the preparations for a rainy day of shooting photos, including homemade rain protection for our cameras, but the rain never materialized. Lucky us.
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Last Saturday (September 29, 2007), we decided a make a predawn trip to Sunrise at Mt Rainier National Park in Washington state to take photos of the rising sun on the mountain.

We were experiencing rain showers when we left our home in the early morning. Luckily for us, the higher in elevation we gained, the clearer the weather became.

Once we entered the national park and passed the White River Ranger station, we started to see patches of snow on the road. Once we arrived in the Sunrise parking lot, it was blanketed with several inches of the seasons’ first snow fall. We could clearly see the outline of Mt Rainier through the darkness.

From the main visitors center, we climbed the ridge and followed it toward Mt. Rainier to the Frozen Lake viewpoint, taking photos along the way.

On our way back to the parking lot, the clouds started rolling in and by the time we got back to the visitors center, the mountain was completely obscured by clouds.

All summer long, I had wanted to get up in the early morning hours and make the trip to Sunrise in order to take photos of the sun rising on Mt. Rainier. The wait for this experience was worth it, with excellent lighting, the first snow of the season and clear weather.

You can view the photos taken on this trip at Mt Rainier National Park 09.29.2007.

Well I finally broke down and purchased a hand held GPS unit. Over the years, I’ve done pretty well for myself using a map and compass. I can usually figure out where I’m at and what direction I’m heading. The ability to use a map and compass is an important skill to have before you use your GPS for outdoor adventures (this does not apply if you only use your GPS to locate the nearest fast food restaurant).

The need (want) arose last year while on one of my multiday vehicle dependant adventures when I was faced with an intersection of several main logging roads that went several different directions. All I had was a forest service map of the area since I would have to carry a large assortment of topo maps to cover the amount of area I can cover in a trip. After figuring out the correct route (called backtracking) we were on our way again. A GPS would have probably helped in this sitauation (I have to justify the purchase somehow - right?). However, probably the most important justification for the purchase of a GPS is to be able to provide actual coordinates in case of an emergency.

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This is a collection of outdoor photographs taken during the month of March 2007. Locations include the Puget Sound lowland forests, the upper White River, Crystal Mountain, Cle Elum Lake, Colockum, and the Columbia River near Vantage, Washington.

You can view them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/locked4low/

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 the holidays here, I haven’t had too much time get outdoors for any adventures. I was able to get some photos in while visiting relatives in Kelso, Washington over the Christmas weekend.

Here’s a LINK to some of the outdoor photos I took.

The photos are a combination of photos taken with my old school Sony Cybershot 1.3 megapixel camera and my Motorola E815 1.3 megapixel camera phone. Too bad Santa didn’t come through with a new DSLR camera.

Photos Link

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.