Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

Who would have thought that a Friday trip to the Whiskey Dick Road Management Area near Ellensburg, Washington would bring out more participants than most weekend trips.

Well Jerry (aka SoggyMountain) picked a wonderful day for a Backroad Drivers Northwest tour of the Whiskey Dick. Hands down, this was the warmest day of 2008 to date.

The meeting place that morning was the Bar 14 restaurant in Ellensburg. In attendance for the days trip was of course Jerry from Yakima driving his full size Jeep SJ Wagoneer; (and if I get the names wrong, please forgive and let me know to correct them) Phil and his son Travis from Newcastle, driving the white Ford Explorer; Paul from Tacoma driving the other Ford Explorer; Jim (stucky) driving the white Chevy Pickup (I forgot to ask where Jim was from); Trish and Tammy from Bothel driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon; John and Cindy from Monroe driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon; Sid from Renton driving his Jeep Wrangler, Peter and Don (I forgot to ask where they were from or if I did, I didn’t write it down) driving the Sportsmobile van; myself in my 80-series Toyota Land Cruiser; and Bill from Ellensburg who joined us for breakfast but had to supervise a fencing property today so he couldn’t join us.

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The photos I shot during the Backroad Drivers Northwest trip to the Whiskey Dick Road Management Area are now posted for your viewing. You can view them at Exploring the Whiskey Dick

Enjoy.

What were you doing the day Mt. St. Helens blew it’s top?

I realize that anybody under the age of 28 wasn’t even born so this question does not apply to you.

I was 16 at the time. I was with my dad and cousin Frank at a bass fishing tournament with the Evergreen Bass Club on Silver Lake in Cowlitz County (only about 30 miles West of Mt. St. Helens). It was a beautiful clear sunny morning (much like it is this morning as I’m writing this). All weekend, we were hoping to see a puff of steam or a small ash plume, but all was quiet. I has witnessed several before on my frequent trips to Kelso.

Sometime around 8:30 AM, my dad had to head back to the resort to use the facilities. So he powered up the motor and we were heading back to the resort and he pointed at the mountain and when I looked up, we watched the initial blast and then Mt St Helens disappeared (just like the footage you always see of the initial eruption and landslide).

So we continued heading back to the resort. When we arrived, a lot of people were freaking out that they were going to die. My dad just calmly observed the chaos and decided to wait a little while until all the drama died down. Eventually word got to us about the I-5 bridge over the Toutle River was closed. That’s when my dad made the decision that we were staying for a while longer.

So what did we do, we motored the boat over to a store on the lake where one could dock a boat, he went inside the store and bought a case of beer, and we motored the boat into the middle of the lake and watched the ash plume (obviously this is nothing I would recommend doing today - time were different then).

After a few hours, we eventually got word that the Toutle River bridge was open again, and that’s when we loaded the boat on the trailer and headed home.

We never got any ash on us. I think most of it ended up in eastern Washington. The sky got dark (because it blocked out the morning sun) and the coolest part was all the lightening in the ash cloud. We never heard the explosion from our location. I’m not sure if that was because the motor idling or not.

This experience is something that I’ll never forget. I feel very lucky to be in the right spot at the right time to actually witness history and see the actual initial explosion and landslide occur.

What were you doing that day?

May 12-18, 2008 has been proclaimed “Bear Awareness Week” by Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire.

As reported by the The Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP):

Governor Gregoire established Bear Awareness Week to encourage people to learn more about our ursine neighbors, how to avoid conflicts with them, and to appreciate these majestic creatures in Washington - one of just four states that is wild enough to still support both species of bear.

This is great information for all of us who spend time enjoying the outdoors. If you haven’t encountered a bear yet, you eventually will.

Read more about Bear Awareness Week Activities at Governor proclaims official Bear Awareness Week

Sunset as viewed from Cooper Mountain Lookout near Chelan, Washington.

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

Have you ever wanted to know where the best areas to view Pacific Northwest Fall Foliage in real time?

The Weather Channel provides a state by state map show the locations where the fall colors are at their peak and it’s updated on a regular basis.

To view the most current information, visit the Weather Channel.

All indicators are pointing to yes. Its rare that we get so much snow so soon in the mountains. Unfortunately, one “pineapple express” could wipe out the snow and once again bring green to the alpine areas.

Last weekend, we made a trip to Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park for a pre-dawn hike for a photo shoot and there was a nice dusting of snow at the Sunrise parking area and several inches of snow at the Frozen lake viewpoint. Since then, 7 inches of snow has fallen at Sunrise and the same at Paradise.

It’s almost daily that we see on the news that another bear has visited a suburban neighborhood. The reality is that suburbia has invaded the bears habitat. I always get a kick out of the people who never before left the city and move into the urban-wildland interface area and are amazed and even startled that wildlife such as bears, cougars and coyotes roam their neighborhoods. Well if they only knew that their garbage as well as FiFi and Fluffy make easy pickings for the neighborhood predators.

Luckily, once we are away from the suburban areas, bears are a little more wary of humans than your neighborhood variety. Although rare, encounters with bears do occur. Although there have been some recent unusual tragic situations that have even occurred, the typical confrontations with bears are the result of a surprise encounter at close range. All we can do is be prepared and prevent the likelihood of a deadly encounter.

The American black bear is the most common bear in Pacific Northwest. Grizzly Bears are much rarer with populations in the North Cascades of Washington state and in areas of Idaho. Although much of the following information applies to both species, it is targeted toward the more common black bear.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has kindly provided us with an informational site Living with Wildlife: Black Bears. Some key tips discussed on the site should you have a close cencounter with a black bear include:

• Stop, remain calm, and assess the situation. If the bear seems unaware of you, move away quietly when it’s not looking in your direction. Continue to observe the animal as you retreat, watching for changes in its behavior.
• If a bear walks toward you, identify yourself as a human by standing up, waving your hands above your head, and talking to the bear in a low voice. (Don’t use the word bear because a human-food-conditioned bear might associate “bear” with food . . . people feeding bears often say “here bear.”
• Don’t throw anything at the bear and avoid direct eye contact, which the bear could interpret as a threat or a challenge.
• If you cannot safely move away from the bear or the bear continues toward you, scare it away by clapping your hands, stomping your feet, yelling, and staring the animal in the eyes. If you are in a group, stand shoulder-to shoulder and raise and wave your arms to appear intimidating. The more it persists the more aggressive your response should be. If you have pepper spray, use it.
• Don’t run from the bear unless safety is very near and you are absolutely certain you can reach it (knowing that bears can run 35 mph). Climbing a tree is generally not recommended as an escape from an aggressive black bear, as black bears are adept climbers and may follow you up a tree.
• In the unlikely event a black bear attacks you (where actual contact is made), fight back aggressively using your hands, feet, legs, and any object you can reach. Aim for the eyes or spray pepper spray into the bear’s face.

In addition to the tips above, food storage and good camp sanitation is vital in preventing bears from paying you an unwanted visit while camping.

Further information on bear safety, including more information on Grizzly bears, is provided by the National Park Service at Bear Safety in the North Cascades

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.

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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