Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

Generally, I don’t like to travel on holiday weekends, especially when it involves going to Eastern Washington. However a day trip on a Sunday isn’t bad - no Monday stop and go traffic over Snoqualmie Pass to contend with.

On Sunday, my son Steven, our dog and myself headed out around 6:00 a.m. over Snoqualmie Pass to Eastern Washington on a photographic tour. After a stop in Ellensburg for gas, coffee and food (plus a few stops on the way for the dog), we headed east on I-90 to Vantage, across the Columbia River and south on SR 243 towards Beverly to head up Lower Crab Creek.
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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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In case you missed it on the forum, I posted an announcement for a tour of the Mt. St Helens area south of Randle, Washington.

The plan is to visit the Burley Mountain Lookout, drive the ridgeline between Greenhorn Buttes and Mosquito Meadows, visit Windy Ridge at Mt St Helens and more depending on time.

Read more of the trip details at Burley Mountain to Mt St Helens Tour

Day Four: August 13, 2007.

Daily Goal: To Drive from Cooper Mountain Lookout (near Chelan, Washington) to Chopaka (border with British Columbia)

Map Reference:
Okanogan National Forest Map

Since this going to be the last day of the trip and I had no idea how long it would actually take to complete my goal of reaching the British Columbia border at Chopaka. So I set my alarm to get up and be on the road by daybreak.

From my campsite on Cooper Mountain, FS-8020 (Cooper Mountain Rd.) continues to follow the Sawtooth Ridge in a northwesterly direction. Along the way, I saw several grouse standing in the middle of the road.

After about 45 minutes of driving the Cooper Ridge Rd., I turned onto FS-600 (not maintained for cars or tall vehicles) and then FS-4330 which led me off the Sawtooth Ridge into the South Fork Gold Creek drainage. Along this section of road, I saw a nice forkhorn buck that didn’t stay around very long.

At the end of FS-43330, I turned left on FS-4340 as it followed the North Fork Gold Creek upstream. Along the way, FS-4340 passes over Gold Ridge, to the Libby Creek drainage where it meets FS-43.

Heading north on FS-43 led me past Black Pine Lake and then followed Buttermilk Creek and eventually to the Twisp River Road. Once on Twisp River Rd., I headed east until I reached Elbow Coulee Road. Elbow Coulee Rd. leads along the western edge of the Methow Wildlife Area, past Big Twin lake and into Winthrop, Washington. Like Leavenworth has the Bavarian theme, Winthrop has the Western theme for it’s downtown, right down to wooden sidewalks. It’s a busy place on summer weekends.

The trip from Chelan to Winthrop, as driven, was approximately 90 miles and took about 4.5 hours to drive.

After a quick fill up of fuel, I headed out of town following the East Chewuch River Rd. until I reached Boulder Creek. From the East Chewuch River Rd., I headed east on FS-37, following Boulder Creek, then the Middle Fork of Boulder Creek. After about seven miles of driving FS-37, there was a sign stating that the road was closed due to construction 5.6 miles ahead. The first thing I thought was “great, another detour and/or backtrack”. After looking at the forest service map, I estimated that the maintenance was close to where FS-37 had a junction with FS-39 and if I was lucky, I could travel one of the those routes. I drove the 5.6 miles and still no road construction. I reached the junction with FS-39 and still no closure. My original intention was to follow FS-37 to FS-39, however I could hear heavy equipment operating from what sounded like FS-39, so I continued on driving FS-37 into Conconully.

From the junction with FS-39, FS-37 climbed up and over Baldy Pass (elevation 6515 feet) before descending into the Conconully area. FS-37 provides some great views on both sides of Baldy Pass, including some extensive views towards Conconully and the Columbia Basin. I reached Conconully in about 51 miles and about two hours of driving.

After a quick fuel stop (not really necessary but I always top off for a safety factor) with the most expensive fuel of the trip ($3.69/gallon — ouch. Luckily I only needed less than 4 gallons), I headed out of Conconully on the North Fork Salmon Creek Rd. which becomes FS-38. From Salmon Meadows, I followed FS-3820 which climbed its way to Lone Frank Pass, passing through state land (limited maintenance = fun road), over Lone Frank Pass (elevation +6300 feet) and meeting up with FS-39 (about twelve miles from where I was earlier in the day).

Driving north along FS-39 provides some great views to the Cascades and well as the local terrain. As FS-39 travels in and out of different drainages, you can see South and North Twentymile Meadows down below you and you pass through Thirtymile Meadows. This region is a designated snowmobile area and I could see why. High altitude and a lot of meadows to have play in.

As I approached Dog Creek, I finally found the road construction the sign spoke of earlier. I had to wait for about five minutes as a water tender filled up from Dog Creek. Then I passed several pieces of operating heavy equipment. This was the first time that I made fresh tracks on a freshly graded forest road.

FS-39 turns into a paved road at Long Swamp and eventually turns into Toats Coulee as it heads east and meets the Loomis-Oroville Road. I headed north on the Loomis-Oroville Rd., passing Palmer Lake. Once past the lake, I turned left on the gravel Chopaka Road as it passed farms, old abandoned historic buildings, following the Similkameen River valley.

All the maps that I have show the the road leads to the border with British Columbia. Well I was disappointed when I found that access is blocked by a gate with no trespassing signs. The best that I could determine was that the road ends about one mile short of the border. I’m sure this has to do with Homeland Security issues. At roads end, there is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife public access area so I drove as far as I could and by time the road ended, I was about 0.75 mile from the border with no way to go further north (48º 59′ 18″ N, 119º 43″ 11″ W)

Since I was so close, I thought I might as well make the actually trip to the border, so I back tracked on the Chopaka Rd. and continued on north through small community of Nighthawk onto the border crossing into British Columbia (this port of entry has limited hours if you plan on passing through at this point) where I officially completed my four day, north-south cross state tour of Washington state through Cascades.

Now time for the five hour drive home.

The trip from Conconully to the British Columbia border, as driven, was approximately 70 miles and took about 3.5 hours to drive.

Daily Summary:
Total Miles Driven (approximate) - 179 miles (Cooper Mountain Lookout to Chopaka)
Paved Highway: 0 miles
Paved County Roads: 76 miles
Paved Forest Service Road: 4 miles
Improved Gravel Forest Service Roads: 95 miles
Limited Maintenance Forest Roads: 4 miles

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

Next: Final Thoughts

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

Here is the final batch of photos from my four day cross state overland tour of the Cascade Mountains of Washington state.

These photos were taken between Cooper Mountain Lookout (near Chelan, Washington), through Winthrop, Conconully to Chopaka (the border with British Columbia).

See the photos at Washington Cascade Mountains Overland Tour 2007 - Day Four 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

Day Two: August 11, 2007.

Daily Goal: To Drive from Babyshoe Pass (on FS-23 near Mt. Adams) to Cle Elum, Washington (I-90).

Map Reference:
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Map
Wenatchee National Forest Map

After a surprisingly comfortable night of sleep in the back of my 80-series Land Cruiser (with my dog Tareva right next to me), I arose just after daybreak to the awesome views of Mt. Adams and Mt Hood. This was my first attempt at sleeping in my FJ80. I initially had my doubts on how comfortable it would be, considering my height. My newly built cargo box, the back seat folded down, a plastic tub on the second row footwell and the front passenger seat folded forward and all the way to the dash provided a great support for my air mattress. All that I had to do to rearrange from the days trip was to move the ARB refrigerator to the drivers side and throw some of my bags in the front seats.
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Overnight, I uploaded the photos from day three (08.12.07) of my overland tour of the Washington Cascades.

These photos were taken between Blewett Pass (near Cle Elum, Washington) and the third day’s campsite at Cooper Mountain Lookout near Chelan, Washington.

You can view the photos at Washington Cascade Mountains Overland Tour 2007 - Day Three 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

I now have day two photos of my overland tour of the Cascade Mountains of Washington state uploaded and available for viewing at Washington Cascade Mountains Overland Tour 2007 - Day Two Photos

The photos were taken between Mt. Adams, Washington and the second day’s campsite near Blewett Pass (near Cle Elum, WA).

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

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

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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