Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007

pnwadventurer

Observer
Washington Cascades Overland Tour - August 10-13, 2007

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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 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.

Just any forest road route wouldn't do. I wanted more. My goals for the route were the following:

1. To be navigable by any stock four wheel drive vehicle.
2. To stay as close to the crest of the Cascade Mountains as possible.
3. To be scenic and well worth the drive.
4. To avoid dead end routes and only travel routes that led to somewhere.
5. To have scheduled fuel stops every hundred miles or so.
6. To break the route into sections that would permit staying in a hotel on a nightly basis if so desired.

So after a number of hours looking over forest service and topographic maps, I came up with a proposed overland route through the Cascade Mountains of Washington state.

Basically, the route I mapped out was broken into the following sections:

1. Carson to Packwood, Washington.
2. Packwood to Cle Elum, Washington.
3. Cle Elum to Chelan, Washington.
4. Chelan to Chopaka, Washington.

With time constraints and projects at home, I finished up a couple of projects on my 80-series Land Cruiser to make it more practical for overlanding (namely a rear cargo box and a second battery with additional 12 volt power outlets.

With every thing packed and ready to go, it was time to test the route. My estimate for the route was four days. That's all the time I had, so I had to make it work in that time frame.

I departed for my journey early on Friday morning (08.10.07).

To be continued...(I'll be posting each days journal as I get them typed up).

Originally posted at http://www.pnwadventures.com/adventures/washington-cascades-overland-expedition-2007/
 
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paulj

Expedition Leader
I drove through that area between Mt Adams and Mt St Helens last week, but mostly stuck to paved forest roads.
141 to Trout Lake
80 and 8040 to the South Climbers trailhead (part gravel)
88 to 90 to Lower Lewis River campground
90 to 25 to 99 to Windy Ridge viewpoint of St Helens
25 to Randle

On a previous trip I stuck closer to Mt Adams on 23, but that road is closed due to a washout north of the junction with 90. You may have to detour all the way west to 25 to get through.

My guess is that from Packwood you will have to go east to Rimrock and Bethel Ridge. WA 123 is closer to the divide, but is closed this year.

According a discussion on NWHikers, the Harts Pass Rd might be open this weekend. It has been blocked by a major rock slide. It isn't a through road, but it is the northern most road access to the divide. I toying driving up that way in September.

paulj
 

pnwadventurer

Observer
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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

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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.

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.

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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 Flow, 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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Next Day: Mt. Adams to Blewett Pass.

See all of the photos from day one of this trip at http://www.flickr.com/photos/locked4low/sets/72157601443924633/.
 

paulj

Expedition Leader
Interesting. When I hit 90 from 88 I drove NE looking for the Twin Falls campground. Initially I over shot it because the sign was damaged. Then I found it was occupied, so it was SW to the larger Lewis River CG. I didn't realize that there was (or had been) a connector between Twin Falls and 88. It makes some sense, though, if you think about the logging origins of these roads. The FS wouldn't have put a side road down to Twin Falls just to access a small campsite and a small water fall.

So you did make it around the washout on 23.

paulj
 

pnwadventurer

Observer
paulj said:
Interesting. When I hit 90 from 88 I drove NE looking for the Twin Falls campground. Initially I over shot it because the sign was damaged. Then I found it was occupied, so it was SW to the larger Lewis River CG. I didn't realize that there was (or had been) a connector between Twin Falls and 88. It makes some sense, though, if you think about the logging origins of these roads. The FS wouldn't have put a side road down to Twin Falls just to access a small campsite and a small water fall.

So you did make it around the washout on 23.

paulj

When I drove down FS-200/FS-150, I found what I thought (according to the map) was the Twin Falls Campground. If this was the actual campground, it can only be accessed from the route I drove in. It's on the opposite side of the Lewis River than FS-90. I did pass FS-150 while driving FS-90 but didn't drive down to the end so I don't know if part of the campground was on the north side of the river.

The only way I found around the washout was to take FS-585, out of the valley and onto the ridge to the north. FS-9091, the other alternative route to detour the washout was also closed due to flood damage. Other than FS-585, it looks like the only other detour was FS-25 like you took.

Steve
 

paulj

Expedition Leader
On the 90 side of Lewis River, the Twin Falls access road drops a short ways down to the river, where there is an outhouse, a turn around, and few tables upriver. If there used to be a bridge there, there very well could some sites on the otherside. Since it was late in the day, and someone else was setting up camp, I didn't stop to explore or look at the falls (which apparently are on a creek that enters the river from the SE side.

The campground is now described as having 5 walk in sites and new vault toilet. 46.2158N 121.6683W

http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall.php?num=866&p=0
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Here's a map of 'adventure routes' in the GP forest disctrict
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/documents/adventureroutesoct06.pdf
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/trailbikes/Adventureroutes-Descriptions.shtml
 
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pnwadventurer

Observer
That was about what was on the South side of the river. The campground must have been split on each side before the bridge washed out.

Steve
 

pnwadventurer

Observer
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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

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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.

After securing my gear in the Land Cruiser, and after a breakfast that included freshly picked huckleberries, I was on the road again.

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From FS-23 at Babyshoe Pass, I headed north toward Takhlakh Lake and followed FS-2329 through the high country of the Mt. Adams area, past meadows and horse camps until it connects with FS-21. I then followed FS-21 all the way out to Highway 12 and into Packwood for my first fuel stop (138.4 miles since leaving Carson, Washington).

My total driving time from Carson to Packwood was approximately 9.5 hours. This included a couple of side trips that added some time, plus stops for photos, to document the trip in my journal and of course rest stops for the dog (as well as myself). I believe that a person could make easily drive this route in about eight hours, even less if one kept to the main forest routes (not as fun in my opinion).

After fueling up my land Cruiser, I started out on the longest stretch of paved road for the entire overland route - Highway 12 over White Pass to Rimrock Lake. Once past Rimrock lake, I headed north on FS-1500 (Bethel Ridge Rd.).

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The fairly steep climb out of the valley on FS-1500 was probably the worse washboard I had ever driven. After about 7 miles, I reached the top of the ridge. My original intention was to drive FS-1500 all the way to Highway 410. I had done this route last summer and it is a very scenic drive, however, my urge for adventure and to see new country led me on another detour of my originally planned route.

At the top of the ridge is FS-324 that is marked as Microwave and leads to the towers. Just before the tower, there is FS-325. On the forest service map, it is designated as an "unimproved road" that would eventually lead me back to FS-1500 on the Naches River side.

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After a short distance, this road was marked as a designated four wheel drive route (difficulty: easiest). The road basically followed the south edge of Bethel Ridge out of the Wenatchee National Forest and into the Oak Creek State Wildlife Area. Although very rocky, there was nothing difficult on this route. Any stock four wheel drive could easily navigate it (at least when dry) without the use of low range (or even maybe engaging your transfer case into four wheel drive). Once you enter the wildlife area, the roads are not marked well. The forest service map shows the roads but they are not labeled and some are closed (green dot road management system). I eventually made my way down Bethel Ridge into the Rattlesnake Creek canyon, back to FS-1500 and to Highway 410.

The distance from Highway 12 to Highway 410, via the route I took, was approximately 32 miles and three hours of driving. If I had followed FS-1500 all the way, I would have saved about an hour or more of driving.

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The next segment of the route was not clear on the forest service maps. My goal was to travel from Highway 410 to I-90 by the way of Manastash Ridge. I knew there were designated four drive trails that crossed over, however, since I was traveling solo, I wanted to remain on no less than unimproved roads.

From Highway 410 near Nile, FS-1701 looked promising because at the top of Manastash Ridge, the forest map show unimproved roads dropping down the other side and meeting up with FS-31 and the South Fork of Manastash Creek.

From Highway 410, you reach FS-1701 right across the street from Jim Sprick Community Park near Nile, Washington. FS-1701 steadily climbs to the top of Manastash Ridge, first through sagebrush country and then eventually through pine forest and open prairies.

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After traveling the ridgeline for while, you eventually leave the national forest land and enter state land. At this point, the road becomes known as the Barber Springs Road (of course not marked in any way). Luckily I made the trip in the time frame I did because on Monday (8/13/07) they were closing the road to install culverts. Not as well maintained as the forest service roads, the Barber Springs road winds its way down the north side of Manastash Ridge, and meets up with FS-31.

I then followed FS-31 west, past Buck Meadow to the junction with the Quartz Mountain road. At this junction, I followed FS-3120/FS-3330 all the way to FS-33 near Taneum Creek. Instead of following the main forest road out to Cle Elum (FS-3300 to FS-4510), I took an alternative route over Cle Elum Ridge by following FS-133 to FS-119 to FS-3350 near Tillman Creek and into Cle Elum.

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My total driving time from Packwood to Cle Elum was approximately 7.5 hours and covered approximately 128 miles.

After fueling up in Cle Elum and making a phone call home, I headed out to look for a camp site for the night. Originally, I was going to follow Highway 97 north out of Cle Elum and turn off on the Liberty road, however my desire to explore led me off and up the Teanaway River valley. According to the map, there was a forest road that crossed over to Highway 97 near Blewett Pass so I figured I could find a campsite somewhere along the way.

The scenic (paved) Teanaway Road follows the Teanaway River valley though farm land and eventually into national forest lands, where it becomes FS-9737. With limited time on my hands, I didn't get a chance to explore the Teanaway Rd. past FS-9738.

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From the Teanaway Rd., I headed east on FS-9738. According to the sign, Highway 97 was about 15 miles away. I ended up driving about 12 miles before I eventually found a campsite for the night. It ended up being a secluded clearing just off FS-9738. No views, but is was a quiet spot to stay for the night.

Daily Summary:
Total Miles Driven (approximate) - 189 miles (Mt. Adams to Blewett Pass)
Paved Highway: 50 miles
Paved County Roads: 17 miles
Paved Forest Service Road: 5 miles
Improved Gravel Forest Service Roads: 102 miles
Limited Maintenance Forest Roads: 15 miles

Next Day: Blewett Pass to Cooper Mountain Lookout (Chelan)

See all of the photos from day two of this trip at http://www.flickr.com/photos/locked4low/sets/72157601454528591/.

This was originally posted at http://www.pnwadventures.com/adventures/trip-report-washington-cascades-overland-tour-2007-day-two-081107/
 

pnwadventurer

Observer
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Day Three: August 12, 2007.

Daily Goal: To Drive from near Blewett Pass (Cle Elum) to Chelan, Washington.

Map Reference:
Wenatchee National Forest Map

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Today, I awoke to what sounded like raindrops landing on my Land Cruiser. I looked out, sure enough, it was raining. This was a perfect time to see if I could roll up my sleeping and air mattress as well as rearrange the refrigerator and my gear before even stepping a foot outside. Success. It was actually easier once I got over the fact that there is limited headroom. After my morning routine, I was on the road again for the days adventure.

From my campsite on FS-9738, just west of Highway 97, it was a short 15 minute trip to the highway and another short three minute drive on the highway until I reached FS-9705 (Durst Creek). In all my years of living in the Washington state, this was only my second time of visiting the area between Liberty and Wenatchee. I followed FS-9705 for about 5.4 miles until it joined the main Liberty area road FS-9712. Along the way, I saw a flock of wild turkeys and and a small herd cow elk.

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FS-9712 is a well maintained road until you reach Haney Meadows. After that, it becomes the type of road I enjoy to drive, limited maintenance, and high clearance vehicles only. FS-9712 basically follows the ridgeline, with a good portion above 5550 feet in elevation. From the ridgeline, you would see into the Wenatchee River valley, including the Columbia River and beyond.

After about 24 miles and 2.5 hours on FS-9712, I reached FS-7100. FS-7100 basically follows Mission Creek down into Cashmere, first on state and private land, and then back to national forest. The trip from FS-9712 to where the pavement began just outside Cashmere was about 12 miles and took about 40 minutes to travel.

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Once I fueled up and bought my favorite coffee drink, I headed directly across Highway 2 to the Nahahum Canyon Road (which eventually becomes FS-7412) which I planed to travel to reach the Entiat River. After driving up the canyon five miles to where the pavement ends and the gravel begins was posted a sign, basically stating that due to extreme fire danger, this road was closed by order of the Chelan County Commissioners and it was strictly enforced by the Chelan County Sheriffs Department. I debated for a moment and decided that I would find an alternate route and not risk getting a ticket. So I headed back down the road back to to Highway 2 and drove to Leavenworth.

Once in Leavenworth, I stopped at the Forest Service office, but of course being on a Sunday, it were closed. Luckily I spotted a Forest Service employee pulling in behind the office with "Fire" marked on the truck. Just the person I needed to talk to. After a short conversation, I found out that all Forest Service road are open to the public and that Chelan County only has jurisdiction on closing county roads and not federal roads. Thats all the information I needed to continue my adventure. The last thing I wanted to was abort the trip or have to drive the highways to reach Okanogan County.

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So after looking at my maps, I found a road that connected up to my originally planned route. From Leavenworth, I headed north up the Chumstick Highway until I reached Eagle Creek Rd. After about 6 miles, I reached FS-7520, back on my original route, only with a slight unnecessary detour. From FS-7520, I would first follow FS-5800 and then eventually FS-5700 through the Entiat Mountains until I reached the Entiat River Rd. (22 miles/1 hour travel time).

While driving up the Entiat River valley, I encountered the first of many areas of previous wildland fires that I would encounter over the next two days. The Entiat River Rd. eventually becomes FS-51. From FS-51, I followed FS-5900 (Shady Pass Rd.), through the Chelan Mountains, over Shady Pass and reaching elevation of +6000 feet in elevation, until I reached Lake Chelan. Along the way, I could see and smell the smoke from the Domke fire that was burning. As I descended towards Lake Chelan, the smoke had settled into the valley and had limited the views. Just before reaching Lake Chelan, I passed the Incident Base Camp for the Domke fire including a helibase with a Chinook helicopter parked for the night.

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Once I reached Lake Chelan (27 miles/just under 2 hours travel time), I followed the lake until I reached the city of Chelan where I fueled up the Land Cruiser for the next leg of my adventure.

From Chelan, I headed north out of town towards Manson. After passing Wapato Lake, the road becomes FS-8200 and passes Antilon Lake. Just before the lake is Upper Joe Creek Rd/FS-8210 (which I totally missed on the way up) which eventually winds it way up to Cooper Ridge. After a short distance of driving Cooper Ridge, I drove up the spur road to the site of the old Cooper Mountain Lookout. Since it was getting late in the day, I decided that I would spend the night here. Elevation approximately 5800 feet.

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The view to the west were good considering the smoke from the Domke fire filled the valley below. After setting up for the night, I was able to spend some time experimenting with my camera, including sunset shots (the reason why there are so many shots of this area).

Daily Summary (including some detours):
Total Miles Driven (approximate) - 201 miles (Blewett Pass to Cooper Mountain)
Paved Highway: 37 miles
Paved County Roads: 57 miles
Gravel Forest Service Roads: 108 miles

Next Day: Cooper Mountain Lookout (Chelan) to the British Columbia border at Chopaka.

See all of the photos from day three of this trip at http://www.flickr.com/photos/locked4low/sets/72157601459368387/>.

To be continued…

Originally posted at http://www.pnwadventures.com/adventures/trip-report-washington-cascades-overland-tour-2007-day-three-081207/
 

pnwadventurer

Observer
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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)

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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

To be continued...

See all of the photos from day four of this trip at http://www.flickr.com/photos/locked4low/sets/72157601460669424/.
 

paulj

Expedition Leader
I've driven parts of this last day on several occasions.

Once we crossed back in the USA at that Nighthawk border, drove down to Conconully, and then up to Salmon meadows. I looked into taking 3820, but between its roughness and a hailstorm, I decided the wiser action was to backtrack. We ended up camping at Louploup on WA20 on that trip.

On another trip I explored the area around Buttermilk Butte and Blackpine lake. But this was in April, and snow still blocked some roads. 43 south of the lake had a big deadfall. On that same trip, 37 was blocked by snow beyond the 39 junction. While we were walking in the snow, a Wrangler with paddlewheel tires came down from the pass. In town he said he was getting stuck snow up to the door sills.

On a later trip I drove up 39 as far as the Tiffany Springs campground. The construction might have been fixing damage from last year's big forest fire. Sometime I'd like to complete the drive on 39 to Loomis.

paulj
 

kcowyo

ExPo Original
A great idea for a trip and excellent execution.

Great detail for those wanting to do some similar routes and beautiful photos from your galleries. The Pacific NW is a beautiful part of the country that I would love to travel through again sometime.

Your trip is similar to a trip I've had in my head for awhile, a west-to-east trip across Wyoming, all on dirt trails. You made it look so easy, perhaps I should start planning in earnest now.

Congrats on accomplishing your goal and thanks again for the very detailed report.

:beer:
 

pnwadventurer

Observer
Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Final Thoughts




Over four days, I completed a 671 mile adventure (not counting the additional 465 miles to get to the starting point and back home again) following an overland route through the Cascade Mountains of Washington state, stretching from the Columbia River near Carson, Washington to Chopaka at the border crossing with British Columbia. From my records, about 63% of the overland route was on forest roads.

Over these four days, my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser was driven hard, physically traveling roughly the same mileage that it would take to get to Los Angeles from Seattle via I-5 without leaving Washington state (is this what is considered "severe service" by the manufacturer?). Near the British Columbia border, the odometer on my Land Cruiser also achieved the 190,000 mark.



Through all the abuse I dished out to my 80-series Land Cruiser (all these forest roads were not nice graded roads), the only mechanical failure I had was a broken catalytic converter support bracket (once I had climbed up the Bethel Ridge road I noticed a new knocking sound that was terrain specific). The only physical damage occurred while driving the FS-1701 on Manastash Ridge when I heard something hit (stick, rock ?) underneath the body. I stopped and could not locate any damage, so I continued. It wasn't until I was at home, under the vehicle doing maintenance, that I noticed a dented rocker panel under the drivers door.



Had I known local road closures and conditions better, I could have eliminated some of the backtracking and alternate routes that I followed. I guess that's why this was also an exploratory route finding trip.

Since I began posting my trip reports, I've received suggestions for several possible alternative routes to explore. Obviously, a person could substitute more 4x4 trails to the route, especially in the Naches/Cle Elum/Liberty areas. There may also more 4x4 trails or unimproved roads that are not clear on the maps that could be added in the route. Since I was traveling solo, driving designated 4x4 trails was not a goal for this trip.

After mapping out and driving this route, I'm hoping that this trip may lay the groundwork for an official overland route such as the Oregon Discovery Route (too bad the Oregon Discovery Route ended near Walla Walla and not closer to the Cascades).

My goal for this trip was to break down the North-South route through the Washington Cascades into manageable daily drives. I had originally planned each as follows:

Day One: Carson to Packwood.
Day Tow: Packwood to Cle Elum.
Day Three: Cle Elum to Chelan.
Day Four: Chelan to Chopaka.

The only day I did not reach my daily driving goal was on day one. Had I got an earlier start and eliminated some backtracking and/or driving dead end roads, it would have been an easily achievable goal. If a person desired to stay in comfortable accommodations, you could easily plan out each nights stay.

Would I do this again? In a heartbeat! (probably not this year though). I would rather have some friends/vehicles along to include more designated 4x4 trails. I would also add an extra day or more to the time frame to not be so rushed. I would also like to spend a day exploring the ghost towns and mines of the Okanogan region of Washington state.



Trip Summary:
Total Miles Driven: 671 miles (approximate, if I correctly added it up)
Paved Highway: 95 miles (14%)
Paved County Roads: 158 miles (23%)
Paved Forest Service Road: 133 miles (20%)
Improved Gravel Forest Service Roads: 252 miles (38%)
Limited Maintenance Forest Roads: 33 miles (5%)

Originally posted at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007 - Final Thoughts
 

pismo62

Adventurer
Great Trip! Thanks for taking the time to write up the exploration. Makes me want to head up your way. Cheers
 

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