Time to get back on the road even if for a brief period, be around some like-minded people for a couple of days and then ...... solitude. I attended the NW Overland Rally in Plain, Washington where one can camp, roam around looking at all kind of rigs, view vendor's trying to sell cool items that I can't afford or don't really need, attend classes covering a wide range of subjects, drink some free beer, bullshit with other Overlanders, win free stuff at the nightly raffle drawing and generally do a lot of nothing for a couple of days. After the talks, classes, off-road ventures, vendor-sponsored parties, vendor viewing, each evening culminates with the raffle drawing. The prize giveaway, which is held around a large bonfire, can be considered the highlight of the event if you like free stuff. Who doesn't? The quality and amount of prizes that are doled out are impressive (roof top tent-winches-full set of expensive tires-clothing-solar panels, etc.). We're talking good stuff here not your usual run of the mill crap trinkets. The term "burn it" can be heard throughout the evening hours and if you're not holding the winning ticket it becomes your favorite mantra. When a raffle number is called should the holder of said ticket not promptly, and I mean now, start moving through the crowd to claim your goodies the crowd begins to anticipate a no show and begin enthusiastically chanting "burn it", "burn it". After, going once, going twice is barked out over the loud speaker the winning ticket is donated to the flames thus increasing one's odds. Many have had a few cold ones before, and during, the drawing which helps spark the interest in burning things. Last year I won a set of off-road LED lights and this year some clothing and Warn leather gloves. The rally is a well-run event and held in Plain, Washington. A small town in the mountains with one motel, hardware store, gas station, and grocery. No stop light. Perfect! Last year I drug my motorcycle to the event and did some riding in the area but this year left it behind since I was going to do some off-road exploration in the truck afterward and didn't want to be dragging the trailer after leaving the rally. With no riding to be done, I just hung out, took Petey for some long walks, attended some talks on various topics, hit a wine tasting at a local vineyard and of course, showed up for the "burn it" raffle each evening.
Old School
Guy was selling it......$74K to drive it away. No, it's not new....well used. Nice rig though.
Perfect Baja rig.
Attended a presentation given by the owner & his wife of this rig. His wife and three children, that's right three,loaded up in this 50-year-old beater with all their camping gear and drove it from London to Singapore. Great presentation on the trip. Stated it almost killed them as it broke down numerous times and their asses were ruined, literally, as the original seats were in it. When asked if he'd do it again he stated "yea, he'd do it again". Not so sure his wife agreed with that. Five people in this thing for that long of a trip....I'd say that would qualify as an adventure.
New prototype rig. Can you say expensive?
Good ole boys adventure rig. Something tells me Dirty Mike and his boys aren't impressed with all the fancy rigs at the event.
Two full days of the event and I'd had my fill. Petey and I packed up early Sunday morning and headed out. From Plain, you can access dirt in about two miles which was exactly what we did. Saw two black bears, both collared, on the drive up to Sugarloaf Lookout, where we set up camp for the night. A few days later a ranger told me that if collared they had been problem bears in town and recently relocated. Problem with seeing black bears here is that they are always hauling ass to get away from you so trying to get any pictures is next to impossible. I go for the camera and when I look up they're long gone. Sugarloaf has a nice lookout with a spectacular view. Ken, had just arrived a few hours earlier for the summer season and was setting unloading supplies when I pulled up. He had served at this same lookout 50 years ago as a nineteen-year-old. Stated it brought back a lot of memories being back here after a 50-year hiatus. We shared a beer in the lookout that evening as he reminisced about his service at various lookouts over the years. Interesting evening spent with Ken.
Petey and I taking in the view.
Ken in his 360 degree view office.
Petey on a hike near camp overlooking Lake Wenatchee.
Sunset that evening from the lookout.
Meadow near camp.
Early morning walkabout.
Plan was to mess around up in the Entiat Mountains and then try and hit Forest Service Road 5900 which would dump me out on Lake Chelan after going over Shady Pass. FSR 5900 is all dirt (approx. 28 miles) and goes through an area that had a major burn a few years back which means there can be lots of downed trees unless the road has been recently cleared. Not having a chainsaw with me I didn't want to deal with getting in there and having to turn around. While in the Entiat Range I came across a ranger and found out that it just recently been cleared and I should make it through. The ranger also informed me about an abandoned fire tower where you could camp. Old fire tower spot which now has only a single cabin remaining. Saw remnants of the old tower but it's long gone. Great spot to camp! It's off of FSR 5900 right as you crest out on Shady Pass. The road has a few rough spot so I'd recommend four-wheel drive in here and getting a small trailer up the last bit would be a little dicey but doable. I did have to go into four-wheel drive for a short section on the steeper part. For additional details: The Big Hill
Forest Road 5900 is well worth doing. Follows a high ridgeline through the Chelan Mountains and many spots are available for dispersed camping. Wildflowers were in bloom and had some visitors around camp.
End of June and still some snow on the north facing slopes. View from camp looking down on Lake Chelan.
One level spot up top where you could get maybe two rigs. Remaining cabin sits back in the trees. (Elevation 6800 ft)
Fine dining with Petey that evening. On the menu: pork chops, canned spinach, and a vintage Blue Moon.
Some writings on the inside of the cabin wall. Couple of bunks in here with a table but not sure you'd want to stay in it. Pretty run down and is full of mice shit. You can spend a good 30 minutes reading all the wit and wisdom people feel they must leave behind.
Sunrise from camp looking down on Lake Chelan.
Spent only one night at the Big Hill site due to the damn mosquitoes. They would get pretty bad in the evening to the point where if you weren't moving you had to be inside the camper. Petey and I did do a nice hike down off the summit but had to bath in Deet to get it done. Finished driving the ridgeline the following morning before dropping down into the Lake Chelan Basin.
The road drops in a hurry off the ridgeline and dumps you out at Twenty-Five Mile Creek State Park. Here there is a nice campground with a boat launch and one little store. The pavement coming in from Chelan ends here so it gets quite a bit of the RV and boater crowd coming in. It was pushing 100 degrees down along the lake so I let Petey do a little wading to cool off before leaving. The plan was from here to head south towards Entiat along the Colombia River and then take some more dirt to loop back into Leavenworth which is just south of Plain. This would complete a loop through the Wenatchee National Forest before I pointed it back to the west. Just south of Entiat is a dirt road named Swakane Road. Not sure I'd recommend this route as it's rough and bumpy as hell for about the first 3 miles until climbing up in the canyon. One small water crossing and if you don't want your rig to get some pinstriping don't come in here. Thought it was going to close out in a couple of spots. From the looks of the tracks, I think more motorcycles come through than vehicles. Plus, it was hotter than hell so that probably had something to do with me not recommending this route. Beating yourself on a bumpy road in 100 degrees isn't all that much fun.
View after coming over Swankane Canyon Road heading back into Leavenworth.
Considering how hot it was down in the valley I figured I'd jump on Hwy 2 and head west towards Steven Pass to find a place to camp. Getting higher would get me out of the heat for the night. We camped up high and did some hiking around Deception Falls the following day as we worked our way back to the west.
Petey doesn't like crossing these things.
Deception Falls
Some more local knowledge had told me about a place to stop for pictures. She stated that it's a place her family goes to swim and picnic but isn't really marked on the map or with road signage. Figured it'd be worth a stop. Beautiful area along the Skykomish River until you get down to the river. I almost wanted to drive back to the lady that told me about it and tell her if she thinks that is a beautiful area .... she's a friggin idiot. It amazes me how stupid the human race can be and their total disregard for nature is. Once you access the river it's covered in trash and graffiti on the boulders. I just don't understand how people can deface an area this beautiful. The place is overrun with busted bottles, trash, feces, kids shit filled diapers, you name it. Anytime something is easily accessible, the idiots of the world will congregate and screw it up. All the more reason I prefer being off the beaten path.
The small cave in the picture had probably 200 beer cans and trash piled up there. Pretty sad. I can only hope that the next time some of the idiots are down there trashing the place it will flash flood and we'll be rid of them. I could have taken dozens of pictures showing the trash and destruction along this stretch of river.
Got the hell out of there and continued back towards the overpopulated western part of the state when I spotted a possible photo op in a little town called Startup. Old house with a heavy nautical theme. Lots of color so I spun it around and took a couple of shots. Not anything really that great but just as I'm starting to load back up an elderly gentleman comes from around back and strikes up a conversation. I always seem to run into at least one character while I'm travelling. Old guy had been a fisherman up in the Bering Sea for many years before age caught up with him and he moved back into his Mom's house (built 1908) a few years ago. He asked me in and begins to show me lots of old pictures when he discovered I was interested in photography and Alaska. He had some good stories to tell about his times up north. Everything from Grizzly encounters to Jacques Cousteau screaming at him from a helicopter. Glad I stopped.
Another week on the road comes to an end!
