A weekend in Central WA

[Baller]

I've got a couple of buddies that I've stayed in loose contact with since high school. The past few years we've made a point of actually getting together for a guy's weekend. This year we decided on an overlanding trip. Two of the five of us dropped out; three of us were enthusiastic to get going.

'05 Tundra DC
I'm no stranger to backpacking and camping, I've also owned a built Jeep and was into rock crawling for a time but, have never been on a proper overland trip, if there is such a thing.

'13 Tacoma DC TRD Off Road
This guy likes the outdoors but, is much more domesticated and hasn't experienced as much as he'd like. He was motivated to go and didn't hold back the entire trip. His enthusiasm was infectious.

'06 Tacoma DC
The third guy is a veteran Forest Service guy that would rather be outdoors than in and lives by that. He's the one that knew the area and the one that determined our path.

*The following pictures were contributed by all of us.

Day 1

We all met up at an area Safeway to fuel up and headed out. The first stop would be Red Top Lookout. On the way up, the weather turned from being nice to a drizzle to rain to snow/rain mix to snow to snow with 20-30mph winds at the lookout. We were all enjoying the adverse weather but the lack of a view was mildly discouraging.

On the way up.

The parking lot at the trail head to the lookout. The 4Runner just happened to fit in but, wasn't a part of our group.

At the look out.

After spending some time looking around at the lookout, we headed back down to get back on our way. We made some short stops in spots to take in the views.

We made our way to Haney Meadow and got out for a bit to have a look around.

 

[Baller]

We got back in the trucks and headed to an area that had burned in the relatively recent past. I want to say it was 9 years ago but, I can't say I recall that for certain. The juxtaposition of the burnt and lifeless snags reaching the sky with the flourish of early life/growth close to the ground was beautiful. (These pictures don't do the growth on the ground justice. I wish we would have taken more/better pictures of it.)

We continued on our way to find a place to make camp for the evening.

This was the first place we came to. Again, I wish we could have gotten some better pictures of the place but, it was wet and snowing/raining and windy.

We headed down the hill from there to find a better local. The place we decided on was a bit better. The camp for the night lacked snow, had only a bit of rain and much less wind.

Later in the evening we were surprised to see what looked like an ambulance on steroids pull through the fog and park next to camp. The Forest Service guy approached the vehicle to inquire about it. It turned out the vehicle was a mobile command unit for local Search and Rescue that had been deployed to aid in the search for a 12yo that had gone lost while elk hunting. Before the unit could even get set up, word had come through that the child had been found. A good end to a story that could easily have gone another direction. Throughout the next hour, or so, an, almost, continuous stream of vehicles came by, heading down the hill. We found it remarkable, and a testament to humanity, how many people would drop what they're doing and go search for a perfect stranger when weather and terrain is less than inviting.

 

[Baller]

Day 2

We got up, broke camp and headed down to top off with fuel, not that we needed it, and head back into nowhere. This day gave us much worse roads and was slower going. It was the last weekend of modern firearm elk season and there was a continuous number of hunters and camps that we passed. It was great to see the gathering of families and friends and the passing of tradition between them. The few people we came close enough to converse with spoke of the lack of animals. It was surmised that the weather hadn't been bad enough and that the elk were still at higher elevations.

Lunch was had at an elk camp that no one had occupied at the time.

After lunch we headed out do some more exploring.

The day started to get long and finding a place to make camp moved to the top of our priority list. We sported a knob that would provide amazing views and we decided to go check out. There was a place to make camp on top but, we'd be exposed to the elements. There was a path less traveled beyond the knob that we decided to explore. The place we made camp turned out to be perfect. The evening had no wind and the view to the north was second to none. Because of the geography, we were protected from any wind. Through the night and in the following morning, the wind picked up and was not insignificant. Where we were was, effectively, completely protected and we experienced little to no wind. I'm not sure we could have happened upon a better site to make camp.

Day 3

Morning came and the view from camp didn't disappoint.

This day would be our shortest on dirt roads. All of us have families and we decided to brake camp in short order and get going to make it back home in reasonable time. It wasn't long before we were back on pavement and headed our separate ways, headed back home.

Everyone enjoyed the trip. Other than a dislodged mud flap and the broken welds on one of my running boards, there were no mechanicals or breakages. We all had a great time and are looking forward to planning and partaking in similar trips in the, hopefully, not so far future.

 

[Ace Brown]

Enjoyable report. Thanks!


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[Ace Brown]

Enjoyable report. Thanks!


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[Munga Brown]

Thanks for the trip, looks like fun!