Do'in the "wabdr"

[DOCBRONSON]

Those of you who don't know, the "WABDR" is the Washington back country discovery rout. It is the trail Lewis and Clark forged through the center of Washington state and runs from North to South. My son and I were fortunate enough to travel just a fraction of the six part trail a few months ago. It would be our first camping trip together.

I drove from Oregon to Vancouver B.C. to pick up my 14 year old son. We packed that night and by morning we were on our way.

Our first stop was in Long beach Washington and the drive from Vancouver was only about five hours with a few stops along the way. We decided to spend two nights there considering we arrived mid afternoon. Our first night we spent at a RV park next to the ocean. Not my ideal place to camp but it was fairly empty and we couldn't find any back road niche. We ate diner and settled in for the night.

The sunset over the berm that separated our camp spot from the ocean.

The next morning we made our way into town to do a little sight seeing. I love this town. A single road that runs through, if you blink you miss it, but very quaint.

We decided to go to the small museum slash store and do some shopping.

Very cool!

Worlds largest frying pan.

Stopped in at a fish and chips dinner. Great battered fish and excellent corn bread!

We headed for the beach to spend the rest of the afternoon. Built a fire and relaxed the rest of the day. I was amazed at how much mist rolled in off the ocean, at times you couldn't see more than twenty feet.

At times like this it's great having slaves...I mean kids.

Spotted a couple of birds,I think they are eagles but not sure.

We spent the rest of the night around the fire just talking and laughing.

We left the beach at around twelve midnight and found a place to sleep off a back road. We scouted the area earlier that day and decided to return later. Free parking is always good.

The next morning we packed up and left long beach at about six a.m. Our drive to the mouth of the trail is about three hours away.

More later..

 

[mhiscox]

Thanks for the great pictures . . . Sure looking forward to learning about the rest of the trip.

 

[jim65wagon]

Yes thank you for posting your trip. Waiting for more here!

 

[DOCBRONSON]

We headed south on the 101 hwy crossing into Oregon and then got on hwy 30 down to Portland and then hwy 84 heading east. The beginning of our journey will start at the crossing of the "Bridge of the Gods" from Oregon back into Washington. We stopped in The small town of Stevenson to fill up on gas and food. The route heads northeast over Triangle Pass and Trail Peak on gravel and dirt roads through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Before long we had traveled the trail for a few hours and had not seen another soul. The views were spectacular.

Our first day on the trail we found one of many offshoot trails and followed one to a dead end and made camp for the night.

The next morning we ate breakfast packed up and headed to the Guler Ice Caves.Created by a lava flow over 20,000 years ago, this lava tube preserves ice formations year round. The ice caves are West of the town of Trout Lake, near Peterson Prairie Campground.
I was surprised at how cold it was just taking three or four steps down into the cave. It was a real treat considering the temp was around 85.

After spending some time in the cave we headed out. We traveled the trail for another eight hours and exhausted.

 

[DOCBRONSON]

That night we were so tired we just ate a can of beans and feel asleep. Here are a few more pictures along the way.

Another ten hours of driving and I decided to take what I thought was a short cut. My GPS and map show a trail off the main trail and this is where we ended up, a dead end washed out bridge. We decided to camp there for the night.

Our camp site.

We decided to stay at this location for two days. I wasn't ready to drive another 8-10 hours, so we just relaxed and my son got some practice shooting his bow my brother in law had given him.

I had not mentioned that quite a few days we spent cutting brush away from the road side and tree branches hanging over the trail. I think that had become more exhausting then the long hours of driving. In one section it had taken more then four hours just to go 100 yards.

The next day we were on the trail again. Our goal was to do a little fishing at lake Takhlakh.

My son freshwater fishing for the first time.

A view of the lake and mountains.

Our camp site. We ended up staying for two days.

That's all for now. Thanks

 

[jim65wagon]

That lake is awesome looking.....I'm thinking the lake Takhlakh needs to be in my future!

 

[7wt]

Great looking pics, killer truck.

 

[Derek24]

Wow, I'm leaving right now! Great pictures and trip.