Attention Pacific Northwest TTers....

“I am taking a 2-week road trip up to Oregon and Washington and I need your help!!! We plan on staying one hotel night in Portland, and one in Seattle, but the rest of the time we want to camp. I know we are going to spend some time in the Olympics and North Cascades and around the Hood River, but I need some suggestions as to what the best camping spots/hiking trails/fishing holes there might be up there. USA...I know you are lurking around, but I'm not sure where the rest of you went??? Please help? Thanks soooo much!”

“I hope the Posse jumps on this.”

“kinky...”

“You'd like to have someone jump on your posse.”

“yeah stovie...I was hoping for that, but I havent seen any of them around here lately.”

“It's only kinky the first time.”

“They tend not to do much winter stuff, embear.

Don't they have a big ice storm going on right now?
last edited: 1/17/07 11:40:43 AM”

“I was hoping for that, but I havent seen any of them around here lately.”

Glad we're all on the same page. Please bring a camera.”

“well one idea is to get onto Whiteblaze.net and email/PM Sarbar from there to get ideas or other contacts”

“They tend not to do much winter stuff, embear.

Speak for yourself, jerky.”

“i like doing it in winter.”

“embear, how about some specifics? Are you gonna be here next week or next summer? Do you want to camp in a state park (flush toilets/hot showers) or in the National Forest (pit toilets/meth labs)? How many days in Oregon and how many in Warshington? Will you be carrying lots of cash in small bills?”

“So much for the kinder kleetn. LOL”

“Sorry, since I never get out in winter, I guess I'm a little cranky.
”

“Well, I will be leaving from SoCal in early July. I don't know how many days in each state, depends on how many great things there are to see! I would probably like a combination of primitive camping and state parks.”

“Primitive??

Sounds like fun!”

“Generally, the state park system in Oregon is better (more funding) than in Washington. There's not too many SPs to choose from near the Olympics, but give Bogachiel and Fort Worden a try (you'll probably need to make reservations: http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/regncoast.asp)

There's not many SPs near the North Cascades, but there's National Park car campgrounds at Colonial Creek and Hozomeen which are, I think, the only places that don't require reservations: http://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/car-camping.htm

If you stay a little further away from NCNP, there's plenty of USFS campgrounds in the Mt. Baker Ranger District.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/recreation/activities/campgrounds/”

“Great! Thanks for the info....keep em coming!”

“You want to camp in parks, or backpack? Does primitive camping mean backpacking, or next to the car on a dirt road? Are you going to do day hikes? Are there going to be kids along?

My advice is to drive all night through Oregon unless you want to see a bunch of trees, and start the camping part of your trip in Washington.”

“Hey Embear!

Me and TMac were talking about you Sunday out on a snowshoe dayhike in RMNP - it was all nice :)

promise!”

“Well, we don't really have time to backpack since we want to cover as much of the area as we can in a short amount of time. Primitive as in car camping, but not in a big RV campground...

So nothing good in Oregon IYO? What about the hood river area? I've heard there is lots of good fishing around there.

Yes, lots of day hikes. And no kids, but 1 doggie, so the places must be dog-friendly.”

“Hi Roam!!! I've been thinking about yall lately back in snowyville. Wish I could of been there!”

“We as in you and J****? You guys sure get around! I'm so glad that you're so adventurous and getting out there!”

“Here is my list for a 2 week road trip, with car camping and day hikes, with a doggie.

Mt. Rainier, camp, hike around Paradise, hike to the Tatoosh peaks Pinnacle and Plummer. Spend 2 or 3 days there.

drive to Chinook pass, camp nearby, hike from the pass to Sheep Lake or Dewey Lakes.

drive to Snoqualmie pass, hike to Spectable Lake for a long day hike. Camp at cooper lake, a non-motorized lake. Canoe if you have one or can borrow one. Nice views of the nearby peaks.

Drive to Leavenworth area, camp along Icicle river. Day hike to Lake Stuart, or if you are feeling superhuman go past Lk. Stuart to the foot of the north ridge of Mt. Stuart, then cross country back to the trail. I've done it, but its a long day. Just to Stuart Lk is a nice day hike, with great views of Mt. Stuart.

Drive to Lake Chelan, take ferry "lady of the lake" to Stehekin, an all day trip. Stay in a motel or camp near Chelan. The secret wonderful place is the short river between Lk Chelan and the Columbia river. Its a raging torrent when they release water in the spring, but is a tiny trickle between big deep pools when the flow is shut off after Spring. Signs say "Danger, Stay out". Ignore signs.

Drive through Winthrop over north cross hiway, camp at Ross Lake.

Drive to Darrington, and camp as close to Cascade pass as possible. Hike to Cascade pass, and plan on spending all day on the hike. Its the most beautiful day hike in the U.S. Doable from the car in a day is a climb of Sahale Pk.”

“Yes Ruby....we like to travel :D”

“Pictures available of all those spots, but I don't want to bore anyone.”

“bore??? Thank you so much bob...that is exactly the kind of info I need. I would like to see some pics too!”

“If you come up Hwy 101 on the coast you'll enjoy what I consider the best coastline in Oregon from Brookings to Bandon. Lots of trails to get off the road to the beaches. There is a "Secret Beach" that is a great place to have a picnic.

Gold Beach is the home of the famous Rogue River. Great fishing and rafting and camping.

Port Orford is home to the best Fish and Chips on the coast at the "Crazy Norweigans". You can hike up Humbug Mtn but the trees have grown so much that the views aren't the best anymore.

Want to go windsurfing? Floras Lake is right next to the beach. Take a windsurfing lesson then a small hike to the beach.

Want to go kayaking? Rent a kayak in Bandon and kayak in the estuary, the bay and the Coquille river. Great kayaking in many places.

Rent some crab rings and toss them off the docks in Bandon. The beach at Bandon is awesome at sunset. Low tide and you can walk for miles.

Coos Bay has trails that go for miles on the cliffs and end at Cape Arago. Sea Lions and whales are common there. South Coast Estuary is outside of Charleston and a great hike down to the estuary. Lots of activities going on there..

Oh.. and then there are the Gold and Silver Falls to dayhike to.. Most impressive...

And this is just off the top of my head... I have plenty more ideas if I know exactly where you are going to be.

And to think you were told to ignore Oregon... hrmmmpphhhhhhh!”

“"There is a "Secret Beach" that is a great place to have a picnic."

Naked, of course.”

“I can't help much, embear, if your looking for fishing spots or car camping areas with dogs. My backpacking was the means to mountain climbing and photography.

My favorite hikes/campsites on the Olympic coast are Cedar Creek, Toleak Point, and Point of the Arches. In Olympic Park I liked Upper Lena Lake, Enchanted Valley, and a spot south of Marmot Pass.

In the North Cascades my favorite hikes/campsites are Cascade Pass to Sahale moraine; Hannegan Peak; Black Peak & Wing Lake. Dayhike the area around Mt Shuksan called Artist Point and Table Mountain.

I'm not sure about dogs in any of these areas.”

“For the car camping you talked about, embear, try Mora. Rialto Beach and Second Beach are nearby and I always see fisherman at the river along the road leading out there from the town of Forks. Dungeness Spit near Sequim might be an option also.
last edited: 1/18/07 1:21:38 AM”

“Great! Thanks everybody....

I did want to hike to some falls in Oregon...are those the best ones?

USA...I'll definately check out those hikes...I know you have good taste just from looking at all your photos.”

“Mt. Rainier from Paradise




Lake near Chinook Pass



Lemah Peaks from Cooper Lake:



Lake in Enchantments, near Mt. Stuart



Lake Chelan



Chelan River in flood stage



Chelan River pools in dry season



Sahale Arm, near Cascade Pass, Mt. Johannesburg behind

”

“NICE!!!

So what kind of weather can i expect in the mountains in July? Will there be lingering snow?”

“July should be nice, with all but the permanent snow fields gone. It can change quickly anytime,and the higher the elevation the quicker it can change. Be prepared for mosquitoes. Rain is always possible.”

“Awesome pics Idaho Bob....I love the colors.

Flip”

“I like that photo of you relaxing on Sahale Arm.



Hike a little farther up Sahale for this view of Logan, Buckner, and Goode.”

“Sounds like you are staying more to the west, but if you come through Spokane, take a look a let me know what you'd like to do.

Spokane Area Recreation

The city motto's are "Near Nature, Near Perfect" and "Outrageous Outdoors". Take your pick. North Idaho is 30 minutes.”

“Hah! I was out freezing my butt off when you posted the original ;-)
July...this year? I'd expect good weather as usual, and lingering snow maybe (the snow pack is great this year).
As IB pointed out, if they get Rainier open in time, it is very worthy. As is Chinook Pass (which is right next door). Most parts of the PCT also.....
Olympics? Well, the usual: The Hoh, The beaches, Hurricane Ridge/Obstruction Point..etc, etc!”

“Well Spokane is an option if we have time....I've heard great things about it, and we are also kinda scoping out a future home....

Whats good to do there?”

“thought I put a link in that post, guess not.

http://www.visitspokane.com/visitorpages/index.php?id=10


Floating the Spokane River


Cycle the Centenniel Trail
http://www.spokanecentennialtrail.org/index.htm
last edited: 1/21/07 8:28:21 PM”

“I have a book of a 100 hikes in the Inland NW, have only just begun to explore it.

Not as spectacular as the cascades around here, but no shortage of fun.”

“I went to Spider Meadow last summer. Nice place, very popular. Go midweek if you can

http://www.wta.org/~wta/cgi-bin/wtaweb.pl?3+tg+fetch+english+1105”

“I would put some places in the Olympics on your list, as they are worthy of a look in terms of beauty, but they are quite a bit out of the way, and much more likely to have bad weather.

You might also camp high on the S side of Adams or Mt. St. Helens and hike them in a day. St. Helens is reached by a trail all the way.”

“Mt. St. Helens in July is a dusty, hot slog. I'd just hit the visitors center for the views, and pick out a nice dayhike elsewhere.”

“Well I'm definately going to the Olympics...I can't drive all the way up there and not go....I dont mind nasty weather ;)

I didnt even think about Mt St Helens...nobody really has said anything to me about that area, so I assumed it wasnt that cool?”

“More that St. Helens is in the middle of BFE, and the good roads go to all the tourist stuff. The good hiking is most of the time on long logging roads, far away from everywhere.
The Olympics are handy, because of the ferries from Seattle over there, cutting the amount of time to drive :-)
Same with the North Cascades, going to Mt. Baker is faster than driving into the interior of NCNP.
Helens is worth seeing, but while very awe inspiring, it is one hot, dusty and did I say dusty place?”

“But I have to say, what a quinker-dinker...my husband sent me the link to St. Helens vidcam, and she was pretty today!
”

“I did Mt. St. Helens shortly after the big blow, and it was a dusty hike. I would imagine at the higher elevation it would not be too hot in July. Pictures below, from 1986:







Olympic coast options (that I am familiar with) include Lake Ozette campground, then hike 3 easy miles out to the coast. Its a 5 hour drive from Seattle to Lk Ozette, I would estimate. Someone can correct me on that.



The cedar trail to the coast from Lk Ozette.


camping on the Olympic beach


Ciera doing gran jete on the beach.

Another good one is to drive to Sol Duc HS from Seattle, camp and soak in the HS, and hike to the high divide. I did it as a backpack, but a day hike would work.

”

“nice pics! I like the idea of going to some hot springs....can you take a ferry from seattle to that area like sarbar said?”