Labor Day 2018 Barlow Trail Adventure

Excuse the lack of clarity in the photos and the videos; they were all taken with an iPhone 6 mounted to my windshield. The road was very bumpy and your looking through the very dirty windshield .

I was asked by my son to join him and 3 other friends to traverse the Barlow Trail on Labor Day weekend. I use the term Barlow Trail and Barlow Road interchangeably as the non-paved portion of this route is considered a trail on forest service roads.

What is the Barlow Road? Originally named the Mount Hood Highway this historic road/trail was the last segment of the Oregon Trail over the Cascades from Missouri.  The opening of the Barlow Road in 1846, as a toll road, allowed wagons to pass over the landscape that was both rough and steep. This ended up being the most harrowing 100 miles (160 km) of the 2,170-mile (3,490 km) Oregon Trail between Missouri and the Wilmette Valley in what was then the Oregon Territory. The original overland portion of the Oregon Trail ended in The Dalles, Oregon.

The Cascade Range of mountains west of The Dalles at Mount Hood proved to be an insurmountable obstacle to early wagon trains. Surviving the journey from Missouri the settlers found The Dalles crowded by others awaiting the expensive and dangerous passage down the Columbia River. Barge operators floated the wagons down the river, the settlors walked along the banks of the river or drove their livestock over the high-elevation Lolo Pass of the Cascades. This was the only way to complete the journey until 1846 when Sam Barlow was authorized in December 1845 by the Provisional Legislature of Oregon to build a road. The road proved popular with more than a thousand immigrants and 145 wagons using it in the first year of operation. Only about twenty percent of the old Barlow Road is still visible today, the rest being covered over by paved roads and highways.

This segment of the Barlow Road, now known as Barlow Trail (NF-3530), is open to 4x4ers, bicyclists, hikers, and those with an adventurous spirit.

Leaving early in the morning to rendezvous with the others at a roadside rest area by Mount Hood in Oregon my son and I arrived a little late, the others were waiting as we fueled up for the 32-mile overnight off-road adventure.

 

Heading east along Highway 26 to Highway 35 we turned off on a dirt side road to find the entrance to the Barlow Trial. Before continuing we all stopped and aired down our tires for better traction and to give us a more comfortable ride on the dirt forest service road. Our speed would not be more than 20 miles an hour although more often than not at a 5-10 miles per hour.

 

 

Off to Wamic we go n our adventure.

Lunch stop

Turning left onto the road we stopped about 2-3 miles along under the trees for lunch. Sandwiches and snacks made, eaten and enjoyed we continued on.

At about 8 miles into the adventure we came to a bridge across a small river that was closed due to flood damage from a few years ago. Hikers and bicycles are allowed to cross but no vehicles are allowed. We went into the campground just before the closure to see if there was a way around or if we should just call it an early day and stop for the night. There is a way across the river but it is an illegal crossing and shouldn’t be used. As per Trails Off Road: “While there was once a crossing ….. the Motor Vehicle Use Map shows the crossing as being closed and all indications on the ground are that it is intended to be permanently closed. Further, the crossing itself is in a wilderness area. However, some 4x4ers still attempt the crossing illegally, damaging important natural resources in the process ………… Do not under any circumstances attempt the crossing. For those wanting to access the Keeps Mill Campground on the south side of White River, there are well-maintained roads coming from the south. Remember it is everyone’s responsibility to Stay on the Trail and Tread Lightly to protect our natural resources and help preserve access to our shared 4×4 trail system.” At the time we did not know this information but we all came to the conclusion this was probably an illegal crossing and we shouldn’t cross.

Deciding it was still too early we retraced our tracks then headed east on Highway 35 until we could reconnect with the trail on the opposite bank of the river.

 

 

Back on the trail we found a side trail that cut off to the north along the creek we had been paralleling. We drove in about a mile and found a beautiful creek side camping area to enjoy our evening. Fires were not permitted due to the high fire danger that the entire west was having so we sat around a legal propane fire pit one of the guys brought for a nice evening under the stars and a pretend fire. We all headed to bed rather early, bunch of old farts, and enjoyed listening to the stream splashing by us all night long.

 

 

Campsite

After a great nights rest we got up for breakfast. Having eaten and picked up my camp I looked around the area and noticed some large cat prints in the sand down by the creek just 20 yards from camp. A mountain lion had been down to the water sometime during the night as we all were asleep to have a drink. They were relatively fresh in the sandy mud and in the water so it must have come down early this morning before we got up. My son got a little nervous at that point as his 3-year-old son with us. The rest of the time we were there as he ran around camp, the forest and creek side there was one of the 5 of us keeping our eyes open and not letting him wander to far from us.

Continuing on after breakfast we still had a fair ways to travel.

 

 

Lined up for another break.

Upon completion of the trail a little after 1 PM and stopped at The Sportsman Bar and Grill in Wamic, OR for some nice big burgers before we all headed home our separate ways.

 

Heading north my son and I caught Interstate 84 at The Dalles and drove along the Columbia River until we crossed back into Washington on the Interstate 205 bridge. Arriving home right around 5 PM I unpacked the perishable foods from the cooler, showered and just rested until retiring for an early bedtime.

What a great time was had by all, it was great to finally meet this group of guys my son talks so highly about. I cannot wait to share some more adventures with them.

 

 

The Canada adventure is in planning

ADVENTURE – An exciting, daring, bold, risky or very unusual experience or undertaking fraught with physical, financial or psychological risks.

What does this mean? It can be different for everyone; skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, caving (spelunking) traveling, exploring…… anything that is outside the ordinary for that individual is an adventure. Many make their adventures a way of life and never stop. For some it is just a day, weekend or short trip. Does it need to involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion or highly specialized gear, some would say yes. I do not think that at all, it is up to the individual the extent of the adventure to be accomplished.

Next August my ADVENTURE will involve a 45 drive from Southern California to Dawson, Yukon Territories in Canada, up the Dawson highway to the Arctic Ocean and back in my 2017 Subaru Outback. It is something I have never done and it has always been on my bucket list. I have taken 2 cruises to Alaska and have loved the experiences. I now want to experience the lands of Canada and Alaska from the ground driving through the countryside.

·      Will it be scary? …..Probably as I will be doing it alone.

·      Will it be exhilarating? …..Yes.

·      Will it be fun and exciting? …..Definitely.

·      Am I excited to plan and start this adventure? …..OH YES.

The trip will leave Southern California and head up east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains then I will cut over to Vancouver, WA to visit my son and his family for a few days.

The Adventure really begins after this visit as I head to Glacier National Park, Montana; Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. Continuing north to Banff and Jasper National Parks, Alberta, Canada. Then going north into the Yukon Territory, the smallest and least populated province in Canada to the small town of Dawson. From Dawson I will head up the Dawson Highway to Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada and then continue the final 130 km on the new all season road to Tukoyakuk, Northwest Territories, Canada. Returning to Dawson I will then head east to Chicken, Alaska turning south for Haines to cross on the ferry to Skagway, Alaska. It will then be time to head south after a few days rest in Skagway. Stopping again in Vancouver, WA I will hopefully finish with a camping trip in the Sierras with a group of Overland Bound friends to end this adventure. That is the rough itinerary at this time.

·      Adventure? …..I think so.

·      Something out of my ordinary routine? …..DEFINITELY for me.

So what does this involve? A lot of investigation on the Internet, reviewing maps and with the help from individuals who kindly share their knowledge of the areas I am visiting. I will be camping along the way when possible and staying at motels, hotels or lodges as needed. Road conditions, places to stay, services (food and gas), places to visit all need to be investigated.

·      Will schedules change?

·      Will additional sites present themselves?

·      Will destinations be revised?

All a YES to me, it is still being planned so anything is all possible.

My vehicle is still getting prepared for the adventure with items to makes it’s life and mine more enjoyable. Better suspension, all-terrain tires, roof rack, navigation equipment, full size spare tire, tow strap, tools, tire gauge, tire repair (plug) kit, gloves, fire extinguisher, shovel, axe, extra gas can, repair parts, extra power outlets added for charging all the electronic gear that we all carry now, tint for the rear windows, communications, boost jump starter battery charger and jumper cables, and a portable air compressor for a start.

My clothing and toiletries will be my normal travel items (see previous post) modified for the weather. I will possibly be adding a Go Pro video camera to my photographic equipment for additional documentation of the adventure.

Then I must go through the camping gear to pare down to the basics on what I really need to take along. It will include tent, tent ground cloth (footprint), sleeping bag and pad, stove, pots, fry pan, plates, cooking and eating utensils, dishpan, dish soap (Dawn), camp chair and table, tarp, mosquito repellant and head netting, camp lights and batteries, propane, lighter and matches, trash bags, cleaning bucket, 5 gallon drinking water container, a cooler and food storage containers.

Additional gear will include a hand held GPS, first aid kit, whistle, cordage (para-cord), knife, bear spray, maps, compass and possibly a small backpacking hammock.

Now what am I visiting along the way.

Part 1

The real start of my trip will be when I leave Vancouver, WA for Glacier National Park in Montana where I will be overnighting at the Apgar, Sprague Creek or Fish Creek Campgrounds depending on availability in the south end of the park.

 

From there I will head over “Going to the Sun Highway” to see the sights and stop as needed for the night.

The next day I will enter Canada and stop for a few days to explore the area of and around Waterton Lakes National Park.

After Waterton, I will head to Banff to stay for about 5-6 days in a condo (timeshare exchange) to explore the surrounding area. Along the way to Banff I will stop at the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site to look around.

The fist day I will wander around the town of Banff getting current information at the Visitor Center and the Banff Park Museum, visit the Whyte Art Museum of the Canadian Rockies, the Natural History Museum and the Buffalo Nations Museum. Just outside of town I will visit Cave and Basin National Historic Site and the Upper Hot Springs.

In my remaining days in Banff I will explore up Highways 1 and 1A as far as Lake Louise visiting locations and scenic overlooks such as Backswamp, Muleshoe, Sawback, Hillsdale Meadows, Johnson Canyon, Moose Meadows, Silver City, Rock Lake, Castle Cliffs, Storm Mountain, Castle Lookout, Protection Mountain, Baer Creek, Outlet Creek, Corral Creek, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Returning at the end of the each days adventure to sleep in a nice bed with kitchen area. If the condo idea falls through I will just head north along those highways stopping at campgrounds along the way to Jasper, Alberta, Canada.

Now, how have I found this information? From maps; computer mapping programs; books, searching the specific areas I wish to visit on the Internet (Google is my friend); country, territory and city visitor information sites; and information from other travel bloggers. I have gone to my local bookstore to wander and peruse the shelves looking for interesting travel books of these areas. I will go to my local Automobile Association to find out what information they might have available there. A travel book, map and your time searching are well spent in preparing for a trip. Information gained ahead of the trip will help insure you plan the time to see the sites most important to you.

I will continue with the planning of this adventure in additional posts so please stay tuned.

Any ideas of what to visit in the areas I am traveling would be appreciated, not all sites are noted somewhere, secret spots abound. And if you share these secret spots with me to enjoy I will not post where they are but will relish in the beauty around me and be grateful you trust me with this information.