Bataan Death Drive (not a wheeling trip)

[frieed]

So the Missus and I decided to tour the Pacific Northwest this summer with the camper in tow. Neither offspring desired to go so we had a nice 2-week jaunt by ourselves (woo hoo).

Lisa and I decided on the destinations and she did her magic with the reservations and we ended up with this plan:

Leave Draper on Friday, July 18th at noon and overnight in Caldwell ID.
3 nights at LaPine State Park, OR
3 nights at Cannon Beach, OR
3 nights at Hells Crossing Campground, WA
3 nights at Coho Campground, WA
1 night in Baker City
Return home Fri, Aug 1.

Total distance (not including local driving) 2335 Mi.

The Map

The elevation profile:

The Deschutes river on the way into the campground

Again, the Deschutes

 

[frieed]

Mayberry Volcanic Caldera:

Consists of a larger, older caldera with two lakes (Paulina and East) that are separated by the cinder cone of a more recent eruption.


Falls Draining Lake Paulina

The obsidian flow:

This is a huge flow that consists of a mix of obsidian and pumice

Obsidian

Obsidian layers folded into the cooling pumice
The pumice has eroded away some and the thin lines of obsidian are knife sharp

 

[frieed]

Crater Lake:

All I can say is WOW, and yes, the water really is that blue. 1943' deep.

The Oregon Coast, near Hug Point

 

[frieed]

Mt. Rainier (Hells Crossing campground):

Mt. Rainier Panorama from a viewpoint on WA-12

Afternoon Sun on Rainier taken from Chinook Pass

 

[frieed]

Our Campsite at Coho:

The rig

Behind the rig 1

Behind the rig 2

 

[frieed]

Hoh Rainforest:

The East end of the Columbia River Gorge

And last but not least, the pain....

 

[neagtea]

Like it

 

[Tonkaman]

Wow that elevation profile is incredible! It drops off so fast

 

[frieed]

It's about 10-15 miles of 7% grade on either side of Chinook Pass (to and from the hells crossing camp.
I had a full load of water, firewood, generator, ARB fridge, so I was running near 8000 lbs total.
The truck pulled it at the posted speed without exceeding 2700 rpm.
The overall number of miles traveled (2335) on the horizontal axis really serves to exaggerate the change...

 

[Kevin B.]

You just made me homesick.

 

[193kyle]

Very cool! I love the PNW!

 

[Chicken Corners]

Looks like a great trip.

 

[blznnp]

I would love to do that, we are from washington and we sure do miss the PNW. Loved camping around washington.

 

[CobraNutt]

Looks like a terrific trip!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[UNSTUCK]

We did the Oregon coast last weekend. Loved it! But those 55mph limits were killing me.

 

[CobraNutt]

And last but not least, the pain....

OUCH!! I will no longer complain about my Mustang's 17 mpg (heavy foot issue), or my Jeep's 18 mpg in the backcountry!

 

[frieed]

welcome to the world of a high-powered gasser...
it pulls just fine, at a price...

and the trailer saw about 2300 miles, the rest was unladen


things I learned on the trip..

#1 Headwinds Suck
#2 Speed kills.... gas mileage
#3 question the validity of the route chosen by your new, schmantzy GPS
#4 realize your new, schmantzy GPS reorders the "recently selected" category on destinations when you punch in the next campground (gps co-ords all look the same)
#5 I don't like humidity
#0 21 years ago last Wednesday, I married the right lady....

 

[sixstringsteve]

great report. That looks like a fantastic trip.

 

[DAA]

Wow! Way awesome trip!

- DAA

 

[nnnnnate]

Thanks for posting the photos and info. We had been talking about doing the Oregon coast this October and after just getting back from Cedar City and talking a bunch more about it, it appears that we are going and I need to starting getting things figured out for the trip. I had never heard of La Pine so I'll need to start there and see if that is somewhere we want to go. I'm also going to have to look into the Washington sites as well. I love the PNW so much, thanks for sharing.

I'm also feeling pretty bummed about selling my truck last year. My "tow" rig is only rated for 2k lbs. BOO!!!