Itinerant Air-Cooled

So I know it's kinda hard for the PDX folks to get out this way, but I was thinking this could be a cool adventure. The guard station is about 5 miles north of Waldo Lake. Waldo Lake is incredible, if you've never been there. Huge and crystal clear lake at 6000'. There are only three road access points on the lake and the rest is surrounded in Wilderness.

Starting from the North Shore Campground, FS 517 heads through the huge 1996 burn area. It was a big, hot fire, that left just about nothing but bleached snags for as far as the eye can see, with new life and color filling in the ground. It's high clearance/4x4 only, but we are intrepid bus pilots, veterans of the Abbot Road and other unmaintained forest byways. The guard station has a cabin, likely locked, but is surrounded by campsites. And I'm sure even if we couldn't make it all the way out, there must be good sites along the way, and maybe just a hike in one day.

I plan on trying to make it out sometime soon to check it out.

Ooooo, that looks sweet.


neal

Purty...

6K elevation is up there. Bet it's still snowed in.

neal

Your picture have rekindled the passion I have for the Pacific Northwest. I used to take my family out for backpacking trips in the North Cascades, Paysayten Wilderness and the Olympics. The tires of my Westy, however, have only rolled in southern and northern sands, and I'd love to pilot it around on that road through the Willamette burn. I can just imagine the roll, like a clipper rounding the Horn.

Great stuff, most of that was torn/burned down in the 60s. No sense of history.

ruckman101 wrote:6K elevation is up there. Bet it's still snowed in.

neal

I was up at 5500' last week right nearby. There last 1/2mi of road before my campsite (the prairie by Blair Lake) had about a foot of slush in 100 yard sections left. Chains would have made it through, and it's probably mostly gone by now. The Waldo lake road is paved and, while closed in winter and used as a snowmobile road, I'm sure it's cleared by now. FS 517 is totally unmaintained, but should have little left from our dry winter, especially considering the lack of shade trees. The Guard Station is at about 4900', so it shouldn't be too socked.

Trying to sell my bug, might head up this weekend to investigate if I do.