# Weekend trekking



## G0to60 (Jun 23, 2003)

My wife, brother, and I decided to do the first southern part of the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route (WABDR) last weekend. Ever since I bought my allroad I thought it would be perfect for some fun trekking through the mountains of the PNW and, if that went well, perhaps traveling farther. Anyway, enough of the extended prologue. On to the trip.

We got a late start out of Portland, OR on July 5. My brother was coming over from Astoria so we met up to grab some groceries and talk about the route we would take. The plan was to start off in Carson, WA and head north along Forest Service roads from there. I had driven the lower portion a couple of weeks ago on a day trip and found that the roads were in great shape.





We weren't sure which campground we wanted to stay at. Council Lake was tops on our list because it was a little more remote and it was free. Because we were late in getting out of Portland (around 4:30) we got in at Council lake around 8pm or so and found one of the last camping spots. For a free campground it wasn't too bad. It had an outhouse, fire rings, and good access to the lake. Here is home for the next couple of days.





After a little unpacking the dogs decided to fight over who was going to sit near my brother. It was a stale mate.



The next day we decided to check out the lake. This is a great little alpine lake that looks to be only fed by the snow pack. I couldn't find any in-flow and the water was so clear and surprisingly warm(ish).



Andy (my brother's dog) got right into it and was checking out the water. This was his first time up in the mountains at a lake as my brother got Andy when he lived in New Orleans. He had a ball.







My wife and my dog Romeo was not too amused with the water. He's a Chinese Crested (ie hairless dog) so he's not a fan of the cold but he is a trooper and was trudging through the bush like his larger friend. It was exhausting so we all took a nap for a bit back at camp.







I decided to take to the water for a little tour of the lake. It's not a very big lake but big enough for some good exploration. There was very little wind and the water was perfect for paddling. I also got to see an Osprey (I think) going after a Bald Eagle that got too close to it's nest. I tried to get some pictures of them but I'm no photographer so they aren't the best.











So we settled in for the evening around the fire and I decided to play with some of the settings on the camera. Believe me. The fire was not exploding out of the ring but the effect is pretty cool.





The next day we decided to pack up the cars and hit one of the other lakes on the way out when I saw that we had a "little" stow away on the hatch.



So we head up the road a bit more to check out Takhlakh Lake and get some more boating. On the way we got some great views of Mt. Adams peaking through the trees.





Then we got to the lake and got a much better view of the mountain. Last year a group of friends and I climbed that mountain so I could see where we ended up.





After some lunch we decided to hit the water so the dogs donned their life jackets and we took to the lake.





This was Romeo's first dip into kayaking but after some trepidation he got a bit more comfortable and was having a blast as we tooled around the lake (you also get a shot of my ugly mug).







We got our fill of the lake a decided to hit the road. My brother was meeting my parents at another lake near White Pass, WA that same day so he wanted to get in before it got dark. On the final stretch there are some great lava piles near the road and some great mini-water falls right near the road.









After we got to Packwood we parted ways with my brother and headed home. It was a great trip, aside from the mosquitos, and I learned a lot on what I need and what I don't. Tops on the list is a folding table. We had to make do with either cooking in the back of the Audi and on top of the cooler. A fridge would be nice as well. Also, the Audi did great and didn't even break a sweat on anything we took it through. I plan on trying a few longer treks in the future.

Also, I went through the pictures and realize that we have A LOT of pictures of our dogs but that beats pictures of our charming faces. Sorry for the overload of canine. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and we are sure to do more of this in the future.

One last picture, finally back home and waiting for what everyone hates. The unpacking.


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## Ixomeneus (Nov 27, 2011)

Great pics and thanks for sharing!

Glad to see the allroad being used as intended. :beer:


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