Day Three: Section 3 - Ellensburg to Cashmere

This section of the WABDR was a bittersweet moment for me. On the one hand, I couldn’t wait to get on this section because I knew I would get to see one of the grandest peaks in the Enchantments – Mt Stuart. "Without a rival as the crown peak in the central Cascades of Washington, Mount Stuart has been pronounced the single greatest mass of exposed granite in the United States...its northern and eastern faces are the alpine climax of the Wenatchee Mountains. They make a powerful impact on first sight...The mountaineering problems are magnified by the mountain's massive dimensions and its complexity." by Fred Beckey, "Cascade Alpine Guide - Climbing and High Routes - Columbia River to Stevens Pass, Second Edition" On the other hand, it was the last section we would all share together as a family. Both of my boys were meeting friends in Leavenworth and would be on their way back to Seattle the following day after a hike and some rafting.

The drive out of Ellensburg was fairly straight forward until we began our ascent up FS 3500 towards Table Mountain. We saw a few cars and trucks along the way as this section of road was mostly paved, and littered with nice private homesteads tucked away in the mountainside. I was a little surprised to see a truck hauling a horse trailer along this route. Come to find out, they were leaving the Ken Wilcox Horse Camp at Haney Meadows. Once past Haney Meadows, the road became more of what I had expected - a 4WD road.

I was so thankful we were able to make it to this section of the WABDR. Here we were on Table Mountain passing through the charred remains of one of the most devastating fires in Washington State. In 2012, sparked by lightning, Washington had 1,342 fires. The Table Mountain fire destroyed 42,312 acres (66.11sq mi). It eventually joined with the Peavine Canyon fire in the south. As we drove through this incredible landscape, my wife commented “God has a sense a humor. Among the charred remains, He carpeted the forest floor with such beautiful flowers.” It was quite the sight to see as the regeneration began to take place.

It was on this paved road I picked up some pin striping on the passenger side. I’ll put it in the video. I had my son drop me off so I could get some video of him driving. After a few minutes, he backed up to pick me up but failed to notice the fallen debris on the passenger side. I yelled out "Chris!!!! Too late. We laughed as I said; “On a paved road?” We can’t be picking up pin-striping on a paved road. That’s just wrong.”

We had one other funny moment where I had him drop me off while I ran a little bit ahead of him so I could film him driving. Well, he never saw me up on the driver’s side of the hill filming as he blissfully kept on going. I started yelling; “HEY!!” “Hey you guys!!” I screamed; "HEYYYYYY!!!!" As they drove away they were all amazed at how far I must have ran ahead of them. Little did they know they left me way behind. My youngest finally heard me faintly in the distance but could hardly tell if I was above them or below them. Five or six switchbacks later I finally caught up to them after they heard my screams. Where were the handheld CB radios you may ask? You know…in the 4runner where they belong.

Another paved section of road brought us to the trail that would soon bring us head to head with a Husqvarna. Most of you know about that little story. The guy is lucky to be alive and my family is lucky we didn’t have a motorcycle or a body flying through our windshield. I thought for sure this was going to be the end of our trip. I also thought for sure the rider was dead.

Here are the links to that section of this journey:
WABDR Enduro Crash Thread on T4R
WABDR Enduro Crash Video

The beauty that's left behind in this forest. Absolutely amazing.


This photo is taken with my back towards the Stuart Range. The 4Runner had performed great for us so far. Seriously impressed.


A gorgeous view of the regeneration and the growth that was taking place after all of the devastation that had taken place in 2012. God's sense of humor as my wife put it.


A wonderfully paved road on Table Mountain. I'm so glad I've had an opportunity to experience this. My oldest was driving while my youngest was navigating. Yup, pin-striping coming soon...


Hey guys I'm up here. Hey! Up Here! Hey, wait for me! Where are you guys going? HEY!!! HEY!!!! OMG they never saw me...I hope they stop pretty soon! Where's the CB radio when you need it?


Here was the view I was waiting for! The Stuart Range in the Enchantments with Mt Stuart on the left. You can almost see the entire Cascadian Couloir on the southeast face. One day I would love to traverse this entire range.


Ok, Let me OUT!!! You can't pass up this great photo op. I'll put the shutter on sports mode and see how it comes out! Oh yea! Love this one.