Alberta through the PNW

[DeanerF]

Trying to plan a trip (honeymoon) for the end of September / beginning of October.
I have a general route sort of planned so far, but want to check out some of the trails along the way (backcountry discovery routes?)
*edit*Planning to head straight south from Edmonton to the Montana border*
Just looking for some suggestions on where to go exploring along the way, and hopefully some good camping spots. We plan on camping for a lot of the trip, but will be staying in hotels in the bigger cities I think.
Will be driving more of an expedition style rig, and not a full on trail rig.
2013 F150 FX4 with larger tires, leveled and factory locker.
Also should add, it will be about 2 weeks, possibly (hopefully) a little bit longer though.

 

[boehml]

I like your rig, I'm glad it's not a jacked up oil sands rig too. I live near the Vancouver area and it looks like your route is taking HWY 5. If that's the case I'd recommend Whipsaw, which would be on your way. I have a GPX file I can send you so you can access the trail via HWY 5 and head down to Vancouver via HWY 3 through Manning Park (a more scenic drive in my opinion). Depending on your pace, Whipsaw can be done in 1-2 days. It heads up into really nice Alpine meadows and hits a couple of lakes too.

 

[DeanerF]

I have heard of whipsaw trail. Some pictures look like there are a few tough spots. Would you recommend going there with out anyone else for recovery?

 

[boehml]

I have heard of whipsaw trail. Some pictures look like there are a few tough spots. Would you recommend going there with out anyone else for recovery?

If you're going south all of the obstacles are downhill, all of them have bypasses. There are some rough sections with no bypasses.

My friends Tacoma needed to winch once, but only because he lost momentum going uphill.

If you have a winch, there is nothing to fear about the trail.

 

[vicali]

The only problem I see with your map is you are missing all the good stuff in the middle.

I would take the long way through the Okanagan (sun and wine) and the West Kootenays (pic above);

https://goo.gl/maps/U9RtupEETkR2

 

[DeanerF]

If you're going south all of the obstacles are downhill, all of them have bypasses. There are some rough sections with no bypasses.

My friends Tacoma needed to winch once, but only because he lost momentum going uphill.

If you have a winch, there is nothing to fear about the trail.

I have no winch yet unfortunately . It's in the works, but not in the books as of yet. That's a next year purchase. Since my truck is an ecoboost I need the intercooler relocated/upgraded before I can get the hidden winch mount. So it makes a winch purchase a little more spendy.
Only have a hilift and a shovel for now. Haha

 

[DeanerF]

The only problem I see with your map is you are missing all the good stuff in the middle.


I would take the long way through the Okanagan (sun and wine) and the West Kootenays (pic above);

https://goo.gl/maps/U9RtupEETkR2

I've tooled around in the kootenays a bit actually. I love that area. This trip is mainly going to be in the states I think though. Head straight for the border and on the way home it will be more of a straight shot too.

I would like to plan a trip around the kaslo area next summer actually!


This is near Radium.

 

[boehml]

I have no winch yet unfortunately . It's in the works, but not in the books as of yet. That's a next year purchase. Since my truck is an ecoboost I need the intercooler relocated/upgraded before I can get the hidden winch mount. So it makes a winch purchase a little more spendy.
Only have a hilift and a shovel for now. Haha

I think going south without a winch you'd be fine on Whipsaw, as long as you don't get too confident.

If you're going down HWY 5 you could also stop at Murphy Lakes to camp, which I can send you GPX file for. Your rig is more than capable for that and it's a short drive off of the highway.

 

[trikebubble]

If it were me, I'd cut over to the Oregon Coast sooner than from Portland to Cannon Beach. Maybe more directly west to Florence, then north from there. The scenery is spectacular from Florence north to the Newport area. Sounds like an amazing trip in the works. Have fun.

PS. We live in Penticton, if you end up rolling through the South Okanagan and find yourself in need of anything let me know.

 

[daPitbull]

Looks like you can run some sections of WABDR.

 

[DeanerF]

If it were me, I'd cut over to the Oregon Coast sooner than from Portland to Cannon Beach. Maybe more directly west to Florence, then north from there. The scenery is spectacular from Florence north to the Newport area. Sounds like an amazing trip in the works. Have fun.

PS. We live in Penticton, if you end up rolling through the South Okanagan and find yourself in need of anything let me know.

Yeah I have been looking at a map a bit more and am considering switching it up a bit to go closer to the California border and the coast. We really want to go to Bend still to go to a bunch of the breweries though. Might have to remove St. Anthony sand dunes (wanted to check them out and rent a RZR side by side to drive around in), and maybe skip craters of the moon too. They are both quite a ways out of the way.

Looks like you can run some sections of WABDR.

Is the best place for maps for the BDR their actual website ? I havent really looked into them much yet.

 

[daPitbull]

Yeah I have been looking at a map a bit more and am considering switching it up a bit to go closer to the California border and the coast. We really want to go to Bend still to go to a bunch of the breweries though. Might have to remove St. Anthony sand dunes (wanted to check them out and rent a RZR side by side to drive around in), and maybe skip craters of the moon too. They are both quite a ways out of the way.



Is the best place for maps for the BDR their actual website ? I havent really looked into them much yet.

I downloaded GPS tracks from here:
http://www.backcountrydiscoveryroutes.com/WABDR

Then also ordered a WABDR map from butlers.

It's 600 miles long but you can run sections at a time.

 

[DeanerF]

Awesome!
Thanks!

 

[DeanerF]

So we are all married , and finishing up packing for our trip today.
Any last minute places to see?

Starting in Montana, south through Idaho, west over to Oregon coast.. And we have a little extra time now so plan on dipping into NorCal to see the red woods.
The back up the Oregon coast!

Looking for decent camping spots along the way, forest service road detours/shortcuts , sights to see.
Are there many forestry lookouts in the PNW to see?
I have a few natural hotsprings mapped out in Oregon too.

 

[trikebubble]

Hmmm, dune buggy rides in Florence (get a guided tour) it's plain awesome. My Wife and I seem to travel to eat, so here's a few of my favorite spots.
The Sea Hag in Depoe Bay - hands down best clam chowder I have ever had. Nana's Irish Pub in the Nye Beach district of Newport - best meatloaf I've eaten, and a good pint of Guinness too. 1285 Restobar in Florence - makes a darn mean pizza. The old bayside area of Newport is kind of cool, a little touristy but neat nonetheless.
The Drift Creek Falls Hike near Lincoln City is a beautiful, the drive up is great and the hike to the falls and bridge is real nice.

Have fun.

 

[Billy "Poserlander" Badly]

Local Ocean in Newport is fantastic, highly recommended. Short Sands Beach (Oswald West State Park), just north of Manzanita/south of Cannon Beach is the ideal Oregon beach, definitely check it out- there's a nice easy hike on the north end to Cape Falcon, also worth a visit.

If you find yourself in Astoria, check out Buoy Brewing. Just south of Astoria is Fort Stevens, a fun spot to poke around (though I don't recommend the campground- too developed and crowded).

Regarding lookouts, there are tons in Oregon- found this website via a quick search: http://www.firelookout.org/lookout-rentals.html

I actually spent a summer manning the Baughman Lookout outside of Roseburg, OR. 10 days on, 4 days off. I was 18 at the time, and the rest of the lookouts (all retired couples) thought I was nuts- I loved it though, and I got a ton of reading done. Unfortunately, this was before the ubiquity of cellphones, and I wasn't smart enough to take pictures.
http://www.nhlr.org/lookouts/Lookout.aspx?id=357

 

[DeanerF]

Thanks for the suggestions ! Will Check out some of them.

We are now in Missoula Montana. Got an Airbnb last minute for the night.
Plan is to drive to probably Boise tomorrow, or around there. Unsure what we will do for accommodations.
Then we will head to Bend for a few days.
Any suggestions for camping around Bend?

 

[DeanerF]

Little bit of a drive today. I guess we will take the interstates. Got another Airbnb just outside of bend for a couple days. Hopefully I can find some maps and trails around Bend. Trying to find camping west of Redding on the way to see/drive through some redwoods