Planning for the WA BDR

In August, we are driving all 589.9 miles of the Washington Back Country Discovery Route. Our plan is to complete the route in 7-8 days, and then drive through North Cascades National Park on our way home. I have done a quick calculation of the distance to travel daily to reach the end in a week, and it requires us to go 80+ miles per day. Being a planner I made a spreadsheet to sketch out our rough schedule. We may not stick to it, but I like to have a general structure to follow. We want to take time to really experience the areas along the way, so only time will tell if we make the whole 589.9 mile in a week.

In an effort to be prepared for the trip we have done a lot of scouting of different sections of the trail and asked advice of others who have done it before.

Ellensburg to Wenatchee leg

We ran the Ellensburg to Wenatchee leg in late May. The track itself wasn’t hard, but the snow and high elevations made it a little tricky and slow going. Luckily that will be melted by our trip in August.

We also did part of the long bumpy section north of Cashmere that same weekend. It was already dry and a little dusty so we know it will be for sure in August. We have planned to carry 11 gallons of water and refill at the end of each leg.

Hwy 12 to Hwy 410

We finished off the final weekend in May with the section from Hwy 410 to Hwy 12. We did it north to south but will be going south the north on our long trip. Most of the track is bumpy gravel and dirt roads, but we were in for a surprise when we hit Bethel Ridge. We have since heard of most people struggling going down this section as the snow melt has made the track incredibly muddy and hard to navigate. We hit it going up the muddy mess while limping our front driveshaft along. We had to winch once and it took us a lot of scouting and walking ahead to go the few miles, but we made it and now know what to expect. The mud should be less by August but the ruts are going to be DEEP!!!

Just after Bethel Ridge – check out the mud spray on the mirror!

We will definitely be ready for whatever Bethel Ridge throws at us in August!

Hwy 410 to Ellensburg leg

We explored the Ellensburg to Hwy 410 section of the BDR this past weekend. The mud was gone, though it looked like it had been a bit muddy recently. The track isn’t hard, but it’s rough. We were averaging about 8 mph. That would make for 10 hour days if everything were that slow going. Hopefully it won’t be and we can stick to our plan.

Overland Bound Badge

We are members of Overland Bound, so I also posted on the forum requesting any tips and tricks from anyone who has done the whole WA BDR. We received some good feed back.

Tips From Overland Bound Forum

• Make sure you are well organized and can get at your gear – this is a run and gun trip that may put you into camp late or require you to get at a saw or recovery gear on the trail.
• In the summer the valley north of Cashmere gets very hot.
• When you pass by Carleton take a detour to visit Twisp.
• Look for Foggy Dew campground!
• There is a cool mine just north of Concully (there are small signs for it).
• Best camp spot was on the south end of Lake Chelan.

More to come as I continue to make plans for our trip! We did pack all the gear we planned to take on the BDR on our last weekend trip, and we need to figure out how to fit it in a more orderly fashion for sure. I also took a backpack that was almost too small for my clothes. I plan to try a duffel instead.

HAPPY TRAILS and TRACKS!