Lost Corner 2 Trip Report (WABDR, Manastash, Bethel, etc)

Back in 2014 we went on the original Lost Corner trip. We wanted something epic, multi day, and just a fun offroading adventure. Holy hell did we get it! We wanted to embark on a sequel to this trip, thus Lost Corner 2 was born. We wanted to cover some of the same trails and some new ones, experience that adventure again, explore, but maybe not get stuck on manastash ridge until 6am.
(the videos might get a little boring in some spots, but I made them for for us to remember all portions of the trip. The intent is for Ben, Andee and I to come back and remember all of the things we did and forgot under the influence of fireball in the years to come).
[DAY 1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zdL64aikhw

We met south of Olympia, our somewhat twin tacos still very clean.


Drove to Carson WA, then heading north into Gifford Pinchot Nation Forrest.

Went on a small hike to check out a crater, too many trees to see anything worth while.


The dirt roads were dusty...and it was only going to get worse as the trip progressed....

Stopped by the Ice caves, it was pretty warm outside, then just down the stairs it was around 40 deg. Sadly not much ice to be seen, but still plenty fun exploring the dark depths. We just kept going until we found a side way out. It was quite an experience to shut off our lights and it was completely pitch black.




We continued north at a healthy pace to Council Lake to find a suitable camp site. Council Lake was pretty, nestled into a huge depression, but the campsites were too civilized. If sedans could park there, we knew it wasnt proper camping. We also scouted Takhlakh Lake, but same deal.


We finally found a spot on top of Babyshoe Ridge, giant gravel pit on top of the ridge, awesome campsite, no one there. Camp was set on one side, steel targets at the other












Instead of setting up my bed tent, I decided to sleep under the stars, pure awesome!



[DAY 2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw2Iq2Waky0

********************NEW**********************
Extended hill climb video heh heh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AyRPcTZudk&

Then I woke up to this, just pretty!




Chopping wood+wedding ring+blood blister =






Drove to a heli landing spot further up the ridge, could see Mt Adams, Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier. Awesome!



We started our drive to Packwood had a healthy pace. Thanks to all of the dust I missed something that banged the hell out of my front right tire. Immediately after my truck was pulling hard to the right. I stopped and looked, sure enough the right tire toe was noticeably off. We stopped in Packwood for gas and an impromptu alignment. Wasnt perfect, but a hell of a lot better.


On to Bethel Ridge!

We took a right at one of the junctions, where in Lost Corner 1 we went straight. This little trail was surprisingly technical and off camber in some spots (don't have video sadly) with amazing views along the ridge.










On the way to the trail a ranger in a new Chevy stopped to chat with us. Really cool guy, gave us the run down on the area, etc. He finished by saying "You guy have Toyotas, so I wont have to worry about you getting stuck or breaking down".
Hell yea, Tacomas FTW!!!!! heh heh




Onto the Mud Springs Trail!!!






Mud Springs had quite a few low branches....typically I love my magnetic CB ...but damn... this thing kept falling off and one time it managed to stick to my door heh heh. Not amused.








Little Bald Mountain look out: We rolled up hoping to sleep in the cabin at the look out, but sadly a guy and his two boys were there first. He had a stock Xterra with some pretty meaty all terrain tires (at least) and he kept talking about how he would have taken the harder trail we took, but his boys didnt want to. Uh huh...nice story buddy. heh heh. Besides that they were friendly enough, but damn them for beating us to the cabin. Sadly we had to resort to huddling around the warm glow of a LED lantern.

Again with the low hanging branches...small kine trail damage heh heh.


This was a brand new air filter before the trip....
Dust dust and more dust with a sprinkling of not so lucky bugs.



I swear this wasnt caused by us....pew pew. Kind of sad to see though.












and a burn ban means cozying up to a nice LED lantern.... heh heh.









@Benson X

 

This looks spectacular! Great pics and awesome work on the camera footage. What gear ya using, and what drone?

Do you happen to have the route you're taking available for others? Some killer scenery; would love to make a few day trip doing this kind of back-country wandering.

 

Thanks! Either @Benson X or I can post the route later. I use a panasonic gh4 for most of the video, gopro3 black and 4 silver, and then my nexus 6p (just too easy to use compared to the gh4 for pics). The drone is a 3DR solo.

Forgot to mention that Andee provided footage from his tablet too!

Glad you liked it!

 

i mustve missed a turn on leg1, didn't hardly see mt adams at all or those places u camped at.

bethel ridge to ellensburg is still my favorite.

 

[DAY 3]
https://vimeo.com/184026947

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyNKezsTSJY

We packed up camp, pointed ourselves towards Manastash Ridge, and eagerly applied the skinny pedal.

After refueling at Whistlin' Jacks - we headed north to Kaner Flats. We had run this trail on the last 'Lost Corner' trip - and many of the obstacles started to look familiar. Most notably "Mike's Log" which happened to wedge itself nicely between his front and rear axle/tire during our last trip up there - we were thinking of you @Chickenmunga!!!

We encountered a built Willie's Jeep being towed along. I swear every time we are out on the trails we see a dead jeep. The part that spooked me was that both jeeps were built, yet they were using the ball hitch to tow the dead one...thats a horrible idea, I thought people learned that in recovery 101?

We traveled through a pretty varied terrain of winding trees, overgrown bushes and logs, then into massive outcroppings of rocks and boulders that we lumbered over. The trail started ascending quickly as we churned-up some challenging (enough) hill climbs and root shelves. David was sure to remind us of our true purpose of being out there, as he yelled "Witness Me!!!!" over the CB before completing some of the more rowdy climbs.

Once we reached the Manastash Ridge Trail - we stopped for lunch to consider our options: (A) continue SE on the Manastash Ridge, follow the same route we did last time and camp out somewhere on top, or (B) head NW to check out the Quartz Mtn. trail and hopefully find an equally awesome campsite.

We chose Option B (and I'm glad we did). The Quartz Mtn. ridge trail was very similar to all the other trails we'd done over the weekend - lots of tight trees, roots, hill climbs and of course...DUST!


We finally got close to the peak of Quartz Mtn. and encountered one of the more difficult obstacles of this journey. A steady hill climb combined with a few staggered root shelves that formed "tank traps". After a few attempts with the locker, and a pucker-factor teeter-totter moment for David, we opted to check out the bypass to see if it was passable.


I got my truck to the top of the hill, but quickly determined my long-ass trail limo was not going to make it around the tight corner at the top. With some tight maneuvering and Austin Powers-like finesse, I managed to back into a tree and break my canopy hinge and (another!!!) brake light.


After some frustration and muscle, Andee and David convinced a rotten stump to sacrifice itself to the cause, allowing us to venture onward.


Finally reaching the peak of Quartz Mtn., we stopped at the radio/observation/weather towers for a break. I rigged up a temporary "Gorilla Tape" hinge (it held up for almost 4 weeks, fyi) and we explored a bit while enjoying the beautiful vistas that were offered by being at the peak. It was some awesome scenery up there, and afforded us (mainly David) the opportunity to capture some great photos and video.



Small kine dusty...plus my only remaining mud flap heh.


It was starting to get on in the afternoon, so we decided to find a suitable camp for the night. Further down the other side of Quartz Mtn (NF-3100) we came across a few decent campsites, complete with fire pits some tree cover and decent ground for the tents. It was still early enough that we wanted to see what other options there were - again, a wise decision on our part.














Further down the 3100, we turned off a little spur road and found what could only be some "private" (really, in the Nat'l Forest???) camp cabins. The structures were intact and habitable, but guarded by heavy steel doors and heavy-duty padlocks. We poked around a bit before heading out to find our camp.

David: I had been hearing a clunking noise that was driving me crazy, it started every so quietly on Manastash Ridge and got louder as we approached Quartz Mt. I looked at my suspension multiple times and couldn't figure it out. Finally while we were poking around those cabins, I figured out it was a loose UCA bolt that was causing the clunk. Tightened that thing up real quick, and some sanity was restored!

We found a perfect little area, which was likely an extension of the established hunting cabins up the road - a wide grassy valley surrounded by trees and a small creek running through it. Nice sandy areas for the tents, decent fire pit, converted spool-table, tons of firewood and a beautiful view for us to enjoy on the last night.





Slept right by the fire....mmmm toasty!








We had great night of drinking, laughing and revelry - recalling the days past and other trips and adventures we've had. The fire was definitely a welcome friend that night as we continued our stories into the early hours before calling it quits.

And dont forget the traditional FireBall...which resulted in us stumbling through the meddow chasing frogs heh heh.





TO BE CONTINUED @Benson X

 

I'll get the route and more of the trip report done after work today

 

Yea let me know if you want me to add your portions into my post or not!

 

Great pictures, looks like it was a great trip.

 

[DAY 4]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Yx_EgiCCU

A relaxing and sunny morning in a great location and we were ready to pack it in for the final leg of this trip. After some signature "biscuits on a stick" and cup of camp coffee, we took our time to pack up camp before heading down the 3100 toward Ellensburg.


As we sped down the 3100, David earned his new moniker "Dakar David" as he put his Kings through their paces - that boy can move down those forest roads, I tell you what! With the amount of dust and blinding sun hitting it just right - we had to keep our distance from each other in order to see as we winded quickly down the mountain. After reaching a wider and more flat section, we stopped to air up the tires. David's OBA made quick work of it, while my trusty li'l

$91 Viair 88P Portable Compressor Kit (12V, 120 Psi, Forup to 33" Tires)

Viair 88P struggled to get all four tires back up to 32 psi - especially the right rear tire! I sat there for quite some time thinking it was taking forever - so David offered to use his OBA. After a couple minutes, we found tire had a slow leak and worse yet, the steel wheel was bent on the inner rim. It was not severe, but could potentially cause it to slip a bead or keep slowly losing psi - so we pushed-on until we hit pavement and a good enough area to pull the tire off for inspection. After about 20 minutes, we had the wheel pounded back in place enough to hold air and we were back on the road.


Onward to Ellensburg! Originally, I had planned to end the trip at Iron Horse Brewery for some meat and Quilter's Irish Death - but they didn't open until the evening and we were all ready to get back to our spouses (and showers ). We refueled at the local Chevron before hitting I-90 Westbound. Maybe 30 minutes after getting on the freeway, I saw David creeping up from behind me - so we were able to convoy and share in frustration of shitty drivers for the rest of I-90 together.


All in all, it was very successful and memorable trip. We didn't have huge expectations going into it, and wanted it to be relaxed and "whatever happens, happens" type of thing and it was exactly that. The route and navigation were pretty spot on, some of the sights and potential campsites didn't work out initially but we ended up finding better ones in some cases! The trails were fun and challenging, but we both came out without any permanent or significant damage and our pride intact.


Awesome trip and I am already looking forward to the next one! "



MORE PICS TO COME (I know you were thinking there weren't enough already)
@Benson X

 

reserved

 

aaannnnd one more

 

YES!!! Just had to stop by and relive this trip again - what a great way to spend my lunch break!

 

Rereading your second day, I was up on Little Bald Mt. just an hour or so before you guys. Ran into the same guy with the two boys. Said he was from Seattle and traveled all over with his kids each weekend. The guy was nice, but good lord he just kept talking.

 

Haa! Yup that was him. Almost too nice, and yea just kept talking. Kudos to him for taking his boys out though.

So close to crossing paths! heh heh

 

Looks like an awesome trip. Great write up!

 

I DID forget to add this, lol! Let's just say the liquor was effective that evening - I found myself wandering off in the woods numerous times to do some exploring, looking for gold and quartz in the surrounding brooks and creeks, tromping through the marsh and nearby path, looking for frogs and other nocturnal creatures in the area, etc. Good times!

 

in for the next one

 

REVIVAL!!!!!

Awesome trip man, I searched WABDR on here and your thread came up.... sweet pictures!

 

https://youtu.be/eJevH4ngb_0

https://youtu.be/kg_1OIg-nlA

Lost Corner 3, 2017!