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Washington Backcountry Discovery Route

t3n2and4

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The motorcycle inclined may have already known about this. https://ridebdr.com/wabdr/

We did segment 3 from Ellinsburg to Cashmere - but stopped at Wenatchee. We aired up for the highway and just called it good for the day, stopped off at a brewery for snacks and a drink before going home. It was a great trail, but definitely donā€™t do it alone and take someone experienced with you. I got hung up twice.

My classmate and his dad were kind enough to organize and do spotting for us and I took the F150 out to not be as much of a n00b. His former co-worker from a major australian offroad brand borrowed some recovery kit in case we got stuck. Thankfully we didnā€™t need that.

Thanks to help from the more experienced and good spotting we were able to get unstuck and over the hump. Stayed in 4x4 HI the whole time, but backing down and doing lo for one obstacle would have been a better idea. I crested with too much speed and bottomed out the suspension in a rut and chipped the driverā€™s side control arm on the pickup. This is making for an interesting talk about not taking the ā€œnewā€ truck out to do this sort of stuff. Not sure how to handle it at home.

Near the Wenatchee end, thatā€™s where it got hairy. Most of it was fine for anything, and having advanced AWD can help get through the rest. The views were great even when the weather started to change.

The airdown kit was slick AF though and I think Iā€™ll be buying it. Iā€™m tempted by the compressor too even though crazy $$. I also tried on the competition and Iā€™m not a good fit in it. Maybe with a power seat.

Important things about scrabbling up some of the more difficult spots: slow is good, pre-walk difficult stuff, have spotters and a plan.

Ford Bronco Washington Backcountry Discovery Route F9FA7918-AFBA-4276-BD1A-644F683DD7FE

Great route, but go as a group with some experience.
Ford Bronco Washington Backcountry Discovery Route 3EA0A7FF-DAC7-46D2-AA0B-9A63E2438CAC

Very slick portable compressor, important because it started POURING on us during the return to the highway.

Ford Bronco Washington Backcountry Discovery Route D511ADDB-7051-42F5-81DB-9851EE945486

Long boi not a great offroad choice.
Ford Bronco Washington Backcountry Discovery Route 3592D071-7ADA-485A-86C6-059579626FB0

The competition is a little cozy for my build.
Ford Bronco Washington Backcountry Discovery Route 4D19797C-267C-49E3-A915-6DF4203F3311

Aired down a touch.
Ford Bronco Washington Backcountry Discovery Route 866B45D3-CFC2-457A-8044-9D6ED2959079

Lionā€™s Rock view
Ford Bronco Washington Backcountry Discovery Route D51B37F2-4FCB-438E-BB84-AE2F7A15A3D8

A lookout further down the trail
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B-Rad

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Awesome! I live in Ellensburg and Iā€™ve been wheeling these trails all my life. We plan on doing the official route at some point. Was going to do it a week or two ago but I thought all our public lands were closed because of fire danger? Did you get any grief from anyone?
 
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t3n2and4

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Awesome! I live in Ellensburg and Iā€™ve been wheeling these trails all my life. We plan on doing the official route at some point. Was going to do it a week or two ago but I thought all our public lands were closed because of fire danger? Did you get any grief from anyone?
No, but there was a re-opening during this week after some rain from the folks that were watching that is what I understood. It was gray and gross looking in the morning so we werenā€™t seeing too many people while we were out.
 

2Jeeps&PatriotX1

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Was hoping to get up there this year until the fires hit.

i have that arb portable dual compressor and its kickass for sure!
 

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t3n2and4

t3n2and4

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Tech Tim

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Planning on doing this soon, just waiting for the smoke to clear.

There is a Facebook group dedicated to this: WABDR For 4x4s
 

Hopeless Diamond

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FS Closure map - it takes a while to load and show the closure areas, but a lot of the WABDR falls into those areas. Doubt they will open much of them up this year, even after the rains start. Hazard trees, mud slides, roads getting tore up, etc will cause them to keep travel limited, then snows come and only open to tracked vehicles in a lot of areas.

https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/w...76094.3131,-13347164.2878,6011693.6013,102100
 
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t3n2and4

t3n2and4

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FS Closure map - it takes a while to load and show the closure areas, but a lot of the WABDR falls into those areas. Doubt they will open much of them up this year, even after the rains start. Hazard trees, mud slides, roads getting tore up, etc will cause them to keep travel limited, then snows come and only open to tracked vehicles in a lot of areas.

https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8e69381e35144962a835ee59aafba153&extent=-13632274.4033,5876094.3131,-13347164.2878,6011693.6013,102100
Looks like the segment from Ellensburg to Wenatchee is the only part that was open.
 

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B-Rad

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I did Ellensburg to Wenatchee a couple months ago and spent an hour putting out someoneā€™s garbage fire they had left unattended in the middle of tall grass and trees luckily the pallets they had left hadnā€™t quite torched off yet or else it would have been REALLY BADšŸ¤¬
 
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t3n2and4

t3n2and4

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I did Ellensburg to Wenatchee a couple months ago and spent an hour putting out someoneā€™s garbage fire they had left unattended in the middle of tall grass and trees luckily the pallets they had left hadnā€™t quite torched off yet or else it would have been REALLY BADšŸ¤¬
Good on you for cleaning it up.
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