Second trip in our new (to us) van. We headed from Seattle down to the Gifford-Pinchot NF near Randle, WA. Waylon, the mountain dog loves riding in the van
We found a nice grassy spot for lunch.
As the dogs were knuckle-heading around in the woods, they stirred up some kind of wasp/yellowjackets. Desert dog (Nachita) booked it back to the van but Mountain dog managed to let a few of them burrow into his fur. For some reason, they didn't sting but man, they were mad. We got them all out with no further drama.
We cruised around the FS roads in the area just to see what's around. I found a little trail that looked like it might end with a cool campsite. It didn't. But I still got to drop the van in to 4Low and feel the awesomeness. I friggin love how this van handles on tight terrain. Turnarounds need no more width than my Tacoma.
There's a CG at Walupt Lake that's pretty cool, but crowded. We planned on boondocking so we found an overgrown side road with a wide spot. Our map and compass said we should have a view of Mt. Adams, and we kind of did...
We set up camp and started puttering around.
The wife thoroughly enjoys van camping.
We took a road-hike. Sticks are essential equipment for camping.
Toward dusk, the clouds cleared and we got some pretty cool views of Mt Adams.
The boy is learning how to navigate. He helped us pick our exit route.
On the way back to Seattle, we stopped for lunch near Alder Lake just about the time when the steam train pulled in. Like any 2-year-old since the start of the industrial revolution, my son is really into trains and he thought this was AWESOME.
I had flushed out the freshwater system, but I hadn't changed the Seagull filter. Our water tasted awful. Luckily we brought some jugs.
Still didn't need to use the heater. Still haven't scratched the 4wd itch.
We saw a maroon SMB on our way back into town.
Prior to this trip, I installed the Scangauge. With the gauge, I started to notice the narrow separation of the EOT and ECT... but I figured it was just the hilly terrain- I never had much steady-state throttle conditions.
Still a great trip!