Manashtash Ridge & Rimrock Lake - July 08
PART I: story and photos by Maxwell Balmain
Its becoming a tradition: the annual Rimrock Lake trip brings fun and adventure but at a cost: getting stuck, mechanical problems and even rollovers...
This trip took on an extra dimension when part of the group decided to leave on Wednesday and get in some extra wheeling up the Manashtash Ridge prior to the Rimrock trails on the weekend. Todd, Alan and Alex left early and made camp alongside the creek at Taneum Junction near Cle Elum. Later on Max, Andy and Gary (Andy's dad) made camp as well.
Thursday was a bright, clear sunny day: perfect for wheeling in the mountains. There are a lot of trails up and around the Manashtash Ridge. The group had plenty of time and no real agenda so we set out for running up the ridge. All went well until we took the one way trip down to Lost Lake, supposedly for a "relaxed lunch" by the water. This is where the real "fun" began...
Heading down the the lake was a slow downhill event that had the six of us winding down through the trees. Passing through the gaps was a classic northwest "short wheel base" event. Once lower down the trail we came to the edge of the lake itself. The trail at this time presented no real obstacles but at times was very off camber as the ground sloped from the high side down to the water on the right.
Passing through the trees became the real challenge however. Get too close on the right and kiss your windshield frame goodbye. It looked simple enough, but it was a slow tippy kind of operation. Even the open sections were interesting: it took careful handling to fight off the forces of gravity. Near the end Gary's Jeep lost traction and quickly slid off the trail into the bush on the edge of the water. With help from Todd and Alan with the winch cable Gary managed to get his rig on the trail again.
There was one last passageway through two trees and then lunch. While threading through the two trees Max was focused on avoiding damage to the upper windshield on the right but got the front driver's side tire just a bit too high on the left tree root ball. Next thing he knew Max was up and over and about three quarters sideways with the hood smashed into the tree on the right. Strange feeling of it happening in slow motion but it took only a second. Once the roll began there was nothing Max could do but "experience" the crunch. While perched against the tree at a near sideways angle Max considered getting out and crawling down and out through the lower gap (and grabbing his camera for the prime "photo opportunity") on the passenger side, but thought better of that idea in case any movement shifted the FJ40 downwards even more.
The guys winched Max back down on all tires and he limped through the trees. Once on the other side he got out to inspect the ugly damage to his hood. A minute later a big roar went up from the others: Todd had done the very same thing!!! Flipped over on his side completely! Talk about a bad couple of minutes. Both were not hurt though.
Even though Max did not flop over completely there was more severe damage to his hood than Todd. The top of Todd's radiator got bent over though and he had to rig up extra gaskets from some old inner tubing. As bad as the damage to both hoods were it was confined only to the hoods. The passenger fender and cowling etc all escaped injury. But, flopping, even at extremely slow speed, really sucks...
Once Todd's rig was back on all four wheels the group took a timeout, had a cold beer and ate lunch. Heading back through this same section was a slow tense journey, especially through the trees again. The rest of the day was fun with no issues other than a little oil leaking from Max's oil pan and and a few hot radiators. The group then headed back down to Rt 410 and camped next to the Little Naches River.
In the morning Alan had issues with his alternator (worn bearings on the stock unit this time) but managed to call John who was coming down with the others for the Rimrock section of the trip. Getting hold of John was crucial: the plan was for him to stop by Alan's garage and pick up a spare alternator. Max headed back to Seattle while the rest of the group headed directly down to Rimrock Lake to wait for the others who were coming down on Friday night.
PART II: story by Todd Bull
Friday's run from Whistlin' Jack's to Rimrock along Bethel Ridge was a long, slow, dusty trip. As soon as we left Hwy 410, Alan's alternator locked up and smoked the belt, so he ran the rest of that day on just the battery. Then, the first couple of trails that we chose trying to reach Bethel Ridge turned out to be dead-ends, which wasted a lot of time and fuel. Eventually, though, we reached Rimrock and found a decent camp along the South Fork Tieton River. John, Mitch and Justin, Tor, and Sondre joined us in camp later that evening.
Tor had brought along a spare 60 series alternator for Alan, so on Saturday morning we got that installed and hooked up. The wheeling was pretty exciting on Saturday and Sunday. We headed up towards Blue Lake on a trail from the west side of the ridge Saturday morning. It was a typical trail for the area; tight, very steep in places, occasionally off-camber, with that mix of loose powder and rocks that makes for poor traction. Just a mile or two in, Sondre lost the rear drive shaft flange on his Jeep. Gary generously (very generously) volunteered to run back out with Sondre on the trail that we had just covered and help him get to Yakima for parts. The plan was for them to fix the Jeep, if possible, and take the FS roads from Yakima up to Blue Lake. Well, the first hill back up the trail was loose and very steep. Gary got sideways and was in danger of rolling to the bottom, so Tor, Andy, and I went back to help out as the rest of the group continued up trail. After some winching to the side, we got Gary straightened out and he climbed the rest of way up that hill. Sondre had to be winched up the entire way by Tor, which took an hour or more. From the top of that hill, we figured that the rest of the trail back was not too tough, so Tor, Andy, and I wished Gary and Sondre good luck and headed up to catch the main group. As it turned out, Gary and Sondre had a very difficult time getting back to the FS road, with Sondre's rear diff grinding up ring and pinion chunks and locking up the rear wheels intermittently the whole way down.
Tor, Andy, and I continued up the trail to Blue Lake without incident. The rest of the group was resting by the lake when we arrived and we camped there for the night. It wasn't the best camp we've set up, but it wasn't the worst. There were a lot of mosquitos and lots of dust, but there was plenty of wood for the fire and good level tent sites. Amazingly, Rob, Amanda, and the kids showed up later in the evening and brought a fresh supply of beer (we had been running a little low). With the exception of the McGarty family, we were all pretty tired and dirty, so it was a short evening.
In the morning, we said goodbye to Rob and his family and headed east on the ridge, planning to drop back down to the Tieton Road between the lake and Hwy 12. Most of the ridge trail is uneventful, except for the spectacular views of Rainier and the clouds of dust. We did stop at the top of the ridge for a bit to take in the panoramic views of Rimrock Lake, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and the rest of the Cascades. Continuing down the trail, we eventually got to the narrow, off-camber, steep trails that lead down off the ridge. It was difficult in places and there were a few high-adrenaline spots. I don't know about everyone else in the group, but Alex and I both managed to tip over into a certain tree on the right side of a steep downhill turn that kept us from rolling down the rest of the way. If it wasn't for the tree and our rollbars, we'd have had some major carnage. Eventually, we came to the last obstacle before the FS road. It was the steep, loose hill, with an S-curve in the middle where we had done some winching a few years before. It was in an area that we've come to know as Mosquito Lake. The mosquitos in this place are thick and you spend the entire time there swatting at them and getting bit. Some of the guys made it up the hill without problem and some of us took a rope after losing traction in the loose dirt and rocks. All in all, it probably took an hour to get us all over this one small, miserable, mosquito-infested dirt pile.
Somehow, Andy's SM465 jammed during that last hill climb and he was left with only his granny 1st gear. We stopped just beyond Mosquito Lake for him to work on the truck. At that point, Mitch, Justin, and Tor said goodbye and headed home while John, Alan, Alex, and I stuck around to help and console Andy the best we could. Andy tore out his seats and tranny hump, and tried to pop the tranny top cover to line up the shift forks, but was unable to get the tranny cover off. So, after an hour or two, Andy reassembled his truck, coasted down to level pavement, and then was towed to Hwy 12 by Alex. Once at Hwy 12, Andy called his Dad for assistance. Alan and I headed home. John stayed with Andy to work out the final recovery arrangements over his cell phone while Alex made a beer run to the local stop-and-rob.
Eventually, John and Alex said goodbye and Andy settled into his hammock with a cold beer to wait for his tow home. He and his Dad got the ailing truck home early the next morning.
All in all, it was a good trip. None of the damage was too serious and everybody got home without injury. Now it's time to plan for next year's trip