WABDR (and JL) Review

[MPTee]

I just finished a solo run on the Washington BDR - 4 days on the trail, 697 miles (with a few wrong turns, re-routes, and explorations), great views, and very worth doing. I was running a block stock 2022 Rubicon diesel unlimited. I used the lockers a few times, but I think a stock Sport or Sahara could do it if you had another rig with you for insurance. Or a winch.
I didn't have any clearance issues, straddling any ruts that were too big to run.

Section 1 and 2 were flat gravel roads with lots of camping areas - no problem running these at all.

Section 3 had a few spots that would be worth having a friend along. One short hill climb of 18 degrees up 6" rip rap rocks was no problem with my rear locker engaged. Another spot with a 23 degree slant was fun but no real challenge for the rig.

Section 4 traveled through miles of burned forest - the regeneration that has already begun was incredible. A few washouts on the trail (along the edge of a cliff) made me pucker and use 4 Low and both lockers for the first time. The worst one was a 24 degree climb with a 13 degree twist (toward the cliff) that I would definitely want a spotter, extra rig, or a little help on next time. (I bought my nose camera for these things, but the breakover was so severe that it only showed where I hoped to end up - not the entire trail!). There were other tire tracks going through so I knew it was doable.

Sections 5 and 6 had the best views. Easy trails but highly recommended.
I used the BDR map and GAIA for navigation. Mostly worked, with a bit of guess work. Others on the trail recommended On-X.
I was in 4 Hi for 97% of the 697 mile trail and got an actual 20.9 mpg in the diesel. On the 350 mile trip home (over 4 mountain passes and several traffic passes) I got an actual 28.8 mpg. Incredible.

Highly recommend doing the trail or any portion of it. See our state, get some dirt time, test your vehicle, and have a blast. Not as much wildlife as I've seen in the past, but I did see lots of deer and elk, a bobcat, and the tail of what I believe was a cougar. And lots of birds. Going to sleep to the sound of bugling elk and howling coyotes was nice. I doubt that there was any place where I couldn't find a camping spot within 5 miles - guerilla, dispersed, or campground, and there were plenty of hotels along the route. Do it.

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[jlcalifornia]

wow, looks incredible, thanks for the review.

 

[Murphydog]

haven't done the entire trail, but have done the middle sections in both my Jeep and prior my Ram 1500. That washout you have in the picture above got my full attention when I drove through in my truck, and was shocked that nothing scraped or bumped. Need to get back up this year before the weather changes

 

[MPTee]

I'll bet that was an interesting spot in the truck. Not a lot of room for error.

 

[Left Field]

Great write-up, thanks!

I set out on the WABDR last summer ('21), but due to the fires we had to modify 3 of the 6 sections, two of them in real time as barricades showed up during the day as we traveled. Your trip log is a nice reminder that I've got some unfinished business

Some of the alternate turned out to as a pretty nice choice, an example might be a section of the Naches trail.

If you happen to be looking for another nearby BDR, I ran the Idaho BDR in early August - A ton of really impressive views, mining areas, ghost towns, wildlife. Fuel was sometimes hard to come by.

LF

 

[MPTee]

Good info - thanks. I just figured out how to load the Idaho BDR onto my GAIA. It won't be as adventures as trying to navigate via maps and reckoning, but I should be able to travel more efficiently. If weather holds and my time allows I'll give it a shot before the snow hits.

I frequent the trails of Hwy 410, but have never actually ran the entire Naches trail. It's on my list - thanks for the reminder.

 

[MeatRack]

@MPT Great write up. I don't have my jeep yet but I went out with a buddy on section 3 (or 4) through the recovering forest fire and the washout. My buddy was glad I could spot him on the washout. My build log has the write up and a link to some pics. Your post has me super stoked to get my jeep and hit the WBCDR! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Left Field]

I've been running Gaia for the BDRs and much of my recent off road travel; on the latest trip (today) I for the first time ditched my Garmin, usually I have both running. My $650 Garmin doesn't hold a candle to Gaia in my view.

Did a Hwy 410 area run today - Copper City, which was very cool, then an untried section of the Naches trail, which included Naches Pass. Heaven help you if you ever meet another vehicle on the Copper City run. Both were capable of keeping my full attention but were done with no skid plate or body contact. Great fall colors too. I'll be headed back in the spring to pick up the rest of Naches and sections 2 & 3 of the WABDR.

As far as the JLUR, really happy with it on these tight trails. The short turning radius helps a lot, the 8 speed transmission works great in 4H or 4L, the front camera was really helpful to see nose-over drop offs and on bridge centering when the windshield view was limited.

If you have other 410 area trails you'd recommend I'd be interested

LF

Good info - thanks. I just figured out how to load the Idaho BDR onto my GAIA. It won't be as adventures as trying to navigate via maps and reckoning, but I should be able to travel more efficiently. If weather holds and my time allows I'll give it a shot before the snow hits.

I frequent the trails of Hwy 410, but have never actually ran the entire Naches trail. It's on my list - thanks for the reminder.

 

[MPTee]

I mostly just do logging roads with great views off 410.
Copper City sounds great and near by. Do you have a recommended direction of travel on it?

 

[Left Field]

Copper City is an out and back, so to minimize chances of meeting someone we did it early in the morning / weekday / off-season. When we got to the bottom it was just after noon and we met another Jeep airing down in preparation for heading in.

To get to the upper mine there is a 1/4-1/2 mile hike. If you spend some time looking around it would be easy to spend 2-3 hours in and out. There are some write-ups on Copper City on the Washington Trails website. Also a video on the forum linked by @OldGreen :
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/copper-city-washington.60031/

LF

I mostly just do logging roads with great views off 410.
Copper City sounds great and near by. Do you have a recommended direction of travel on it?

 

[Murphydog]

Quick question for the group, anybody run Fortune Creek this year? Given that Sunday may be dry I was thinking of checking it out before winter snows really get here

 

[Left Field]

Quick question for the group, anybody run Fortune Creek this year? Given that Sunday may be dry I was thinking of checking it out before winter snows really get here

I've been thinking about a Gallagher run too, but probably out of clock for this season. A couple of recent comments were posted on WashingtonOffRoadTrail; some excerpts:

9/30/22 "Went up to Gallagher Lake using Fortune Creek, but used NF-160 on the way down. Rubicon, 35s, 2.5 lift. Don't think I was ever very close to dragging but I was careful with wheel placement."

8/22 "The trail was very fun and somewhat challenging at times. I completed the trail solo on a weekend in my 2011 Land Cruiser. The car is currently on 33" BFG KO2's and a 2" lift, so nothing crazy. I accessed the second part of the trail and I would definitely label this area as medium to medium-hard when compared to the first part of the trail. I consider the trail split in two halves by FR160. There were quite a few rutted out areas and quite a few off camber spots in the second part of the trail. A decent uphill area with loose rocks came at the end."

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