Whitehorse to California

Camping has always meant canoe or backpacking trips for us - even car camping with our tent felt like a guilty luxury. We briefly considered just using the tent on the US part of our trip, but in the end decided that sleeping in a tent for  2 1/2 months on the road with the dogs wasn't a good option. Actually, I briefly considered tent camping, and Cyd quickly decided that wasn't an option.


So we bought a trailer. After looking at different options, we settled on a T@b teardrop trailer. We found a 2009 white and yellow T@b for sale on Vancouver Island, and thanks to our friend Rob arranging an informal inspection and then storing the trailer, we bought it without even seeing it in person. Then another friend Isaac delivered the trailer from Vancouver Island all the way to Whitehorse. I'm sure there will be some significant payback required in the future for both of them.

Out for a short test drive before the big trip.

While we'd already been off work for some time, it felt like our adventure really started when we left Whitehorse on August 17th. We drove through BC quite quickly as we'd driven much of the route before, and the US was the real destination this trip. We did have a short stop in Vancouver so Cyd could dash off her first half marathon with her running (and dog walking, and wine drinking etc.) buddy Susan, then we crossed the border into Washington on August 24th.

We decided to leave the coast for another time, and drove east on Highway  20 through North Cascades National Park.

The drive through North Cascades National Park.

After heading south to Yakima, we went east on Highway 12 through  the Mount Baker-Snowqualmie National Forest and stopped in Packwood for our first hike. This was the first chance to test out Gulliver's knee since his injury so we did a short 2 day, 24 km hike up to Goat Lake in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Nice hike, not too strenuous (Gully passed the fitness test with flying colours), and there were even goats! The trail and camping area at Goat Lake was busier than we were used to in the Yukon, but we would have to get used to that for the rest of our trip.

Heading towards Goat Lake.

A room with a view just below Goat Lake with Mt. Adams
barely visible in the background.

The hike back down Goat Ridge.

Next up was a couple of days in the Colombia River Gorge where we camped at a great campground at Ainsworth State Park. Gorge is a bit of a misnomer really, as the area feels more like a deep river valley, but it's a great place to explore nonetheless. There were numerous waterfalls spilling into the valley within a short distance of our campground, most with easy trails for great viewing access. We headed up to the town of Hood River twice - once to visit one of several brewpubs in town, and again for a tasting at one of the local wineries. Combine that with some of the best windsurfing and kite boarding going, and Hood River is a great place to visit.

Upper Horsetail Falls.

Multnomah Falls.

From the Gorge, we headed west to Portland. We didn't plan to spend much time in large cities during our trip. Driving with the trailer was more challenging in busy traffic, cities aren't the greatest place for the dogs, and Cyd and I aren't really city people anyway. We made an exception for Portland because of all the great things we'd heard and read.It was worth it. More brewpubs than any city in the country, great food carts sprinkled around the city, fantastic coffee shops, and a strong commitment to sustainability. I've always said that Vancouver is my favourite big city to visit and it still is, but Portland is now right up there.

After Portland we continued west to the Oregon coast. Highway 101 runs the length of Oregon's coast from Astoria down to Brookings. We joined it at the cheese capital of Tillamook. The Oregon coast was a real highlight. The scenery is spectacular - tall forests running down to high rocky points (heads) overlookimg the ocean, with beautiful sand beaches in between. There aren't really any cities along the coast, just a mix of fishing villages and small resort towns.  It's difficult to drive more than 20 minutes without hitting another great Oregon State Park.

Looking north on the Oregon coast.

Walking the Oregon Dunes.

We'd scheduled 4 days to do the 800 km drive, took 5, and could have happily spent a few weeks there. We walked beautiful beaches, hiked to amazing ocean viewpoints, visited historic lighthouses and enjoyed charming towns. Cyd had to wait patiently numerous times as I browsed the window listings of local real estate offices.

Cape Blanco lighthouse.

We grudgingly left Oregon to visit the Redwood State and National Parks near Crescent City California. We camped in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, home to some of the most impressive redwood groves on the coast. These giant trees had been growing for a thousand years and 95% of them had been cut down before a few far sighted individuals began the campaign to protect the remaining forest. At the end of two days of hiking through the redwoods, I couldn't help but move quickly through the "smaller" trees only 8 or 10 feet in diameter to try to find the next big one.

Cyd the tree hugger.