Wenas Wildlife Area Exploring Run (Sept 12th, 09)

[Ceg_]

Not much of a 4x4 area this time of year. Add rain or snow parts could get real challenging.

Wenas Wildlife Area Exploring Run
September 12th, 2009

On September 12th, 2009 we meet up at the Sheep Company Road entrance.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-01.jpg

Only two rigs on this run, Craigen's and mine. CentalGrand rode shot-gun in my rig. My three little boys and puppy came too.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-02.jpg

We use Bell Tel. Road to get up on Umtanum Ridge. We turned on Durr to drop off the North Slope.
Here is looking down toward Ellensburg.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-03.jpg

At Umtanum Creek we stopped for a break.
We saw something standing on the ridge above us.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-04.jpg

There were some goats looking down at us.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-05.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-06.jpg

Odo trying to cross the water without falling in. Kind of in a strange way.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-07.jpg

Trouble x 4.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-08.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-09.jpg

After a short break we headed on up the ridge. The goats just watched up drive on by.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-10.jpg

At the end of Durr Road we turned up the Ellensburg Pass.
A few miles down the gravel road we turned off onto Hanson Pond Road.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-11.jpg

Hanson Pond.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-12.jpg

We worked out way up Manastash Ridge to the observatory.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-13.jpg

We lucked out that there was a guy there that offered us a tour of the observatory.
The basement area had bedrooms.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-14.jpg

Heading upstairs to see the telescope.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-15.jpg

This was upstairs.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-16.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-17.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-18.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-19.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-20.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-21.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-22.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-23.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-24.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-25.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-26.jpg

There are rooms between floors.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-27.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-28.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-29.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-30.jpg

Back on the bottom floor.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-31.jpg

Our group of the day.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-32.jpg

Looking at Mt. Rainier from the Manastash Ridge Observatory.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-33.jpg

Looking back at the towers on Durr road we had pasted earlier.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-34.jpg

We turned on Mud Flats Road and headed down to the North Fork Wenas Road.
After getting on the pavement I started looking for a Green Dot to take us back up onto Umtanum Ridge.
Later I found out I missed the first Green Dot road which I though was this one. This was is call Black Canyon Road.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-35.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-36.jpg

Here we found out this Green Dot road stops.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-38.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-37.jpg

We headed on down North Fork Wenas Road toward Wenas Lake.
We turned off onto Hessier Flats Road.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-39.jpg

We turned onto Kelley Hollow Road. At the top we stopped for a break.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/12-40.jpg

Next we turned onto the Ridge Road and then back down Durr road to go back home.

This was a fun day thanks to the people who came.

[Ceg_]

Wenas Wildlife Area Exploring Run - Part II
September 13th, 2009

On September 13th, 2009 after the Jeeping Nomads 4x4 Swap meet in Yakima I came home to a hot house. I talked the wife into going for a drive in the 99 XJ that has air conditioning.
We headed out toward the end of the North Wenas Rd. to find the Green Dot road I missed the day before.

We found the entrance near the end of the pavement.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-01.jpg

There was no big yellow sign like the other area.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-02.jpg

On up around the bend there was a gate.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-03.jpg

Working our way up the ridge we found this sign facing the way we just came from.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-04.jpg

Up on top of the Umtanum Ridge we could see the Manastash Ridge Observatory.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-05.jpg

Zoom in view.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-06.jpg

Looking at the road ahead.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-07.jpg

The view to the right, Cleman Mountain.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-08.jpg

On up the road we found the top of Black Canyon. To bad the road did not still go through.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-09.jpg

http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-10.jpg

Up near Kelley Hollow Rd. we came up to the back side of a "No unauthorized vehicles" sign.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-11.jpg

We were on the Green Dot road so the sign must have been for an old road across the brush.
http://www.aworc.com/event-reports/2009/09/Wenas-Wildlife-Area/13-12.jpg

We headed on. We dropped down Durr Rd. to the Sheep Company entrance and then headed home.

This was a fun trip. I would like to see this area with snow on it. It would be very challenging.

A special thanks to JayW and SuperGlock for the info on the road I could not find on the first day out.