| Exploring the Washington Cascade Mountains Exploring mines, ghost towns, and abandoned railroads. |
| June 27-30 2003 |
| Last Update: February 18, 2005 |
| For Four days, my friend John and I, using my truck, explored several mining areas of the eastern Washington Cascades as well as ghost towns, abandoned railroad tunnels, tracks and trestles, and one fire lookout. This trip was one of the most interesting so far. |
| Friday, Day 1 Saturday, Day 2 Sunday, Day 3 Monday, Day 4 |
| Day One - June 27, 2003 |
| On this trip, John and I would explore the Cascade Mountains up north in the great state of Washington. Washington may not contain some of the vast remote areas of southeastern Oregon, but it does contain just as much, if not more history to explore. Especially old railroads and mines. On this trip, we spent only a little time off roading. Most of our adventures that took us off road, required that we mountain bike or hike into areas that were gated to vehicles. Exploring these harder to reach areas, rewarded us with numerous interesting sites to explore. On most of our trips, we leave the night before and drive for several hours, so that we are within a few hours reach of our first destination by the morning of the first full day of the trip. Unfortunately, we were unable to leave Portland until the morning of the first day. After not being able to leave until late morning, we spent a good deal most of the day driving from Portland to our general area of exploration. Our initial destination would take us to the Liberty and Blewett Mining areas of the eastern Washington Cascades. But we had one detour to take in an effort to find a long ago abandoned railroad tunnel in Boyleston, Washington. What we would find would greatly surprise us. To reach this area of Washington from Portland, Oregon, we drove east on Hwy 84 and then headed north from Biggs Junctions on Hwy 97. Driving through the Columbia gorge is very scenic. The area of Biggs junction, well passed the scenic gorge, is mostly rolling desert hills and is somewhat featureless. We gassed up in Biggs and then crossed over the Columbia River into Washington. It was hot as hell and not having air conditioning would soon wear on us as it would throughout the trip. Soon we would cross into the Yakima Indian Reservation, although you might never know it. Just as other reservations I've driven on, there are never any signs to indicate that you've entered or left a reservation. I've always wondered why. In the city of Union Gap, just south of Yakima, we again gassed up and pressed on to our first major destination. |
| The view from the truck of the eastern half of the Columbia Gorge |
| Just north of Yakima, we noticed what appeared to be smoke from a fire brewing just off the highway. We then saw a giant Chinook Helicopter making water drops onto the area. While we never saw the actual flames of the fire, we were able to get some nice shots of the Helicopter, which you can see here. |
| A Chinook Helicopter fighting a fire just north of Yakima, Washington. The fire appeared to be inside or near a local park. We couldn't see the fire itself, but it was probably a brush fire. |
| These two pictures taken by John. |
| The abandoned railroad trestle and tunnel near Boyleston |
| The Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad was a major railroad that ran through the state of Washington from 1910 until it went out of business in 1980. In Washington, it ran from Seattle and crossed into Idaho just south of Spokane. From there it did indeed pass through Milwaukee and St. Paul. During its Washington route it crossed into two major tunnels. The Snoquomia tunnel, which is 2.25 miles long and a much lesser known Johnson Creek tunnel, near Boyleston. The Snoquomia tunnel is open for the public to ride bikes through and does see a lot of tourist traffic since it's fairly close to Seattle. But the Boyleston tunnel (Sometimes called the Johnson Creek Tunnel) is in a very remote area and is difficult to reach if you don't know exactly where you are going and have permission to get there. The Boyleston tunnel is about 1/2 mile long. When we drove within a few miles of the tunnel area on I-90, we were surprised to find a giant abandoned railroad trestle that crossed over Hwy 90. The area is mostly vast farm land and empty desert. This trestle was most interesting, because of its sheer size and height. It is completely intact, except for the missing top deck, tracks and railroad ties. The concrete abutments were marked 1910, which is consistent with the year when the railroad first laid tracks in Washington. The design of the bridge is consistent with other steel railroad bridges that I've seen that were built between 1900 and 1920, so I would imagine it is the original structure. It is amazing that this structure still stands today. Not because it is in any danger of falling down, as it looked just as sturdy as the day it was built. But the fact is, most abandoned trestles are torn down. Thankfully, this one remains and anyone driving Hwy 90 between Ellensburg and the Columbia river will pass right underneath it. Reaching the trestle was no easy task however. Highway 90 is an Interstate with no off ramps near the trestle. We repeatedly drove up and down the highway, until we located an off ramp several miles west of the trestle. We then followed the old roads into the back country eventually making our way to and old road that ran to the trestle itself. |
| The trestle over Hwy 90. Only the ties and tracks are missing. Built in 1910. Note the old telephone and power poles in the far right picture. The lack of wires indicate that they too were abandoned. |
| This very interesting picture of the trestle was taken on August 16, 1978, 2 years before it was abandoned. The 2nd locomotive from the front is painted in Bicentennial colors from 1976. Photo courtesy of Larry Bowman |
| While exploring the trestle, we noticed that newer fencing was put up indicating that the entire area was a U.S. Army training ground and off limits. We wondered if this would prevent us from continuing on to Boyleston and exploring the tunnel. As it turned out, it almost did. Just up the road past the tunnel we found a busted open gate and numerous warning signs not to enter the property. The signs seemed to indicate that visitors were allowed only with expressed permission. I called the number on the sign and the Army desk Sgt. told me that he wasn't sure where I was, but he couldn't give me permission to enter. He also seemed alarmed when I informed him that their gate was busted open, saying that he would have to send MPs to the area. I said thank you and hung up very disappointed. Only 4 miles ahead was a very interesting abandoned railroad tunnel that we desperately wanted to visit and photograph. I decided to give it one more try and called a second time. I explained that the signs indicated that visitors were allowed if we just checked in. I told him that I understood if we would not be allowed entry, but that we only wanted to photograph the tunnel. He then relented and gave us permission. No activity was taking place on the training grounds that day but we were instructed not to remain after dark. So I thanked them and we continued on down the road. The road is passable by car, but the gravel rock used was extremely large. If you travel this road, be careful. It's more suited for the larger tires of a truck, than a car. |
| The warning signs we encountered at the main gate. These were only some of the signs as others were placed on the opposite side of the road. This is a U.S. Army training range. Public access is allowed only by permission and not after dark. |
| After driving for several miles, we finally came upon the closest parking spot to where the tunnel existed. We would have to hike a few hundred feet to get to the tunnel itself. The first thing I noticed was how barren the area was. The old USGS maps, which date to the 1950s indicated that a few buildings existed here. After all, this was the town site of Boyleston. But not even a sign of any building existed. There was no one around for many miles around us. We hiked down the dirt road that used to be the rail bed. The railroad builders open cut into the hill for as far as they could before finally tunneling into the hillside. Once upon the tunnel entrance, the sheer size of the tunnel was amazing. But obviously, large trains had to pass through it. The tunnel is approximately a 1/2 mile long and almost completely straight and level. Once inside, we noticed how the concrete is deteriorating from the sides of the wall and ceiling in places. It was not dangerous by any means, but almost 70 years of trains passing through this tunnel obviously had some effect. About 100 yards into the tunnel, the concrete disappeared and the solid rock was completely exposed. The builders apparently determined that concrete was only needed at the entrances as solid rock alone was enough to hold it all up in the middle. However, we did notice some wood bracing used shore up part of the center section of the tunnel, most likely added in later years and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. The tunnel was very dark and flashlights are mandatory if you want to see anything inside. Foliage and the dirt rail bed was more narrow. Along the way, I found one of the few remaining railroad spikes, left over from the railroad. We also noticed several spent M-16 cartridges. We knew these were used during the Army training exercises, because they were the blank type cartridges. I'm sure the Army has used this tunnel in many valuable training scenarios. This section of the railroad was electrified, which meant that for a period of time, electric trains powered by overhead wires, until the last few years of operation. The Pacific Division was electrified from Seattle/Tacoma east to Othello. From Othello to Avery Idaho it was not, using instead, steam and later diesel power. Milwaukee employees referred to this section as "The Gap". From Avery East across the Bitterroots, Rockies and the Belt Mountains to Harlowton Montana was electric as well. From Harlowton East to Chicago and Milwaukee was steam and later diesel. Special thanks to Jim Davis for the correction. I have a new page that I'm currently working on that will display all my Milwaulkee Road Photos. |
| Parking a few hundred yards from the tunnel entrance at the Boyleston town site. Nothing remains of Boyleston and today, mostly only Humvees travel these parts as it now an Army training ground. In the picture on the right (taken by John) you can see the railroad grade and one of the few stands of trees in the area marking the site of Boyleston. |
| Looking inside the west entrance. |
| Looking at the west tunnel entrance near the Boyleston town site. Nothing indicates what year the tunnel was built, but I'm sure it was around 1910 along with the rest of the railroad. |
| Coming out the east entrance. Even though you could see each end of the tunnel, we needed lights to make our way through. |
| The east entrance. The dense brush is contrasted by the barren west entrance. A stream run downs the sides of the old rail bed. |
| One of the few, if not last, remaining railroad spikes in the area. No others were found. |
| Picture by John. The tunnel was only reinforced by concrete for a few hundred feet at each end. The rest was open rock. |
| Picture by John. The east entrance. |
| Picture by John. The tunnel floor was bare of any rails or ties. It looked as if it had been graded to allow for vehicle traffic at one time. Probably by the Army for it's training. |
| Picture by John. The only exception to the open rock was this wood bracing about 50 feet long found about half way through the tunnel. |
| As we began to leave the area, the sun was setting and our day was about to end. Our next destination was the Liberty mine area, not too far away. We decided to head there and make camp for the night. Liberty is a very small old mining town located about 25 miles north of Ellensburg just off of Hwy 97. Once in the area, and once we crossed into National Forest land, we drove up a long logging spur road and camped for the night. This concludes our first day of the adventure. |
| Copyright © 2003 Brian McCamish, All Rights Reserved Note about the photos & content on this site: Most photos were taken by me. I usually allow people to use my photos for personal use or websites. Simply Email me. I may not have authority to grant permission regarding some photos that were only loaned to me by others specifically for this website. Every effort has been made not to include other's photos without the proper permission and credits, however, if you see any photos which belong to you and that I don't have permission to use, I apologize. If you send me an Email, I will remove the photos immediately or give proper credit, which ever you wish |
| Picture by John. Entering total darkness. Note the scorched roofs. From more than 80 years of steam engine and diesel engine traffic. |