We’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time. This was our first longer trip, 7+ hours towing, and our first time crossing any major mountain pass with our little Bessie behind us. I think I just named our trailer. I’m OK with that. We’ll see what the wife thinks.
The trailer is ~32 feet long overall and weighs in at just over 7,000lbs unloaded. So, needless to say, it weighs quite a bit more after all our assorted “stuff” is loaded up. We tow with a half ton Dodge Ram 1500 so we don’t have a lot of headroom. Weight is always something I have to keep in the back of mind. The truck has airbags front and back, a 3.92 rear end and can pull over 11,000lbs. The payload is quite tight, however. Payload is the weight that the truck can carry, including passengers, cargo and the weight the trailer exerts on the rear end of the truck, called tongue weight. Let’s just say we’re close.
The trip across Washington state was more a test than anything for me. I’ve towed this trailer, the only one I’ve ever pulled, about six times now. Every time I’ve gotten more confident and things seem easier, more relaxed. We’ve never crossed a mountain pass before though so I was more than a little anxious.
The trip went well for the most part with the exception of crazy high sidewinds in Ellensburg and a rogue wind gust right before George that threatened to push us into a guard rail sitting between us and the precipice of a cliff. All in all, a very relaxing trip! Thank goodness we made it through safe and those moments accounted for a very small percentage of the time spent on the road. While you always want to check the weather before trips, the longer the trip is the harder it is to account for everything.
Heading up into the mountains was next. This was what I was worried about more than anything else. We’ve made this drive countless times without the weight behind us but I’ve read horror stories about overheating transmissions and fading breaks. I like to be able to shift gears and stop. I know right?
This Dodge is one hell of a truck. I am in no way affiliated with Ram; I just REALLY love this truck. It is a beast for a half ton. Combined gross vehicle weight is about 15,000lbs and the truck pulled it all up into the mountains like it was nothing! Sure, there are other trucks that can handle 2 or 3 times the weight but this truck is mine and I love it.
I set the adaptive cruise control to about 55 mph so the truck didn’t have to work too hard and I just kicked back and relaxed. The gauges hardly moved past the center tick on all accounts. On the trip down the other side of the mountains the truck automatically shifted the transmission to use the compression from the motor to avoid break use and hardly touched the breaks at all while keeping the transmission temp at a reasonable level. I could not have asked for more.
Well… Maybe less traffic? We moved to the other side of Washington State to get away from this but it’s all our fault. We chose to drive west.
It was stop and go through Fife, WA on a Saturday at 1PM. I should have known better. Adaptive cruise control FTW though. Just sat back and manned the wheel.
After some nasty traffic that went all the way to S 38th we finally hit HWY 16 and our old stomping grounds in Kitsap County. The place has not changed a bit since we left. It felt like I still lived there and I was just heading to the store.
Belfair was just around the corner and, after 7.5 hours in the truck, we were ready!
Belfair State Park is located at the very inside tip of the south end of the Hood Canal, just east of the Olympic National Forrest. Trees, trees and more trees. It’s about an 8 minute drive from Downtown Belfair which is very convenient when you run out of propane, hotdogs or scotch! The last one being the more important of the three when camping, of course.
The campground is beautiful and most sites offer some privacy with full hookups for 30 and 50 amp, water and sewer. Out site was surrounded by some amazing old growth trees towering at least 130 feet in the air and the most amazing maple tree EVER. It’s canopy covered our large pull through site, the one next door and the road. We had some light rain the next day and we hardly knew it due to the tree’s canopy over our heads.
The only caveat is the site was literally right next to the main road and our only buffer was a tall wood fence. We could see the tops of larger vehicles driving by and the noise was less that conducive to a camping experience where you want to be out in nature.
It was a shame because, if not for the road, the site would have been PERFECT! More later on why we chose this site and how to avoid this!
We got settled in, started a fire and unwound from our drive. Family was showing up the next day so we had to get ready for that and I think we both completely passed out on the couch!
The next day all of T’s family showed up for Mother Day’s day. It’s been a while since we’ve seen them after we moved so it was amazing to reconnect.
We hung out around the fire, had some great BBQ and caught up.
The next day we explored a little. We walked through the campground and found that the canal and beach were very close!
Unfortunately, we were not going to be getting any shell fish. The season ends on April 31st and starts up again on August 1st. We’ll be heading this way again in the beginning of September. We may have to take a drive here then.
There were a lot of sites right on the water with some literally just a stone’s throw from the beach! I originally wanted one of these sites but all were reserved. Word to the wise, when making plans, reserve as far ahead of time as possible. If you don’t then you get a site right on the road where you get to augment your smores with crotchrockets and diesel pickups at 50 mph! Some campgrounds allow reservations up to 12 months in advance, some shorter time spans. A good rule of thumb is plan next year while camping this season and get the reservations as soon as allowable.
The tide was all the way out when we took our walk and revealed a gigantic bed of sea biome that I am sure was rife with clams and oysters. There were rangers on hand watching closely to make sure no one was taking shellfish.
We also found a little brook that flowed through the campground and read that salmon actually swim up it during season to spawn! They even have campsites a little further up from the beach that are directly on the brook.
That evening another friend showed for dinner, bringing with him a wonderful bottle of Japanese whisky to enjoy. Not sure what you call Japanese whisky. If you noticed the e in whiskey was omitted and that’s the only way I know to denote Japanese scotch. Only scotch from Scotland is technically scotch. Maybe one day someone will enlighten me.
With the Japanese “scotch” we had ribeye steaks, corn on the cob and some leftovers from Mom’s day, Thank you Sue!
Good drink should always be shared with good friends. I think camping is the same. So far, this trip was amazing! our best yet.
The next morning it was time to break camp and reluctantly head home. It’s always so hard to willingly return to a 5 day work week and the humdrum that is everyday life but we will always have our next trip to look forward to! Next month will be Winchester State Park in Idaho! We can’t wait!
Here are some photos from our UNEVENTFUL and mostly wind free trip home.
The area, campground and amenities at Belfair State Park are great! We would definitely stay here again. Just stay away from the north end of the campground unless you enjoy road noise!
Resources:
Belfair State Park is a public recreation area located on Hood Canal three miles southwest of Belfair in Mason County, Washington. The state park consists of 94 acres of tidal flats, wetlands, and beaches with a 3,720-foot shoreline.
Address: 3151 WA-300, Belfair, WA 98528
J & T's Adventures 