Elbe Hills ORV Area has a reputation that precedes it. It is well
known as an area where you can really put your winch to the test.
After my first visit, I have to say that Elbe lives up to it's reputation
as a nasty, metal bending, muddy, tight and sloppy mess. I had the opportunity to tag along with the Bonney Lake Amphibious Swamp
Thangs (B.L.A.S.T.) Jeep club for a little
wheeling fun.
The conditions were wet, very wet. We woke up Saturday morning to
falling snow and got out onto the trails by about noon. The first
trail was tight but uneventful. The second trail started out well
and I was feeling confident, but things soon got much worse. Elbe
has the reputation for being very tight in trees. As most of the
group was running 36" tires and I was only running 33s, there were a
few places that took some trying to get through. At one spot, the
others were able to stick to the deeper part of the trail and I had to
take a go around, however this was not any easier as I soon found myself
getting wedged between two trees and looking for a better way
around.
By the second half of the trail we were all
doing a lot of winching. The trail was almost completely off
camber and steering where you wanted to go was pointless, the mud and
the off-camber conditions were shoving me into every tree along the
trail. The sounds of cracking fiberglass told me that my hardtop
was about done for but I gave into it and winched on. We spent the
last hour and a half winching in the dark, what a pain!
Mapping the trail system here would be almost impossible as the
trails change due to logging in the area. Obviously things would
be better when the conditions are dry. Some trails are marked with
trail markers, some are not:
If you are serious about visiting the Elbe ORV Area these are my
suggestions.
1. Minimum 4" lift and 33" tires, more lift and bigger tires are a plus.
2. A good winch is an absolute MUST!
3. Leave the hard top at home.
4. DO NOT GO ALONE!!! (this is a cardinal rule of off-roading at any time)
5. THIS IS NOT A PLACE FOR FULL SIZE VEHICLES!
As I was not to concerned about getting a lot of pictures on this
trip and because we were trying to get used to our new video camera, I
don't have any still pictures, but if you want to see a short (1 min,
2.6mb) video from Elbe Click Here
Getting
There: From Elbe, drive east on Hwy 706 6.15 miles and turn left
immediately after crossing the railroad tracks. The road will bear
to the left after .5 miles, continue to the first fork in the road and
keep to the right, proceeding up hill. At the second fork in the road,
keep right again, and continue up hill. At 3.07 mile from the main
road will be another fork, keep to the left here and you can access
several of the trail off of this road, however explore the area as there
are many trails around here. From the last fork if you drive about
.1 mile then turn left, then immediately right you will be at the
entrance of the campground. There is a nice covered meeting area in
the campground with a large stone fireplace.
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