M is for Mountains

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion) 11/02/2016 at 20:20 • Filed to: Miata, Mazda, Subaru, Wrx, Drift, Rally, Overlanding

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Dare to hoon where few will go.

This is my camping rig. Snow car. Daily. Track star. And now, potentially even more. It all started with two weeks off and a thirst for adventure....

Fellow Washingtonians, you’re welcome. An hour and a half east of Seattle is your new driving mecca. There are some great spots for camping scattered throughout as well.

After bombing up an old unkempt forest service road miles from any towns, I’ve come to the conclusion that rally-x must be the greatest sport on the planet. One that I desperately need to be a part of.

Now, a lowered Miata is probably not the BEST choice for this... But there’s a certain thrill in kicking out the back end around every corner, knowing that the difference between the perfect slide and a potentially deadly mishap gets smaller and smaller the faster you go, yet still speeding up, confidence growing, all fears put on hold because the fear would only be a distraction.

The first switchback approaches. Three seconds, and you’ll either be another thirty feet closer to the top or on a one way ticket to the bottom. You’re sweating, time seems to slow with the level of focus you’ve achieved. A quick glance catches dust spraying in the rearview mirror, gravel launching back with the force of bullets, picked up by sticky tires that were never meant to go anywhere but an impeccably maintained track. Steering at full lock, the back end sweeps out effortlessly, rear-wheel-drive both a curse and a blessing as traction take a lunch break. Controlling the angle with taps of the throttle, exercising surgeon-like precision, your spiking heart rate vies with the rpm needle, bouncing around like the contents of your glovebox. You loosen your grip, feeling the grain of the napa leather as the wheel returns to center. Those three seconds feeling like hours, you’re finally past the curve, carrying enough speed for jail time.

But you won’t find police here. Not on these “trails”, using the word generously. Snap back to the present, already halfway down a long straightaway, engine screaming past redline you pass the treeline, banging into third fractions of a second before hitting the fuel cutoff. Sun beating down from above, you heel-toe into second, keeping the revs high and mashing the gas around one last curve.

Pure ecstasy. Heaven on earth, found behind the wheel.

The stars of the show.

The only shot I got of the driving section... I’ll work on that next time.

In the two months since this trip, I’ve learned quite a bit about performance driving. A few track days with lots of instruction, my first drift event and my first three autocross courses all have me feeling much more confident to really tear this mountain up.

Let me know if you like the write up! I’m new to kinja (well, posting at least) and this was done on a phone so be understanding of any formatting issues!

Shorten your lifespan in one simple step! My “co-driver” wanted the perfect shot (don’t do this... )

Tldr: drove up a mountain. It was okay

Spaceball-Two > AestheticsInMotion 11/02/2016 at 22:26

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I used to go to keggars up there in high school. We used to cut new paths with chainsaws and winches. Nicely done.

AestheticsInMotion > Spaceball-Two 11/02/2016 at 22:37

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Oh man I can only imagine... It’s such a great area. We went over to Leavenworth then had someone dd back to the mountains to camp

Luken10 > AestheticsInMotion 11/03/2016 at 00:48

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Not worried about blowing a tire going all out like that? That’s what keeps me off dirt roads more than anything.

AestheticsInMotion > Luken10 11/03/2016 at 01:01

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Honestly... I didn’t even consider it! I deflated the tires a bit for better traction, hoping between that and the low weight blowing a tire is at least a BIT more unlikely.

Spaceball-Two > AestheticsInMotion 11/03/2016 at 12:00

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Leavenworth is an awesome town too. Beer flows like water!

Luken10 > AestheticsInMotion 11/03/2016 at 20:23

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Gotcha, well hopefully luck stays on your side because it looks like a ton of fun. I’ve always thought the best roads are the truly empty ones. Not the ones with a few people throughout the day, the ones with literally NO ONE. Makes it so much more fun knowing you don’t have to worry about someone hitting you or being fined.