The journey to find a source of nature and solitude began on Tucannon Rd about 14 miles east of Dayton, WA on US Hwy 12. The Tucannon road is paved most of the way and is very easy to travel. I believe that I did less than 15 miles of gravel to get to my camping spot for the evening. There is a lot of horse trailer traffic as well as camper trailers, but the road is wide enough for vehicles to pass by one another. My destination was beyond Wenaha-Tucanon Wilderness Dispersed Campground #6 on Google maps, but that was as far as I planned the ride. I rode past Panjab Campground and light was beginning to fade. I found a wonderful spot that someone put some effort into and decided to call it quits there. It was between Panjab Campground and Panjab Trailhead, and it was great. I could hear the Panjab Creek flowing by and had some tree cover. It could have been a little more private, but it was still nice.

I could have stopped a lot sooner and not finished setting up camp in the twilight of the day if I had decided to use any one of the 9 or 10 campgrounds that I had passed along the way. Two notable areas were The Last Resort, which has a small convenience store and gas along with camping facilities, and Camp Wooten, which I did not pay a whole lot of attention to because it looked like there were a bunch of buildings and that was not what I was looking for. From the little research that I did, Camp Wooten looks like it would be a great facility for large groups to rent and recreate at, but it is not for individuals or small groups of less than 75 people (see https://www.parks.wa.gov/368/Camp-Wooten for further information). Some of the campgrounds mentioned a Discover Pass, but I do not know if they required a fee in lieu of the pass or in addition to the pass. Panjab Campground is $8 a night, $5 for additional vehicle and it is first come first serve.
There is a whole lot to do in this area. There were people sitting beside a lake fishing, but there is also a sign at one of the bridges that state fishing upriver of that point is not allowed. I believe that this area has protected chinook salmon spawning grounds. Be aware of where you are and the regulations if you are going to fish. There appear to be many trailheads, some of which must be for horses. There are also many roads branching off of the main road that lead deeper into the wilderness. I did take a more scenic route to return to US Hwy 12 and the road was steep, narrow, twisty, and filled with large rocks and ruts along with signs warning to not bring trailers. Explore with caution and if it looks questionable, turning around is probably the best move.

Overall, I am very happy with this trip and can recommend this area to anyone looking to find some mountains, water, or trees to mess around in. The roads can be as adventurous or mellow as you are willing to dare. With the abundance of trailheads and activities that are available in the area, I think that anyone can find something that they can enjoy, even if it is just sitting near a creek and listening to the water flowing over the rocks.

For more information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/umatilla/recarea/?recid=56927

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