Northwest Deaf and HH Hikers Get Together

If you live in Washington or Oregon, like the outdoors and hiking then perhaps plan for this upcoming short short hike and come along with other deaf and hard of hearing hikers of the Northwest. If you're interested in seeing my earlier hike to Gotchen Creek on Mt. Adams go here and see my pictures.

This High Rock Lookout hike will be the first tentative plan for hikers to get together and hike up to Lookout High Rock near Randle, Washington, located on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington.

This trail takes hikers up to High Rock Lookout, one of three fire lookouts remaining on the Gifford Pinchot NF. The trail begins on Road 8440 and climbs steeply through increasingly sparse conifers to High Rock Lookout. High Rock is a prominent 5,685 feet high peak on Sawtooth Ridge with a sheer 600 foot drop on its north face.

Please use caution when exploring this area. Stay behind the cables. The fire lookout was built in 1929. The lookout offers incredible views of the Sawtooth Ridge, Mt. Rainier and much of the surrounding landscape.

Trailhead: High Rock - Trailhead is at the intersection of FR 8440 and the southern end of High Rock Trial No. 266.

From the scale of easy to moderate to ardous this is a moderate hike. One way it is 1.5 mile starting at 4320 and climbs to 5685 feet above sea level at the lookout fire watchtower, a gain of 1365 feet. Here's an entry by someone who hiked a few weeks earlier.

I was in Packwood to meet up with Ralph and hike up Old Snowy on Saturday so we made a quick decision on Friday afternoon to go up to the lookout and highest point (5685')in the Sawtooth Range. The trail #266 sign says 1.5 miles but it seems more like 2 because it climbs quickly. We got to the top in about an hour and were rewarded with spectacular views, especially of Rainier to the north. The trail looks well traveled and there are some wildflowers in bloom but it is mostly shaded through forest. This was a very hot day and the bugs were out in force.

Pictures of High Rock lookout tower. Or you can look at other previous entries and pictures from other hikers that went to High Rock.

The date of the hike? The weekend of September 11th or 12th. Not too late into the summer season so as to take advantage of the still warm weather and less chance of rain with the hope of lots of sunny weather opportunities and a shot to see up close the famous Mt. Rainier.

The meeting place will be in Randle, Washington on road 12. Exact location will be dependent on who is coming. Once everybody arrives then I will lead the way driving to the Lookout Rock.

From Seattle to Randle the drive is 108 miles.
From Olympia to Randle the is is 86 miles.
From Tacoma to Randle the drive is 76 miles.
From Vancouver to Randle the drive is 115 miles.
From Portland, Oregon to Randle the is 124 miles.

If necessary the initial meeting place may take place at Tacoma before resuming the drive to Randle. This is to insure that everybody is there before resuming the drive to Randle, Washington so as to save everybody some time (and even frustration).

From Randle to the High Rock trailhead will take about 45 minutes or so of driving. And the hike to High Rock watchtower will take anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the pace of the hike. Be sure to bring a sturdy hiking shoes. Comfortable clothes. Lots of water or fluids. Food. Snack. Binocular. Your camera and other smaller items you may want to bring yourself. And lastly be sure to bring your sense of adventure and humor which is required.

Plan on anywhere from 2 to 3 hours driving one way (depending on where you live) and about 4 hours that will cover the time to hike, eat, take pictures, talk, and so on. and then the drive back home which is another 2 to 3 hours. This will be a whole day adventure lasting 10 to12 hours.

Directions:

From Tacoma, drive State Highway 7 east to Elbe and continue on Highway 706 to Ashford. Continue east and turn right onto Kernahan Road. At about 1.5 miles, turn right onto Forest Road 85. Proceed 5.8 miles to FR 8440. Turn right and continue 4.5 miles to the trailhead on the left.

An alternative route to get the family sedan to the trailhead. Take Hwy. 7 east from Tacoma to Elbe, then turn east on to Hwy. 706 toward Ashford. Make a right turn on Kernahan Rd., then turn left onto FR 52 at 1.5 miles, and continue 3.3 miles to FR 8440, turn right and go about 9.5 miles on FR 8440 to Towhead Gap and the trailhead. Make sure you stay on FR 8440; there are a lot of forks along the way.

Map of High Rock location. If the map below doesn't show you need to "ZOOM OUT" until you see the map.


View Larger Map

High Rock was one of the many hikes I did when I was a kid with my family growing up in the Northwest. I still remember the spectacular view of Mt. Ranier on a sunny and warm day. Trust me, at 5685 ft the view is stunning on a sunny day.

This hiking get together is still up in the air and can change such as a different hiking location where the trail is closer or easier. Or this High Rock scheduled trail hike can change because of weather conditions, meaning it has to have a forecast of rain or heavy clouds (i.e. lightning danger). If you're interested in going let me know. This High Rock hike is still up in the air and can change to a different if not easier hike.

Boot up!