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Summer in Western Washington usually doesn’t start officially (at least weather wise) until July 5 of each year. Today (06.24.07) was no exception. The forecast for the day was for rain and a snow level of 5000 feet.
Since I worked the night before and my wife’s nephew was coming over for dinner, I had to keep the day’s adventure somewhat local from my home. Flipping through the book Washington Byways, I found Tour 49 - High Rock Lookout Loop and it fit perfectly into the day’s time restraints. I loaded up the dog in the Land Cruiser and headed towards the Cascades in hopes of finding some sun above the low hanging clouds.
To reach the High Rock Lookout area, I traveled east on State Route (SR) 706 from Elbe, Washington towards Mt. Rainier National Park. After about two miles East of the community of Ashford, I made a right turn (south) on Forest Road (FR) 52 (also know as the Skate Creek Road and also Kernahan Rd. E).
After following FR 52 for about 4.7 miles from SR 706, I turned right on FR 84. FR 84 is a narrow, one-lane, pot-holed, gravel road that steadily climbs once it crosses Big Creek. The perfect type of road for an adventure.
After driving about 1.5 miles on FR 84 (the road condition eventually improved), I decided to adventure away from the main forest road and drive up FR 8410 just to see whats there. From FR 84, the condition of FR 8410 is surprisingly good as it gradually climbs through the forest, even passing some old growth stands of timber.
After about 3.2 miles, the condition of the road becomes a little rougher due to erosion from the past fall and winter. At about 3.8 miles, I passed the Teeley Creek Trailhead (Trail No. 251) and parking area. There were several vehicles parked there, probably enjoying the wet trail conditions. (NOTE: The trailhead sign says “Tealey” and the forest service web site says “Teeley”).
The Teeley Creek trailhead marked the end of the well maintained road. FR 8410 became much steeper, narrower and rutted due to erosion. Even though a high clearance two wheel drive vehicle may have made it up this section, I went ahead and engaged my low range four wheel drive in order to prevent further road damage due to spinning tires.
At about 4.6 miles, I came to my first obstacle across the road. It was an eight to ten inch tree that had fallen across the road. Since I had my old ax in the Land Cruiser (and the rain had stopped), I wasn’t going to let a small tree get in my way, so I proceeded to get my cardio workout for the day in order to clear the way. Once the tree was down and de-limbed, I drove over the tree and onward to roads end.
To read more or see some awesome offroad photos follow this link:
http://www.pnwadventures.com/adventures/high_rock_loop_backroads_tour/
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