Burley Mountain to Mt St Helens 10/13/07

[Steve]

Burley Mountain - French Butte - Mt St Helens

Date: October 13, 2007
Meeting Place: Mt Adams Cafe in Randle, Washington
Departure Time: 9:00 AM

Join me, my dog and possibly my daughter on a tour of the area South of Randle.

We will leave Randle around 9:00 AM and head south on FS 25. We will then leave the Cispus River valley and first visit the 5300 ft. Burley Mountain Lookout, one of the few remaining lookouts in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest (its drivable but has limited parking at the top, so bring your walking shoes if you want to visit the top). If the weather is clear, there are awesome views of Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, Mt Hood and the surrounding country.



From Burley Mountain, we will follow FS 77 along the ridge line past Greenhorn Buttes, French Butte, Pinto Rock and Mosquito Meadows back to FS 25. Some areas of this road are narrow and rocky. A high clearance vehicle (any SUV is fine) is recommended for this section (the remaining trip is primarily paved road).



Once we get back to FS 25, we will visit the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at Mt St Helens. We will then travel past Ryan Lake on FS 26 as an alternative to the main route to Windy Ridge.




Depending on the time and desires of the group, we can explore other areas in the region.

There are plenty of photo opportunities on this tour (weather permitting of course). Bring your lunch and water because there are no services once we leave Randle.


I will be driving my Toyota Land Cruiser (look for the Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures stickers) and will be monitoring CB channel 22. Please let me know if you are planning on attending. It would be a good idea to exchange cell phone numbers.

Steve

[smbisig]

Amelia and i may go depending on how far along my jeep is.

[moxta]

I'm tentatively going. Still need to hash out a couple of things with the wife.

I was down in the area back in August and did some road research then. FS-26 is closed from a land slide. Here are some links for more info.

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation...ns/roads.shtml
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/04maps/

FS-26 is definately the road to drive instead of FS-25 and FS-99 which are paved all the way. It could be fun to explore FS-26 anyway

[Steve]

Whoops, I forgot to do my research on this one. Thanks for the heads up.

I'll look over the map to find a possible alternate route.

Just to confirm for proper vehicle selection, here is what the above site states about FS 77:

FS 77 Polepatch 8/14/2007: Polepatch to Pinto Rock very rough. High Clearance Vehicle only in this section.

Steve

[crikeymike]

Man, I'd love to go with you guys, but i'll be out of town. Bummer.

[Steve]

Hey Mike, Good to see you on the forum.

We'll miss you on this one. There will be plenty more trips coming up soon.

Steve

[Jerry]

Just about anyplace in the Gifford Pinchot NF is a favorite of mine. Wish we could be with you guys, but we are signed up with the Eastern Washington Off Road group for a run to Juniper Dunes. We will learn first hand how underpowered Bronco II's handle themselves in the sand???



Jerry

[moxta]

Alright, I'm going for sure. My friend Brett and I will be driving down in my jeep. I do need to buy a CB though. Anyone know of a place to buy one in king or pierce county?

[Jerry]

There is no specific section for CB's so they advertise under the general heading of "Radios" in the yellow pages. A few years back there was a good shop in Renton.
Jerry

[Steve]

For a CB setup, you can try Truck City CB on Highway 99 just north of the Milton Tavern between Fife and Federal Way. They've been in business for a long time and my radio and antenna was purchased from them.

Steve