We had big plans for this Memorial Day weekend. We would start by driving up to Packwood, to take in the Packwood Flea Market, which turns the entire town into one big garage sale. We had fun, I bought a few small tools, ate some really good food, and had some real laughs at some of the junk that vendors were trying to hawk. So that got the wife in a good mood so she could stand to spend the rest of the weekend driving gravel roads and hiking with me.
After Packwood, the goal was to find a place to camp, near East Canyon Ridge (NW of Takhlakh Lake). From Packwood, we headed south on the 21 Rd. Then near the Adams Fork CG, we turned up the little used 5601 Rd, heading for Olallie Lake. About 1/2 way there, got stopped at the bridge over the Adams Fork. The approach to the bridge was almost completely washed out. We drove back down the 56 Rd, and drove up towards Potato Hill, hoping to make a connection to Takhlakh Lake with the little 2329 Rd. At the Keene Horse Camp, we encountered the first obstacle. Fran got mad at me for evening thinking about trying to drive it, and insisted on walking (obviously completely forgetting about the wonderful time I had just given her in Packwood!).
Fortunately there were no problems and I got through without a single scrape.
Another mile or so of easy driving and just southof the Horseshoe Lake Jct., suddenly all forward progress stopped because of some serious road damage.
Pretty sure that this was done by Killen Creek. Driving through this one was completely out of the question! Those rocks in the middle were the size of a Lazy Boy Recliner! This little obstacle now means that the Killen Creek Trail can only be accessed from the Takhlakh Lake side. It also means that any Mt Adams PCT hike, with a car shuttle at Potato Hill is going to be a very long drive!
So, we turned around, and drove back down to the Cispus River. I headed west on the 21 Rd, and after a couple of miles came to a “Road Closed” sign. I knew that the 23 Rd had some washouts between this junction and Randle, but didn't know about any problems up the 23 Rd towards Takhlakh Lake. So, I sort of drove around the sign
, and then turned left on the 23 Rd. We drove for about 5 miles, passing several scenes like this, where the docile little creek had turned into a raging monster, and had just about destroyed the road bed.
We found a really nice little spot to camp off the main road, with noisy East Canyon Creek just a few feet away. Here it passes through a narrow slot that it had cut through the bed rock.
Sunday morning, was looking really nice. The clouds were lifting, and there were big patches of blue sky showing. So, filled with new hope, we continued up the 23 Rd, only to get stopped again.
This washout is about 1/2 mile above the Sunrise Peak Rd (FR2324) and just about where the #263 Dark Meadow Trail hits the road. So this means that Sunrise Peak is officially unreachable, unless you are willing to do some long miles of hiking. You might be able to plead with the Cowlitz RD office for a special permit to drive the road, but keep in mind that the Forest Service exemplifies bureaucracy! Also, as of today, FR2324 is officially closed because of a slide & washout 1/8 mile up, and it is really questionable whether it will get repaired this year.
Feeling completely deflated, we turned around and made the 35 mile drive back to Packwood, then the 2 1/2 hr. drive back home.
The Dark Divide is now almost unreachable from the Cowlitz side. For more maps and details about the road damage in the Cowiltz Ranger District, go to:
Cowlitz RD Road Damage The bottom line is that if you are thinking of ANY trips in the Cowlitz RD, study this site, and the call to confirm!
