Well....it's the first talus slope - which should make it pretty obvious. The only problem is there there is a lot of brush and trees growing out of the talus just uphill from the trail.
Here's the dead givaway. Keep your eye out for an old chain link fence buried in the rock. When you find it head uphill just to the right.
You are going to be going through some heavy brush and young trees for a while before you get to the "main shaft" so to speak. Once you get to the main elevator shaft it's going to be very obvious and I doubt you'll get lost trying to find it.
When you finally get to the top of the shaft, the trail picks up on the right hand side, and much to your dismay it continues to gain elevation steeply! I'd expect a lot of downed trees and such in the area since it's not maintained.
Also, when you get to Cougar Rock, there are two viewpoints. They are described on this page:
http://portlandhikersfieldguide.com/wiki/Cougar_Rock
Something else you'll definitely want to check out is the Nesika Lodge. We left that out of the Field Guide description because it is private property of the Trails Club of Oregon - but they have traditionally been very open to visitors. The lodges are so nice that you'll want to drop the cash for a membership right on the spot! :D
For anyone else interested, here's the Elevator Shaft page in the Field Guide:
http://portlandhikersfieldguide.com/wiki/Elevator_Shaft
Here's the 'definitive' map of the area (Courtesy Don Nelson)
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