Road walk near Mount Washington

I have not been up to the Cushman area since SARS 2 Covid hit.  I did not know how crowded trails would be.  Sure trailheads are closed, but trails are not.  Would my normal hikes that I go on for solitude be crowded or less crowded.

More crowded was the answer.  I don't like crowds on trails in the best of times and certainly not now in the covid era.  Big Creek had 8 cars parked at it on a Tuesday morning!  The other trailhead in the area that is much lesser known had 5 cars and another car pulled it while I was sitting there trying to decide where to go.  I've never seen another car in that spot before.

I opted to go on a flat dusty hike to a lake instead, but I was not excited about it and I missed the turn off that I use.  My turn off is unmarked and goes down closed roads.  The lake is in an area that is entirely closed right now, so this would have been a stealth hike.

I looked up to the opposite side of the street I was driving down and saw an area that I keep meaning to explore. I never go there though because there is always logging or snow.

Well not today.  The loggers have cleared off,  their dirty work is done and the snow levels are up higher now.  The misty mountain tops looked much more inviting than the flat dusty logging roads that lead to the lake.

 Then I saw a sign that made me happy "Road Closed Ahead in  mile".  Oh good, a closed road, that means I can hike and not get run over by a car and there probably won't be many other people hiking there.

So I went up the road and found an amazing view point overlooking Duvall and Monroe,  then I found cement blocks closing the road. I parked at the blocks and started my hike, not knowing where I was going for sure.

Soon I deduced that the road I was on ended at the top of mountain or tall hill in 3.8 miles.  Perfect!  Lately my ideal hike has been about 9 miles round trip with a view at the top. 

I did not know if there would be a view at the top of the hill I was going up though.  There could be trees blocking the view.  How recently had the area been logged?

There were a few saw palmetto trees blocking it but mostly the view was just amazing.  The hill top had 360 degrees of prominence! 

There was a great view all around except for the clouds and there was a fire pit with split and stacked wood at the top.  I was low on stove fuel, I had meant to refill my fuel bottle but had forgotten.  The firewood and fire pit were very welcome.  I did not actually use any of the spit wood, I only needed a small fire, just enough to make coals to cook on.  Nearby scraps of wood were enough for that.

I'm glad I finally made it up to this area and I'm glad I found this new spot.  I will probably be back even though the vibes are a bit off in this spot.  Too much broken glass and toilet paper, ATV tracks and gunshots in the area for my liking.  There is also a dog buried at the top.  It is only buried by a mound of rocks and a bone was sticking out.

I moved the rocks enough so I could find the skull and confirm I had not stumbled onto a human burial.

I felt bad about disturbing the dog, but I really did need to know for sure that the bones were not human.

Thank covid-19 disease for leading me to this new spot I guess.

8 miles with 1040 feet elevation gain

or 18 kilometers with  315 meters