Drake Lookout Geocache DNF

 11.5 miles with 1,000 feet elevation gain

January 18th 2021

I woke up and did not want to hike, I was tired.  I had trouble sleeping again and was not feeling the love of hiking.   But I was all packed and I need to lose weight, so I forced myself up.   Today was MLK day and the trails were sure to be crowded, so I opted to check out a logging road in the Wynoochee Valley that leads to the site of an old look out and a geocache. 

There are two different gates to park at for this cache.  I opted for the south gate because Google Earth hinted that there might be nice views on the way up.  There was really no view at all the trees had grown in.

I noticed it was very quiet.  I love the Wynoochee for quiet, I hardly ever hear an airplane in when I am in the Wynoochee Valley.   As I got near the top I saw a steep climb ahead so I decided to take a break and have a drink and send a text to my beautiful wife to be.  I texted her about how quiet and lovely it was.   Shortly I heard a vehicle approach, so I moved up a side road and around the corner to avoid being seen.  Soon a truck roared up the hill at a frightful speed.  I was glad that I had been stopped when I heard the truck.  I would have probably been really frightened by the speeding truck if I had been moving and it snuck up behind me.

I carried on up the hill and soon found the side road that led to the geocache I wanted.  I also started hearing logging noises and then the same truck came back.  I was already on a side road so they did not see me. 

I think the truck had raced up the hill and beyond to drop off a logger, that would explain the start of logging noised.  The truck was going at a much saner pace on the way down.

Lunch spot on the very top of Reed Hill. 

I could not reach the geocache location due to massive amounts of cut Douglas-fir on the ground.  I was a shame to push my bike so far up a hill only to get skunked.  The piles of brush were too much though.  I did not want to risk getting hurt crawling over it, on it and through it as would have been required.   

I gave up on the cache and turned around and went to the top of Reed hill and had my lunch.  There was no view from the top due to the forest making a futile attempt to grow back before Greed Diamond razes it again.

The trip back down was fun a slow and steady coast all the way back to my car.