ELK MT. LOOKOUT Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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Washington State Division of Forestry/DNR Lookout tower site.
In 1930 a 60 foot pole tower was erected on the top of Elk Mountain as a forest fire lookout. In 1940 it was changed to a 30 foot live in tower that was finally abandoned in 1968. The roads that lead to this site now were not built by Weyerhaeuser Timber company until the mid 1950’s so it was quite a trek into this site in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
This will be quite a trip up from Longview area and a sturdy high clearance vehicle will be needed to navigate the logging roads to get to the cache site. A 4 wheel drive is not needed but your average passenger car will have a rough time getting there.
Weyerhaeuser Timber Company keeps it gate locked up most of the year, They usually unlock there gates the second week in October for general deer season and leave them unlocked till after general Elk season is over. The cache is at 4540 feet in elevation so it will only be accessible for a short time each year. The phone number to call is 1-866-636-6531. This will get you the Weyerhaeuser Hot Line and you will need to get to the Mt. Saint Helens tree farm to see what gates are open for access. The closest way in is from the Rose Valley county Road but there are several other ways that would work also. Weyerhaeuser road maps are available in the local area, Drews Grocery in Toutle, 4 corner grocery in Castle Rock and Bobs merchandise in Longview will generally have these maps for sale. Part of the fun of this cache will be navigating to it. There are a lot of logging roads to chose from but as usual only one will get you close. HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The views from the top of the mountain are fantastic, Mt Hood, Mt. St Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt Rainer, Saddle Mt. , Mt. Margret area, and Goat Rocks.
In Addition for all you Bench Mark enthusiast there is a bench mark that was placed by the US Coast and Geodetic surveyors on the summit of Elk Mt. in 1906. Designation LAM. Reference point SC1315.
From the parking coords to the cache site it is a 2+ mile hike along a gravel logging road then along a semi-steep cat road that leads to the top of the mountain.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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