In August of 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival rocked the establishment and became an iconic moment in American history. What few people know is that a smaller version of the rock festival took place over the 4th of July weekend in 1970 in sleepy little Eatonville, Washington!
Billed as the “1st Annual Buffalo Party Convention and Pig Roast,” the event was supposedly a political gathering. By the time authorities realized its true intention and filed an injunction in Superior Court, it was too late. Local residents watched in amazement as thousands of cars streamed through town on the way to “Buffalo” Don Murphy’s “Flying M Ranch,” just south of town. Estimates vary widely, but in the end, at least 10,000 people, and possibly as many as 30,000, converged on an open field with a makeshift stage set up in one corner. Groups billed for the event included Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, and Van Morrison, along with many others, though no record exists of who actually showed up.
Sheriff Carl Peterson was onsite with 35 deputies to enforce the injunction, assisted by state troopers. But there was no turning back the tide. Unfortunately, because of the injunction, portable restrooms were never delivered, so a large ditch had to serve instead. Drugs were sold openly, but the crowd turned out to be more peaceful than rebellious, causing almost no property damage. Local residents even cautiously joined the crowds, more to gawk at the “hippies” dancing and skinny dipping in nearby ponds than to listen to the music. One man died during the festival when he slipped and fell from the top of nearby Little Mashel Falls.
In three days the “Convention” was history. The counter-culture crowds moved on to other gatherings at other locations. But the story of Buffalo Don had one final bizarre chapter.
In 1977, Murphy’s wife, Francine, set fire to his bed as he slept in it, killing him and burning down the house around him. Afterward, she loaded her five children into their car and drove into town to confess. A jury later found her not guilty by reason of temporary insanity, citing 13 years of abuse. It was the first nationally publicized case of “battered wife syndrome.” Local townspeople raised money to help pay for court costs. In 1984 the story became a TV movie starring Farrah Fawcett called “The Burning Bed.”
The Cache Location
The actual site of Murphy’s ranch, and the Eatonville Rock Festival, is out of sight in the distance to the west, and unfortunately difficult to get to today.
I've chosen this location for the cache on the Alder Cutoff Rd because it's more accessible, and because the field in front of you resembles what the Flying M Ranch looked like in 1970. Sometimes you'll even see buffalo grazing in this field, or the one across the road a bit south of here, just as would have been the case 50 years ago.
Try to imagine what this field would look like with 20,000 people camped here, tripping on drugs and rock music!
Visiting the Festival Fields
You can still hike out to the actual festival fields, though today they’re slowly becoming a forest, and only foundations remain of the original buildings. The ponds are still there, too - still swimmable, though gradually becoming choked with vegetation and duckweed. If you’d like to check it all out, there are three ways to get there:
- Follow the Bud Blancher Trail from Eatonville, and its side branch toward the beautiful Little Mashel Falls just past the second bridge. The old Flying M Ranch is about a quarter mile beyond the falls, making it a round-trip hike of about 5.5 miles.
- Visit the University of Washington’s Pack Forest, and follow the trail to Little Mashel Falls, 5.3 miles round trip. The route skirts the Murphy Ranch just before making a turn to the north and dropping down into the canyon to the falls.
- Locals follow a shortcut from the Alder Cutoff Road to the Little Mashel Falls. This route is less than a mile round-trip, and passes right next to the location of the festival stage. However, it requires a short but steep decent from the parking area assisted by a rope, and crossing a railroad trestle over the Little Mashel River.
Whichever way you go, don’t miss the side trip to gorgeous Little Mashel Falls. But proceed with caution! The rocks at the top of the falls are very slippery, and several people have been killed falling from them over the years.
2016 was the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and to celebrate, Visit Rainier and the Washington State Geocaching Association (WSGA) hosted the Visit Rainier Centennial GeoTour - 100 caches placed in and around Mount Rainier National Park. The geocaches highlighted the rich history, scenic wonders, quaint communities, and hidden gems of the Rainier region. The caches were released in four series of 25 caches each during 2015 and 2016.