Kloshe Nanitch

Well we've lived in Washington for almost five years (!) now and I finally visited a place that I've wanted to see since before we came here. After I knew we were coming, I started spending too much time looking at maps of the area and researching recreational opportunities.

Back then I bought a book called Washington Backroads and since we've been here I've been working my way through the book. One particular location I wanted to visit was called Kloshe Nanitch. (Don't ask me how to say that, whatever you come up with is fine.) One of the great things about Kloshe Nanitch is that the only way to get there is by foot or 4x4. My kind of place. It turned out however, that my information was a little out of date, so a little excursion turned into a little longer drive.

The guide book says to come from the north, where Highway 112 meets East Twin River Road. This becomes Forest Road (FR) 3040, which you then follow for about seven miles, take the right fork, go seven or eight more miles, take the left fork, and watch for it on your right. Well, we went the seven miles and this is what we found when we wanted to take the right fork:

Now, I know the Landcruiser has all sorts of off-road pedigree, but even a HUMVEE would find some difficulty here. So after snapping some pictures, we were off again.

We were still determined to reach the destination, though, so we decided to go around. WAY AROUND. Our drive now went from about eight miles to about 40.

At this point it's appropriate to say thanks to Chelsea, Josh, Jana, and Ariana for their patience. I'm sure my tolerance for driving around in my own truck is much higher than their tolerance for riding around in the back seat of some else's car. Thanks guys.

After much more driving we finally found our way there. I'd had read about this place before and I was expecting to see this:

Picture Credit: US Forest Service
 http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/olympic/recarea/?recid=47711

But we saw this:

Apparently, my research had been pitifully incomplete. If I had checked the forest service website (like I just did), I would have known that as of October 2012, the lookout structure had been removed "for safety reasons". I know that now. Actually, I'm glad I didn't know that or I might not have gone. The view and drive were still great, and we had a nice picnic lunch at the lookout.

We finished out the day with some delicious cherry chocolate surprise cake back at camp. Dutch ovens are your friend.

Here are some extra pictures. Thanks for reading!