Franklin Ghost Town — Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

Pretty fun little day hike. Headed out here about 3pm. Find parking where you can along the road. There's a decent stretch about .25 miles from the main gate, along the road, on the opposite side of the main gate from the one way bridge. Once you pass the gate on the road, walk straight back to the yellow gate with the Washington State Parks sign on it. The trail is past that. Stay on the main path (it's my understanding that the first two large path off to the left are Palmer Coking Coal land), and enjoy a steady uphill climb to the fork in the road. Go left. Tons of blackberries are growing along the entire trail. DELICIOUS. There's also some wild hops growing out there too. Soon you'll arrive at the mine shaft. Passing the shaft, the trail gets very narrow. Keep your eyes out of the coal cart tracks about 15 feet off the ground on the right. You can go down the little side trail and climb the hill to the tracks for a good look. Be careful coming down though, it's real steep with a lot of loose rocks. Shortly after that, you'll get to the cemetery. It's pretty spread out, and make a loop around to the right. Once you get to the cemetery sign, head back and keep right. Enjoy the nice downhill stroll out. Either before or after your hike, depending on where you parked, you should take a walk down to the one lane bridge and check out the waterfall and awesome river views.