The Nisqually entrance at Rainier is super amazing especially when you run into a trail friend in person. Hiking is about trail friends; we seek helpful people who guide us on our way.
As usual we carpooled to the Nisqually entrance and Westside Rd this lovely morning. Just as we are starting our Tacoma Mountaineer's Hiking Group at around 8 am I run into Mary (Mary&Mollie) heading down on her bike. She's already made her ascent in the dark for a sunrise at Gobblers Knob while I'm waiting for my coffee pot to serve up my second cup. Yippee! Good trail karma!
Westside Road was busier than normal today with big traffic "orange devils" aka very large dump trucks (2) that rumbled up full and down empty along the road meaning business in a way I haven't seen here in at least 20 years. The friendly drivers were on a mission to get the job done and made me think of a new system, road maintenance, shuttle or?
I hope the force of nature is with everyone working here and they all have a safe fall and winter.
Gobblers Knob TH is a few miles up the road so keep your ears open, the trucks are big. The pretty Tahoma was building in intensity as the day progressed. Tahoma peeked out from the layers of fog rising from the trees.
As we made our way to Lake George we took a quick tour and grabbed a snack. A belted king fisher, I've seen here before squawked while making its way across the lake.
The work of the post depression Civilian Conservation Corp putting folks back to work, Gobblers Knob fire lookout sat perched high on the rocky knob in the mist.
The trail and lookout had few visitors today. There was a recent break in as seen by the boarded up top window of the door. Why? There is nothing in there except mice and spiders. As far as bees or wasps, we were not troubled but a woman was stung just as we arrived.
We ate lunch waiting for our show on the deck realizing our last bits of hiking weather would soon come to an end.
In summary, a silent walk up the road, a more tranquil spot at the lake, and even better time to reflect at the Marine Memorial remembering the past and the history of time of the fire lookout.
LIMITED WATER SOURCES: If you are hiking bring at least 2L of water or your water filter for Lake George approx 5 miles away from the TH. We saw no water along the road except the Tahoma Creek which isn't suitable for filtering due to the glacial flour.
BIKE IF YOU DON'T HIKE ROADS: If you are riding, you can lockup at the bike stand. Also E-bike friendly.
WASPS: If you are allergic they are stinging.
Remember Leave No Trace
13 miles, 2800' gain
Comments
mcguire_ep on Gobblers Knob, Westside Road, Lake George
With 4 little fires in the area and a small flow down Tahoma Creek in the last few weeks, I'm very curious what the purpose of the rock movement is. I would guess staging or repairing.
A friend of mine and I want to do Emerald Ridge in a couple weeks.
Your recent destinations, distances and elevations, and your fine group look like something I may want to get into next year. Is there a more direct way I can contact you?
I have encountered Mary (of Mary& Mollie) myself recently! Her hikes are about 50% more ambitious than mine, although your 13 is a tad more than my longest this summer.
Posted by:
mcguire_ep on Sep 13, 2023 09:44 PM
Lisa Elliott on Gobblers Knob, Westside Road, Lake George
Yes! Emerald Ridge is fantastic. Today I was leading a small group with the Tacoma Mountaineers Hiking and Backpacking. There are quite a number of volunteer leaders with the group. My email is Teachalisa@aol.com if you are interested in more information. We would love to have you!
Posted by:
Lisa Elliott on Sep 14, 2023 12:57 AM
slo go on Gobblers Knob, Westside Road, Lake George
And I thought it was annoying when a ranger drove by in a truck.
As for Mary&Mollie, George and I have run into her twice (you only run into Mary, Mollie is home sound asleep)). How do we know? We start early and in the last 3 years, have run into less than 5 people finishing or coming down from a hike. The trip report on a sunrise hike cemented the fact both times. I think she could give the energizer bunny a run for his money. As for the break-in, I mentioned it on my Gobblers trip report. Who hikes 13 miles with a crowbar(we saw the marks on the door frame) to break in to something that has nothing to steal? Morons!
Always informative trip reports with relevant info. What is really amazing is that you have groups that seem to be compatible with each other. Even though 7 miles is on a road, 13 miles is 13 miles. Happy hiking.
Posted by:
slo go on Sep 14, 2023 03:42 PM
Lisa Elliott on Gobblers Knob, Westside Road, Lake George
Thank you!
Yes, my groups are fabulous :) On this particular day I was with the Mountaineers. It is helpful the Mountaineers website allows leaders to post details and hike leaders can also require participants have been successful at certain distances and elevations before they sign up. In general the Mountaineers hike leaders are very much into Leave No Trace and carpooling as well. I used to live in Eatonville for most of my adult life and it wasn't until I moved to Puyallup and retired that I became involved. Thank you for your nice comment!
Posted by:
Lisa Elliott on Sep 15, 2023 01:56 AM