Wahkiakum County High Point Trip Report

Huckleberry Ridge (2,673 ft)

Date: December 7, 2000
Author: Trapper Robbins

Unfortunately, the Elochoman Valley Road (Highway 407) is currently gated at the end of the pavement way down at elevation 400' (near "Camp 2" on the maps). From here, it is 11+ miles (one way) and 2300' gain to the top via the #700/etc. road system.

We had hoped to drive much higher and, thus, were late to start a trip of this length. Nonetheless, we began biking at 1:40pm fully prepared to descend in the dark. We pushed up non-stop and got to the summit at 4:10pm. Shortly afterwards, we watched an awesome sunset from the SE ridge. A big moon allowed us to get down without using head lamps, though we had to go extremely slow. We got back to our car at 6pm.

We had two excellent wildlife encounters around sunset. First, a group of nearby coyotes serenaded us on the summit. Then at dusk, a big elk crossed the road 50' in front of us.

Detailed maps showing the logging road network is strongly advised. We used the Wahkiakum County Map (by Big Sky) combined with various topo maps.