The Tatoosh Wilderness is a
designated wilderness in the
Gifford Pinchot National Forest in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...
region of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. The wilderness protects managed by the
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
.
[ It was officially designated as wilderness by Congress in 1984 to protect the scenic ]alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
environment that complements the adjacent Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preservin ...
.[ It features ]Tatoosh Peak
Tatoosh Peak is a summit in the Tatoosh Range which is a sub-range of the Cascade Range. It's the highest point in the Tatoosh Wilderness, a protected area which is managed by Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The name ''tatoosh'' derives from Ch ...
, a member of the Tatoosh Range
The Tatoosh Range is a mountain range located in Mount Rainier National Park and the adjacent Tatoosh Wilderness in the state of Washington (state), Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.Mandrake"Tatoosh Range."SummitPos ...
.
History
Tatoosh means "breast" in the Chinook Jargon,[ in reference to the two large rock outcrops on the south face of Butter Peak.
The Tatoosh Range was used historically by Taidnapam (Upper Cowlitz) Indians. In mid-to-late August, Taidnapam families would climb up the ridge from fishing camps at the confluence of the Muddy Fork and Clear Fork Cowlitz Rivers, to hunt, gather materials for making baskets, and pick huckleberries for drying. The dried berries were transported to home villages for eating during the winter months. Archaeological evidence suggests that these high country treks were a long tradition among the local Indian people.][
In 1932, a fire lookout was built.][ Author Martha Hardy wrote about her experiences keeping watch at the fire lookout in her 1947 book ''Tatoosh''.][
]
Hiking
The Tatoosh Wilderness is accessible from the north from Mt. Rainier National Park and from the south via the Tatoosh Trail. A spur of the Tatoosh Trail extends to the location of the fire lookout that Martha Hardy wrote about,[ although only the foundations of the lookout building remain.
]
References
External links
Tatoosh Wilderness
U.S. Forest Service
Tatoosh Wilderness
Wilderness.net (The University of Montana)
{{Authority control
Wilderness areas of Washington (state)
Chinook Jargon place names
Cascade Range
Protected areas of Lewis County, Washington
Gifford Pinchot National Forest