The Tatoosh Wilderness is a designated wilderness in the

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a National Forest located in southern Washington, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of , it extends along the western slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the C ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (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. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

region of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The wilderness protects managed by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

. It was officially designated as wilderness by Congress in 1984 to protect the scenic alpine environment that complements the adjacent

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

. It features Tatoosh Peak, a member of the Tatoosh Range.

History

Tatoosh means "breast" in the

Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

, 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