Welcome to a section of the Channel Scablands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). An area I have named the "Packer Creek BLM Lands." But first, a brief history of the BLM: Originally called the General Land Office (GLO), this government entity was created in 1812 to encourage homesteading and westward migration. Over time, values and attitudes regarding public lands shifted, and Congress merged the GLO and another agency, the U.S. Grazing Service, and created the BLM. The BLM administers the lands that remain from America's original "public domain."
Created in 1946 through a government reorganization during the Truman Administration, the BLM became a division of the U.S. Department of Interior and today oversees more than 245 million acres of public lands – more land than any other government agency. The BLM’s responsibilities include managing the 27 million-acre National Landscape Conservation System and managing about 700 million acres of underground minerals like oil, gas and coal.
To get to the cache area, you can follow a series of old Jeep/cow trails that I marked with Reference points (I included a map of the BLM area below). It is almost a 2 mile hike if you take this route. There's a shorter route, about a 1 1/2 miles, but you'll need to cut across the scrub and rock. It is all open range land, but be wary of lose rocks here and there. Also, in the spring you'll start to see a few ticks here and there and the summer will bring out the rattlesnakes. Bring plenty of water during this time of year. My favorite time of the year to hike these areas is in the fall and winter - when it's a little cooler. However, watch out for the occasional hunter during hunting season. Once you get to the cache area, you'll see why I named it "Ol' Flat Top."
If you continue on south, eventually you'll hit the the old Milwaukee Railroad, now called the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. More information about this trail can be found <here>.
