Hey Q, where exactly is 'here' ??? The watershed where you were run off ??? Just curious...
BTW, here is some additional explanation in my Lester escapade. Upon reaching the ' Lester ' signboard after a 1 & 1/2 mile walk in, my then girlfriend (now wife ) & I were met by Officer Lovelace in his Ford Expedition (unlettered but festooned with antennas & spotlights). After he identified himself, I asked why there was a new sign on the gate reading " No Bicycles Allowed".( We had brought our bikes along to ride in.) He stated that when people rode in, they still had energy & tended to continue riding into 'The Watershed', whereas those who walked in were too tired to continue. Keep in mind the road into Lester is hard - packed dirt, well maintained, & slightly downhill towards Lester. At this point my girlfriend stated, out loud: " I'd like to walk down to that bridge ( thru truss bridge @ West end Lester siding ) and see what's there." Officer Lovelace did not reply in any way to her comment. I asked the whereabouts of the old cemetery & a few other general questions, then Officer Lovelace drove off.
As we started down the North side of the tracks, we passed a 4' X 8' Plywood " NO TRESPASSING " sign on the South side of the tracks. Knowing the Green River is on that side at that point, we stayed on the North side. However, there was a faded 8 & 1/2 " X 11" " no trespassing " paper posted on a stubbed telephone pole, on the North side of the tracks. I thought it was another in a long line of Hunting Section notices put up by the Game Warden; we passed a dozen or more of these on our walk in. A hundred yards or so past this posting is where Officer Lovelace JUMPED out of the bushes & read us the riot act: " What part of 'No Trespassing ' don't you understand ??? " F.I.-ing & Ejecting followed.
Now, why didn't he say something when my girlfriend mentioned walking to the bridge ???
Humorous postscript #1: During the Field Identifying process, Officer Lovelace forgot to ask us if the addresses on our licenses were current; a most basic element of the process. My girlfriend's had changed; the new address was written on the back as prescribed by state law. He never asked or looked at the back, so the citation he was threatening her with would have been returned by the Post Office.
Humorous postscript # 2: Upon returning to the pipe gate @ Friday Creek, my girlfriend crawled under; however as I started to climb over, THE ' LOCKED ' GATE SWUNG OPEN !!! It seems one of the 8 entities with locks on the gate left it unlocked & unsecured !!! So much for security; I left the gate open so maybe someone would drive in later.( When the gate is open the 'No Motorized Vehicles - No Horses - No Bicycles ' sign is not visible on the front of it. )
Humorous postscript # 3: After leaving Lester, we drove up to the Green River Viaduct North side, where we met a guy who said he's a BNSF Conductor & also an avid bottle hound. When we related our encounter he said: " Old Officer Lovelace has F.I.'ed & Ejected me a dozen times or more & I've NEVER received a citation."
Now all of this babbling leads to a simple question: If a public entity ( Tacoma Water ) owns this land, why is the public forbidden from using it ??? I understand the need for caution with our water supply, & Tacoma does not want to have to install filters for their system. Why doesn't the city organize tours in the summer ??? Lester was once a thriving railroad & logging community; I know of several former residents with family buried in the cemetery. Why are they kept out ??? Maybe if the city allowed access once in a while, we foamers/hikers/history buffs/bottle hounds would not have to resort to Guerrilla Tactics to gain entry...