From the intersection with US Highway 12 in Randle, drive south on Washington State Route 131 (Cispus Road) for 1.5 kilometres and keep right at a split.  Continue south for another 1.6 kilometres and keep straight at the intersections with Skinner Road and Spears Road.  Drive southward for another 10.7 kilometres and cross a bridge over Cispus River.  Almost immediately after the bridge, veer left onto National Forest Development (NFD) Road 25 (still paved).  Drive 1.8 kilometres and turn left onto the narrower but still paved National Forest (NF) Road 76.  Drive eastward for 7.4 kilometres and turn right onto a 2WD gravel road (NF 7605).  Drive up NF 7605 for 6.9 kilometres and park on the side of the road near a T-intersection with a 4WD road heading eastward.  Although NF 7605 is generally in good shape at least as far as the T-intersection, there are still a few rough sections along the way that would warrant the use of a high-clearance vehicle.

Starting from the T-intersection, Zosia and I followed the 4WD road for about 300 metres before veering left onto a faint but distinct path.  This path undulates a bit as it rises gently across a forested slope to the crest of a ridge on the north side of Burley Mountain.  Turning left (north) here, we dropped down the ridge for about 150 metres before climbing up a short but very steep slope to reach the top of Tower Rock.  We visited a couple of memorials at the lower west end of the summit ridge before taking a break on the higher east end.

For our return, Zosia and I retraced our steps all the way back to NF 7605.  The 150-metre climb back up the ridge was a bit disheartening but not as painful as I had anticipated.  The remaining hike back to the car was straightforward.

	Zosia hikes along a forested trail en route to Tower Rock.
	Zosia gains the ridge which leads downhill to Tower Rock.
	Zosia makes her way to the lower west end of Tower Rock's summit ridge.
	A couple of memorials adorn the west end of the summit ridge.  Mount Rainier is hard to ignore to the north.
	Zosia stands near the edge of the abyss.  Visible left of centre in the distance is Tongue Mountain.
	Sonny and Zosia sit on the high point (1018 metres) at the east end of Tower Rock's summit ridge.
	Here is a better view of the drop-off on the north side of Tower Rock's high point.  Visible in the valley below is Cispus River.
	Sonny explores the very east end of Tower Rock's summit ridge. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Here is one last closer look at Mount Rainier.
	Zosia grinds her way back up the ridge for the return trip.
	Total Distance:  5.3 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  2 hours 54 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  261 metres GPX Data

After finishing our hike to Tower Rock, Zosia and I drove down into the valley and made our way to the north side of Cispus River where we took a side detour to visit Layser Cave.

From the intersection with US Highway 12 in Randle, drive south on Washington State Route 131 (Cispus Road) for 1.5 kilometres and keep left at a split.  Ignore all side roads and continue on Cispus Road (NF 23) for 9.9 kilometres before turning left onto an unmarked 2WD gravel road.  Drive 2.6 kilometres and park in a large pullout inside a bend in the gravel road.  The trailhead is on the south side of the bend.

The turnoff to the 2WD gravel road can also be reached from the Tower Rock access.  From the intersection with NF 7605, drive east on NF 76 for 1.6 kilometres and turn right onto Cispus Road.  Drive 3.6 kilometres and turn left at a T-intersection with NF 28.  Drive across a bridge and continue for 550 metres to a junction with NF 29 merging from the right.  Continue northward for 950 metres and cross another bridge--this one over Cispus River.  Drive another 650 metres past the second bridge and turn left at a T-intersection with NF 23.  Drive 3.2 kilometres to reach the same turnoff (46.46178, -121.87776) to Layser Cave.

The trail to the cave is pretty short but includes a side trip to a viewpoint with views of Tower Rock and, surprisingly, Mount Adams.  An interpretive sign marks the entrance to the cave which is spacious enough to stand in but does not extend very far into the slope.  As such, there is not much to explore, and headlamps are not even really needed.  At least the cave was not plastered with graffiti like some of the lava tubes we visited recently in Idaho.  With little else to hold our interest, we only stayed in the cave for a few minutes before exiting and returning to the trailhead.