[Redwic]

With Paul and I each having very busy non-peakbagging schedules for nearly the remainder of June, Paul thought this past weekend would be a good time to visit together the remaining fire lookouts in NE Washington that we had not yet seen. I wanted to add some lookout-related nuggets to the trip, as well. Adam wanted to get out during the weekend, too, but only wanted low-key stuff… for which potentially short road hikes fit the bill. It also marked the first official trip together for Paul and Adam. We left western Washington on Friday afternoon, arriving at the Sullivan Mountain Road in the middle of the night. The Sullivan Mountain Road is rough in various places, with snowbanks, a dirtslide crossing, and downed trees making this otherwise summit drive become a multi-mile road hike. Sometimes this stuff happens. We car-camped alongside the road and began hiking only three hours later to take advantage of first daylight. This might sound similar to a typical solo Redwic road/hiking trip but in reality we each had wanted a lot more sleep and were exhausted from the long drive the previous night. We soon arrived at the Sullivan Mountain Lookout. Great views of Abercrombie, Hooknose, Crowell Ridge, and Gypsy Ridge. When we got back to the vehicle, I had three ticks on my pants legs. Dang it. During the drive down the mountain, we were temporarily delayed by a skunk which refused to leave the roadway as he trotted down it. It was almost as if Gandalf the Skunk was saying, “You shall not pass.”

Sullivan Mountain LO

Sullivan Mtn Summit BM

Paul, With Crowell Ridge

After Sullivan Mountain, we headed east to Salmo Mountain. The road was stopped by snow approximately 7.5 miles from the summit. As a result of the impending longer-than-wanted hike, Adam decided to stay back at the vehicle and rest for a while, so I helped setup my tent for him to use if desired. There was a very fancy, out-of-place-looking car parked near the snowbank. A Northwest Forest Pass was in the vehicle but something just did not seem right. Perhaps it was the Tennessee license plate or the book inside for places in the Southwest. A single track of footprints, only probably 1-2 days old, could be seen heading up the snowy road, making it at least as far as the intersection with the upper Salmo Mountain Road. The footprints never headed back down, so we expected to find someone who had spent the previous night in the lookout tower, or a similar scenario. Paul and I, exhaustion and all, actually made good progress up the road despite slogging across snow for much of it. The views of Peak 7177 and Gypsy Peak, to the west, were fantastic. We went to the true summit first, which is a hill located north of the lookout hill. The true summit hill has vast views in every direction. I especially enjoyed looking north and east. I pointed out the large swath of land marking the international border, and Paul pointed out a well-defined logging road(?) weaving just north of the border. Then we visited the lookout hill. I immediately noticed two signs on the tower; one sign marking the tower’s place on the National Historic Lookout Register and another sign near it saying “U.S. GOVT PROPERTY - NO TRESPASSING”. The latter sign seemed like both a no-brainer and a tad harsh at the same time. After a well-deserved snack break and rest, we walked to a nearby hill and found a USGS Benchmark.

Peak 7177 & Gypsy Peak

Looking To True Summit...

At True Summit Area Of Salmo

North (True) Summit Of Salmo

South Hill From True Summit

Paul Descends True Summit

Salmo Mountain LO Tower

Nice Peaks!

Don't Cross The Border Patrol

So Many Mountains, So Little Time

Salmo South Summit BM

Salmo LO From Nearby Hill

Due to the snowpack on the slopes, we were able to shave off some time and distance during our descent. When we arrived back at our vehicle, Adam told us that the US Border Patrol had stopped and questioned him about what he was doing there, where we went, and who that fancy car belonged to. The USBP then used a drug-sniffing dog for the vehicles. Adam was told that this area has been known as a major throughway for drug cartels crossing the border. Whether the other car belonged to an actual hiker or someone involved with some nefarious activities, we really do not know and the USBP did not say. If the person whose car was left behind was just out legitimately hiking/camping somewhere, I hope he/she stayed safe. We drove southwest to the Ione “Food Court” for a real meal and to purchase some snacks. Paul found a tick in the trunk, leftover from one of the earlier hikes that day. Ick. Then we headed towards Timber Mountain, during which time Paul and I were each having flashbacks of being near there for our respective Calispell Peak trips. Some of the backroads in that region are really bad, amongst the worst either of us have driven on. The Timber Mountain Road is pretty bad, too, it turns out. We found a nice roadside parking spot and hiked to the lookout tower at the top. The nearby cabin/shed was totally destroyed, minus the roof. There is a photo online showing that building still standing only 15 years ago, so its demise is fairly recent. Timber Mountain has a really good view of Calispell Peak. It seemed like some efforts had been previously made to improve the lookout tower but the inside of the cab was a virtual ratsnest. Yuck.

Timber Mountain LO Tower

A Cabin No More

Timber Outhouse

Nice Ridge View

Good View Of Calispell Peak

Looks Like Rat Heaven In Here

As we were visiting the Timber Mountain Lookout, Paul was getting the “lookout bug” (and for once, it was not a tick) and had this crazy notion that we might be able to get to South Baldy before sunset. It was a longshot but worth the effort to at least get close to the peak that evening. The South Baldy Road is a very bad road in a lot of places. Perhaps the funniest moment of the entire trip was during one of the worst road sections, when “Tuff Enuff” by the Fabulous Thunderbirds started blasting on the satellite radio. There is nothing quite funnier than hearing “AIN’T THAT TUFF ENUFF?!” blasting on a radio while a vehicle is struggling to drive up a very rough road. It would probably have made for a good commercial. Our vehicle was eventually stopped by snow but we probably would not have gotten much further, anyway. We hopped out, grabbed our hiking stuff, and headed up the road; it was almost robotic as we knew the task at hand and sunset was fast-approaching. We arrived at the lookout tower and enjoyed a vast summit plateau full of meadows and great views. We then followed an old trail north to the true summit, a boulder outcrop that requires a short, minor Class 3 scramble move to reach the top.

Yay! The Gate Is Open!

Approaching South Baldy LO...

South Baldy LO Tower

Paul Finds Tower BM

South Baldy Tower BM

Nice Way To End The Day

The "Bald" Of South Baldy

Following Summit Trail

Nearing The True Summit

South Baldy Summit Outcrop

Paul Climbs South Baldy Summit

Paul & Adam Atop True Summit

With darkness approaching, we headed down the road back to the vehicle. Rather than car-camp there, Paul understandably wanted his vehicle off that horrible road sooner than later. We were successful, and stopped in Newport for snacks and gas. Then we headed north towards Priest Lake, before finding an excellent car-camping site (and tent site for Adam) alongside a great Forest Service road. Adam found what looked to be moose bones or elk bones near the site. We each got a good night’s sleep (5+ hours!) before heading to Indian Mountain the next morning. The road walk and road-trail hike to the Indian Mountain Lookout is very straightforward. There are good views from the top, especially to the east and southeast. This lookout tower gets a lot of usage each year. It was interesting to find a flagpole nearby in addition to a small shed (or enclosed shower, perhaps?) and an outhouse.

First View Of Tower From Road

Indian Mountain Summit Trail

Nearing The Summit...

Indian Mountain LO Tower

Adam Looks At Flagpole & Shed

Ridge View From Indian Mtn Tower

Indian Mountain Summit BM

Another Indian Mountain BM

A Long Way Down

After leaving Indian Mountain, we decided to venture to a couple of nearby peaks with historical lookout significance and perhaps contemporary lookout significance, as well. Our first stop was Diamond Peak, near Petit Lake. The Diamond Peak Road is gated and apparently “Not Maintained For Public Use.” We soon found out why, as the road is full of slide alder-like growth and downed trees. Very slow going. The road opened up as we approached the summit. We noticed what looked like an old metal SNOTEL sensor tower in some nearby brush but there is no record on the current SNOTEL website of Diamond Peak. So perhaps it was just some sort of non-SNOTEL snow depth sensor? The Diamond Peak summit is actually pretty cool. Despite not having a fire lookout at that summit since approximately 1960, evidence of the past lookout tower still exists. There is a small heliport location marked by a large white “H” on the ground. There are concrete stairs wedged between boulders, leading several feet up to what was the base of the original lookout tower. The corner foundation blocks are still all still there, although one is on its side. Great views to the west from the top. After leaving the summit, we took a side trip towards Point 4413, the east summit of Diamond Peak. There is a very old, very abandoned, very downed-tree-laden trail following the ridgetop. We found what we were looking for a short distance east of Point 4413. There are great views to the north and south through the towering trees; definitely worth a visit. Anybody who goes to Diamond Peak will be rewarded with this side-trip.

Diamond Peak Access Road

Yet Another Road Walk

A Better Section Of Road

Heliport Marker

No Helicopters To Be Found!

Old Staircase To Summit Tower

Adam Inspects Old Footings

Atop Diamond Peak

Our next stop was Kalispell Rock, a nearby peak which also has had a fire lookout. We were stopped short of our goal by a permanently closed gate, due to bear habitat in the area. We first road-walked for a while and then steeply ascended an open slope to a ridge trail. Unlike the Diamond Peak Trail, the Kalispell Rock Trail is in amazingly good shape we found it to be very easy to follow. We found the critical trail junction leading to the summit area. The true summit of Kalispell Rock is a massive boulder outcrop requiring a minimum Class 3 scramble (with definite exposure) to reach the top. There is a USGS Benchmark Disk at the summit as well as an embedded concrete circle which once held the post-stand for the original firefinder.

Sigh. Get Ready For A Long Hike

Heading Uphill...

Following Old Trail

Kalispell Rock Trail

Important Junction

Kalispell Rock Summit Outcrop

Kalispell Rock Summit BM

Paul Near Firefinder Posthole

Descending From Summit Boulders

Back on the ground below, wedged between the summit boulder outcrop and another large boulder outcrop is an old log cabin. The cabin is missing its door and roof. The cabin was built as living quarters for US Forest Service lookouts from 1927-1934, while a bouldertop structure (long since removed) was in service as the actual lookout location. There have been some cabins in Washington which were used primarily as fire lookout locations, or used for the dual purpose of fire lookout location and living quarters. If this cabin was in either of those two categories, it should and would be considered a standing fire lookout. But in advance of our trip, the three of us (Paul, Adam, me) wanted to refrain from making any judgments regarding the significance of the cabin until visiting the site, ourselves.

USFS Living Quarters Circa 1927-1934

Adam In Log Cabin

Quarters Not Very Livable

Once there, we each immediately recognized that any views from the cabin were extremely and narrowly limited to the south, non-existent to the west and east (due to the massive boulder outcrops), and at least currently unusable to the north due to a very thick forest. Paul and I were actually shocked that the cabin was not built on the meadow ridgetop immediately west of the summit boulder outcrop. Perhaps it was because the current location is fairly protected from the elements, when compared to an open ridgetop. A man (Pete Van Gelder) actually visited the cabin every year from 1948 until 1985… 37 years in a row. He etched each year into an inside beam of the cabin. Sadly, I learned after our trip that Mr. Van Gelder passed away shortly after his last entry (“85”). I also learned after our trip that the log cabin was never used for fire-watching; only the 5’x5’ firefinder shack (long since removed) atop the boulder summit was used for that purpose. The log cabin was purely for living quarters and not fire-watching. As a result, the log cabin cannot be considered a standing fire lookout location. However, it is still a nice piece of history and a highly recommended place to visit.

Pete Van Gelder: Start 1948...

Adam On Old Ridge Trail

The summit scramble was better than we expected, as were the views. During our descent, we started following a great trail heading in the direction of our vehicle. The lower half of the trail is very overgrown and I dare say non-existent (I commented it looked like the Pickets) but we were able to manage a safe route down to a nearby access road.

Nice Area Of Kalispell Rock

Descending Kalispell Rock

Strength In Numbers Not Odors

We headed back towards home shortly thereafter, happy with our weekend accomplishments. We stopped for gas in Priest River, where I ate a monstrous and potentially heart-stopping cheeseburger known as the “Burger Express.” It tasted so good! We also made a couple of brief stops in Newport, one of which was to look at a fire lookout cab standing next to the highway. I found out the next day that the cab was never an official lookout; it was built specifically for the local museum in Newport. But it was still interesting to see. The drive back home was fairly monotonous and exhausting. Paul got home by midnight, and Adam and I each got home by 1:00 AM. Each peak we visited had something to offer and being able to visit such great areas is a privilege. In my own opinion, Sullivan Mountain had the worst ticks (but also an annoying skunk), Salmo Mountain had the best views (and best possible border-crossing shenanigans), Timber Mountain had the worst cab condition (but the rats love it), South Baldy had the coolest summit ridge (but also the worst access road), Indian Mountain had the most service-ready tower (because it is), Diamond Peak had the most areas with historical significance (and best heliport), and Kalispell Rock had the most fun summit climb (and best log cabin remnants).

[Paul M]

Thanks guys for the company on a great trip this past weekend. We were very productive in getting all of our objectives on two very long days. I figure we hiked about 30 miles with 7k feet total elevation gain, all while driving almost 1000 miles in the process. In that time we visited all 7 target peaks (with the exception of Adam skipping Salmo). I was surprised at the lack of wildlife seen on this trip after the bear fest we experienced just a few weeks ago. It was also somewhat bitter sweet for me, closing out the P2K and Lookout peaks in the region. It is a very pretty area although I won't miss the horrible logging roads one bit. Still I have some reason to go back as there are a number of T200 prom peaks and one P2k error range peak for me yet to visit. Here are some of my pics from the trip:

Sullivan LO

Sullivan telephone line

Salmo Mountain Lookout

Gypsy Peak from Salmo Mountain

Timber Mountain Lookout

Adam and Craig at Timber Lookout

South Baldy LO

South Baldy BM

Indian Mountain Lookout

Adam at Diamond Peak summit

Adam and Craig at old Kalispell LO cabin

Kalispell LO cabin

Craig at Kalispell Rock summit scramble

Fire Finder base on summit of Kalispell Rock

Sign

[Gimpilator]

[iron]

i don't know if you guys got enough pics of the summit benchmarks

[fourteen410]

nice work! I plan on visiting some of those LOs later this summer, so good beta

[Ski]

excellent. must be hell to maintain roads over there. crowell ridge road was probably one of the worst I've ever driven.

[Redwic]

[Magellan]

Lookouts!

[lookout bob]

good stuff!!! Craig...were the lower stairs still missing from Sullivan??? I am saddened to see the sorry shape of Timber....I had been told that the FS was going to start a renovation there and that it would be cleaning up and fixing up the inside first. Alas.....if only I were retired and had time to work on some of these historic structures. But....great pics, wonderful report and happy travels!!!!!

[Redwic]

[Kim Brown]

Favorite trip report of the year so far! The road to Salmo Lookout is scary as sh## -- if you meet another vehicle coming down at that one place where there’s a sheer drop. But what are the chances of that happening? I enjoyed reading about the cabin, too.

[ree]

What a great trip report! I'm glad you posted it - we were checking you out from Abercrombie and Sherlock across the way. Kind of creepy about the vehicle from Tennessee. And the inquisition from the USBP... so with wacky tobaccy being legal, I wonder what they would have done if they found a recreational amount on you guys? So glad to see the pictures of the lookouts. We saw only sites on our EaWa weekend... it'd be nice to get to see a building intact. I really enjoyed the area. Yeah those roads are something else! I definitely want a return trip.

[Redwic]

[D. Inscho]

Great effort. Thanks for the intro to more WA lookouts. So much potential in these structures. I hope Timber can be saved: fit retirees; the industrious homeless?