Flattop Mountain Lookouts

Flattop Mountain, near Trout Lake, Washington, is unique in that at one-time it had two active lookout towers on opposite ends of its summit (neither remain today).  However, to my family there is a deeper connection than just simply two long forgotten (and destroyed) fire towers.  No, it is much more than that.  These towers have embedded in their history a story that includes my grandparents, who manned the West Tower in the the early 1930's, and their son (my father) who manned the East Tower twenty years later.  Today we return to pay tribute and reunite both of my parents on top of this special mountain.

Only .3 of a mile separated these lookouts from each other . . .
Today, East Flattop is a hub for communication towers and the road to West Flattop is no longer maintained

West Flattop Lookout was built in 1921 on the east side but was moved to the west side in 1930

My grandfather, Darrel Couch, circa early 1930's
(Born: February 11th, 1893 in Cicero, Indiana . . . his wife Zoa Castleman was born May 7th, 1899 in Indiana)

My grandparents were married in Hood River, Oregon on June 1st, 1931 . . .
They would spend their honeymoon and that summer on West Flattop Mountain . . .
My father, Forrest, would be born March 26th the next year in Hood River . . . hmmm!
(He would be their only child)

My grandfather washing my father's diapers on a washboard at West Flattop Lookout in 1932
(I've always liked this picture because it reminds me of the happy, jovial and kind man that he was)

My grandfather, in his Forest Service uniform, with my father in December 1933

My grandfather, picking huckleberries, with my father in the summer of 1932 . . .
Although it appears that my grandad is wearing a beanie, he is actually wearing his ranger hat . . .
The angle of the picture shows the brim of his hat below the black stripe!

My parents and grandparents circa 1956
(Darrel Isaac Couch, Arelene Lorraine Tincknell, Forrest Lee Couch, Zoa Allyn Castleman)

West Flattop Lookout in 1950 with Mt. St. Helen's about 30 miles off to the west . . .
In 1934, two screened porches and an observation cupola were added to the cabin . . .
My dad said that his father would climb up the cupola to get azimuth readings for fire ID's . . .
My grandfather was last here on May 18th, 1980 and saw Mt. St. Helen's erupt!

East Flattop Lookout was built in 1946 . . .
This photo is from 1949 . . . Mt. Adam's is approximately 15 miles away

This picture, and the one above, were "borrowed" from Eric Willhite's website . . .
He has hiked to all 93 known lookouts, still standing, and maintains a webpage on each lookout . . . 
He's trying to keep the history of each tower "alive" with information that people have sent to him . . .
Feel free to contact him if you want to share information . . . willhiteweb@yahoo.com

The last time my father visited East Flattop Lookout was in 2005 . . . As you can see it was in rough shape . . .
The East tower was abandoned in 1960 and the West tower was destroyed that same year . . .
Notice how the trees have grown . . . no views remain of either Mt. St. Helen's or Mt. Adams

My father standing in the cab of the lookout he worked in 1952 . . .
Such a shame for a tower that was once featured in a 1946 National Geographic Article!

The same year my dad last visited the East Tower (2005), the cab was dismantled and relocated to
the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center in Entiat, Washington where it was refurbished

My dad, granddad and me . . . circa 1987/88
(Darrel passed away June 11th, 1989; Zoa passed away February 21st, 1980)
(Forrest passed away April 9th, 2018; Arelene passed away January 13th, 2026)

This is the only view you will have if you make the trek up Flattop Mountain today . . .
This is looking southeast towards Trout Lake . . . 
The last time we were here was in 2018 to spread my father's ashes . . . today we return with my mother's

Heading down, what remains of the road, towards where West Flattop tower once stood

The road quickly deteriorates and is quietly being retaken over by the forest
It gets such little visitation that the deadfall hasn't been cleared in many, many years

After a short distance of "log hopping" we arrived at this small opening in the forest . . .
To our surprise this meadow was surrounded by ripe huckleberries!
That's our son Andrew and his daughter, Emma, picking the delicious purple berry

Our one and only grandchild showing us some of the berries she picked

That's me and my sister Kris' daughter, Niki, in the middle of a huckleberry patch

We continued on down the road another 100 yards to the small clearing that once housed West Flattop Lookout

This is all that remains of West Flattop Lookout . . .
It's hard to believe the trees have grown back so thickly that no views, in any direction, are possible . . .
It is here we spread my father's ashes and will now mingle my mother's with his

Wouldn't you know it . . . we were able to locate West Flattop Benchmark (1956)
I wonder if my grandfather would smile, knowing that his grandson finds such enjoyment in searching for azimuths as he once did in reporting them from his cupola atop his cabin

The ten family members who made the trip to rejoin Forrest and Arelene . . .

FYI:  My sister Kris has twin daughters, Dani & Niki
(From left to right:  Johan who is Dani's husband . . . Dani couldn't make the trip as she is expecting any day . . . Kris stayed to help her and care for Dani & Niki's daughters; Andrew, Emma and Taytem; Sam & Niki; Allison; my brother Ryan, me, and Ryan's wife Carla)

One of my favorite pictures of my parents . . . The way I like to remember them!
(Surprisingly, I'm about the same age today as my dad was when this picture was taken in Sept. 2001)

I miss you Mom & Dad . . .
I'm so thankful for your Christian faith and upbringing and I rest assured that you made it home safe and sound!

 

Some Additional Information:

Johan made a short video that recaps our day atop Flattop Mountain.  If you have Facebook and would like to view his video, you can click here to find it. (Make sure to unmute the volume)  You may be wondering what's with the Coke.  Coke happened to be mom's favorite drink and she would religiously have a 10 oz can every day.  So, Ryan decided that we needed to offer her a final toast!

Also, I wanted to attach some links from Eric Willhite's website that contain information and pictures of the other lookouts that my dad manned, for several summers, while he was in college.  If you're interested in knowing more about these lookouts, click on the links below:

1951 - Little Huckleberry Lookout - Manned alone

1952 - Flattop East Lookout - Manned alone

1954 - Summit Prairie Lookout - Manned with Phil Lee

1955 - Summit Prairie Lookout - Manned with George Peterson

1956 - Summit Prairie Lookout - Manned with George Peterson

Yellowstone Benchmark

You have likely noticed that our posts have slowed down this year.  This isn't due to a lack of places to explore, but rather several unforeseen issues that have arisen recently.  These challenges, ranging from minor to serious nuisances, have limited our hiking distances and frequency for the foreseeable future.  We will keep you updated as we navigate the more serious of these hurdles in the coming months.

Despite these setbacks, we took advantage of a surprising cool down this past Sunday.  Temperatures, unexpectedly only climbed in to the mid-80's, so we decided to head out for a short hike to ensure we had a post for June.  We chose to search for a benchmark and azimuth several miles south of Colorado City, Arizona.

Six miles southeast of Colorado City, we took a right on Yellowstone Road (of course!) . . .
We traveled this well graded road for 11 (straight) miles . . . it ends at Yellowstone Ridge (of course!)

Now you understand why the road ends at Yellowstone Ridge!

One of the interesting things about this ridge was the variety of rocks . . .
In addition to the sandstone, the landscape was strewn with polished rocks, much like those pictured above

Kent standing on a point, checking his GPS for the location of the benchmark . . . we are close

If he would have looked up he would have seen the benchmark right in from of him

Yellowstone Benchmark (1952)
(We also located both reference marks)

Now it's off to see if we can locate the azimuth . . .
It's suppose to be .4 of a mile away at a 300° angle from the benchmark

This small rock butte seems a likely candidate . . .
The azimuth must have direct line of sight to the benchmark, and this location would fit that requirement

We climbed on top of the rock to see if it was embedded in the sandstone

Sure enough, there it was!

Azimuths are much harder to locate than benchmarks . . .
This is because benchmarks have coordinates while azimuths generally rely on descriptions

The Happy Explorers
 (Did we tell you it was very windy this day?)

This boulder had a lot of interesting features and a small window
(Notice all the little pebbles that are ingrained in the sandstone)

Kent was going to put his head up through this, but wasn't sure he could get it back out

Some more interesting patterns around the base of the butte

There's an animal of some sort in this rock . . . just not sure which one??

After spending time exploring around the azimuth, we decided to walk back to the benchmark
by following the rim of Yellowstone Ridge . . .
We are headed for that block of sandstone on the point in the middle of the picture

Here's that same block up close . . .
There was a large crack under Kent's leg that was separating it from the ledge . . .
One good push and goodbye rock!
(Not really, but it won't be long until this block is no longer a part of the ridge)

Having some fun with the rock conglomerates that were everywhere

Heading back to the highway, we came across this registry off to the side of the road . . .
Instantly, we wondered what trail was out here?
After a little research we determined it was probably a range management register used by the BLM

Right across the road from the register was another interesting rock formation . . .
Better go check it out!

Kent standing on the highpoint, with the cliffs that can be seen around Colorado City in the background

This turned out to be a fun little spur of the moment adventure.  If you're looking to do something out of the ordinary, like locating a benchmark and azimuth, you might really enjoy this outing.  We can almost guarantee there won't be anyone else out there exploring these cliffs and rocks!  Altogether we hiked about 1.5 miles (r/t) across a fairly flat mesa with little elevation gain.  Think about giving this one a try . . . it was a very good afternoon!

 

Pole Canyon

With an open day on our calendar and nothing pressing to do, we decided to head out for a hike rather than let the day slip away - especially with one more "rather" cool day before the summer heat sets in later this week.  The only question was where to go?  Everything around Zion is already packed with the summer surge of visitors.  Low and behold, Kent found a relatively unknown slot canyon, on Google Earth, that he hoped would be an escape from the crowds.  Sure enough, the trailhead was empty and we spent the entire afternoon exploring without seeing another soul.

This Evening Primrose is the first thing Allison saw as she exited the truck!

The pullout for Pole Canyon is on the Kolob Terrace Road right before the infamous hairpin turn
that leads to Wildcat Canyon Trailhead . . .
There is no trail, just some social paths that lead to Pine Springs Wash

It still felt like spring in Pine Springs Wash as White Phlox were everywhere!

We were surprised to find a small seep (possibly Pine Springs??) as we passed Jobs Head

An interesting old tree that finally succumbed to a lighting strike

We have to admit that this wash was nothing short of a boulder hop for its entirety

Kent is working his way through one of several small dry falls that we encountered . . .
Notice the pine tree growing on top of that sandstone slab . . . incredible will to survive!

Zion Beardtongue (Penstemon) is a rare wildflower endemic to Southern Utah

If it wasn't boulder hopping, it was working our way around downed trees

Finally, after two-miles, the wash turned into the Pole Canyon slot we had come to see

Honeycomb sandstone know as tafoni greeted us as we entered the narrowest points of the canyon

Not the narrowest slot we've been in . . . but still a rather unique passage to walk through

White Columbine were plentiful farther up the canyon in the shady areas

After about a half-hour of exploring we decided to turn around . . .
The narrows section continues on for at least half-mile to a mile . . .

One last look at the leaning fir that guards the entrance to Pole Canyon

Hooker's Onion is a wildflower with an edible bulb
It attracts hummingbirds and butterflies . . . deer won't come near it

Getting close to our entry/exit point of the wash . . . Jobs Head, once again, in the background

Allison couldn't resist a picture of this weathered knotty piece of wood

Out of the wash and working our way back to the pullout . . .
That's Pine Valley Peak, near Wildcat Canyon Trailhead . . . we would love to climb it but we don't think it's possible without ropes!

While Kent found the constant boulder‑hopping and log jams frustrating, Allison enjoyed the slower pace, which gave her time to observe—and photograph—the many varieties of flowers lining the wash. We ended up hiking 5.2 miles (r/t) with about 600 feet of elevation gain, taking roughly four hours to complete the route. After returning home, we mapped the rest of the slot on Google Earth and realized we could have continued another mile upstream before being forced to turn around. It’s easy to see why this slot receives so few visitors, yet it would be a stunning hike in the fall when the mountain maples turn red. For more information on Pole Canyon, you can click here for a helpful description, though we do question the distances they recorded…