High on the mountain ridges east of Five Cities is a viewpoint
so spectacular you MUST bring your camera. Come for sunset or
sunrise. Camp nearby or continue on toward other caches (
"I"t's Not A Bomb is just down the hill). At "H" you're looking
for an ammo can filled largely with digital stuff including a
digital answering machine (fully functional) and functional cell
phone - though it only dials 911 'til you get your OWN phone
account with it.
This is a nice drive on a graded dirt road with multiple small
creek crossings (small most of the year). This road is passable in
any street-legal vehicle (except those that have been SEVERELY
lowered after market). This road can by quite slick when wet, but
is usually closed by the Forest Service in such instances.
High Mountain Lookout was once a forest fire lookout station. It
has been turned over to friends of the California Condor and, as
such, has been adorned with a giant mural of the endangered bird
which frequents the area.
From the condorlookout.org site: "The Hi
Mountain Condor Lookout Project is a joint venture between the
Morro Coast Audubon Society, the US Forest Service, and the US Fish
and Wildlife Service (with the Ventana Wilderness Society and Cal
Poly Biological Sciences as collaborators) to monitor movements of
the endangered California condor population from the strategically
placed Hi Mountain Lookout. Recently, following a decade of
vandalism and neglect, the Lookout underwent an amazing
transformation. It is now a functional field-research station and
interpretive center staffed by volunteers, students, and condor
biologists. Once again, the Hi Mountain Lookout is enlisted for
active duty, now in the name of endangered species conservation and
field ecology."