Warren Peak Lookout Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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This geocache is part of the Sundance Geocache Roundup! Stop by the Sundance Museum to pick up a passport and let the fun begin! Or, you can download the passport at: https://www.sundancewyoming.com/images/Geocache_Brochure_compressed.pdf Find 10 geocaches and earn a custom coin, find 20 and earn a different custom coin! Completed passports can be turned in at the Sundance Museum or you can mail it in to claim your coins!
This cache is near the US Forest Service Fire Lookout on the summit 6,600 foot of Warren Peak north of Sundance, WY. It has a spectacular view. The cache is a small, official geocaching tupperware container with a log book and pen. To access the area, take US Hwy 14 northwest from the town of Sundance, WY. Turn right in about 1.5 miles on to the paved road leading to Black Hills National Forest. Continue on this road for about 6 miles, past the small development called Vista West and USFS Reuter Campground to the summit of Warren Peak, the highest point in the so-called Bearlodge Mountains, the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. Warren Peak is named for Francis E. Warren, the first Governor of Wyomint. A 1/4 mile spur road branches off the pavement to the fire lookout tower. There is a small parking area, a pit toilet and an interpretive sign at the base of the metal fire lookout tower. As with other fire lookouts, Warren Peak has a commanding view of a great deal of beautiful country. Among other things, visitors can see landmarks in Montana and South Dakota as well as sights such as Keyhole Reservoir, Inyan Kara Mountain and the Black Hills proper. Because it's in the valley of the Belle Fourche River, you have to ascend at least 3/4 of the way up the lookout tower before you can see Devils Tower. The surrounding meadows are covered with grasses, wildflowers and occasional small trees. It's a great place to picnic, hike or star gaze. The metal tower was constructed in 1960 and replaced an earlier log tower that the Civilian Conservation Corps built in 1938. It is manned (or womaned) during the mid-summer months that constitute the primary fire season in this region. Visitors can climb to the lookout (about 8 flights of stairs) when it is open, and see how lookouts locate and report fires using triangulation with other lookouts such as the one on Cement Ridge about 20 miles SE of Warren Peak. There are other communications towers on nearby knobs and, to the NW is the remains of a decommissioned radar station that was operated by the US Air Force during the 1960's. The station was an experimental unit that was portable and powered by a small nuclear reactor. Visitors have this radar station to thank for the paved road which was necessary to provide access to the Air Force personnel and equipment. Though it is possible to snow machine or cross-country ski to Warren Peak in winter, this cache will probably be under snow from December through mid-April of most years. The cache is fairly close to the parking area, but the ground surface is rocky and the cache is not wheel-chair accessible.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)