First Butte Lookout is listed in the National Historic
Lookout Register (US#358 WA#39)
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: This cache is
available ONLY on the following days:
Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesdays, and
Thursdays between the hours of 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Also, please
stay away during thunderstorms or high fire activity. Also do not
climb the stairs unless you have been invited to by the attending
lookout.
During the fire season, this lookout is
staffed. Please be courteous and respectful when visiting. The fire
lookout staff are up there for a purpose and they have a job to do.
Please respect their privacy during their non-service hours,
usually from 6:00 PM to 10:00 AM.
The Lookout is located 11 miles NNE of Winthrop, WA. The
elevation at the tower is 5491 feet. Built by the Forest Service in
1938 as a fire lookout, it was staffed in 1942 as a World War II
Aircraft Warning Station. First Butte Lookout remains an active
fire detection site. The 14'x14' L-4 with catwalk sits atop a 28'
timber tower. Near the tower is a smokechaser cabin. The numbers
painted on the roof are aeronautical reference numbers to help
guide pilots to an emergency mountaintop heliport nearby.
The view from First
Butte looking West is spectacular. In the distance you will see
the volcanic peaks of the North Cascades.
During the summer months you may see a lookout person on duty.
Stop in and say hello.
The cache is north and out of sight of the tower, in the timber.
You will be hunting for an ammo can.
Have fun!
The Navigatorz