park butte fire lookout
Weather Forecast
Wed, 07.06
Thu, 08.06
Fri, 09.06
...ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH TUESDAY... Breezy north winds will continue on Tuesday alongside afternoon relative humidity values in the 20 to 30 percent range during the afternoon and into the evening hours. Conditions will also become unstable on Tuesday as mid- level Haines values approach or reach 6. These conditions will combine to produce a favorable environment for fire starts and fire spreads.
(NWS Seattle (Northwest Washington))
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR HOT, DRY AND UNSTABLE CONDITIONS FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONE 658... The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a Red Flag Warning for hot, dry and unstable conditions, which is in effect from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM PDT this evening. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 658 West Slopes of the North Cascades Generally above 1500 Feet. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 20 percent. * HAINES...6 or High. * IMPACTS...A dry and unstable air mass with warm temperatures can contribute to active fire behavior. In western Washington, significant growth on existing fires takes place under such conditions. If a fire were to begin, air quality may diminish in the surrounding area.
(NWS Seattle (Northwest Washington))
Gaia Map
Approximate Route Map
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5-2-2015
I set out hoping to hike to the fire lookout up on Park Butte. However, it was not to be. The first part of the trail is easy going and even the switchbacks heading up through the woods towards the base of Mt. Baker are relatively easy to handle, especially for a North Cascades trail.
Once out of the woods the snow quickly became constant as the “trail” continued to wind upwards. Although I was armed with a map, and following in what seemed like the appropriate footsteps of others, I began to realize that my sense of direction or others footsteps were not pointing the right way. I followed other steps without looking at my map or using my compass. Boneheaded mistake.
Since getting home I know where I wandered off too. Nonetheless, I was enjoying the scenery and decided to continue climbing hoping maybe I would spot the lookout and work my way towards it.
6-15-2015
Wanting to get out of the house the wife and I decided to head up to Park Butte for a nice view in this unseasonably warm weather we are having. Just to extend the trip we settled on camping at the trailhead in the few spots (4 with horse camps) that are available.
The campground turned out to be much nicer than I had anticipated. Plus there was no one else camping at the trailhead that night. It made for a great night of laughter, fire, fun, and no need to keep quiet for other campers.The hike was great this time around thanks to some fast snow melt, making the trail obvious as opposed to my last adventure here.
A special thanks to those from the Skagit County Alpine Club for the hard work they were doing to maintain the lookout tower. An excellent little outing to start off the summer right, now that college is out of the way and we can finally relax.