Way cool day on the mountain. Volunteer work, helping with the renovation of the historic High Rock Fire Lookout Tower. A helicopter brought in the heavy stuff. However the rest of the supplies are packed up and down the mountain by volunteers supporting the preservation project.
Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens in the background and a thousand flying ants around us. With temps in the high 80s at the peak, my buddy and I collectively hauled about 180-pounds of building material and camp gear up the mountain and brought trash down to the trailhead. Good cardio and strength training for the body, gratifying volunteer work for the soul...
The current renovation project required the tower be torn down to the foundation for a complete rebuild. The local White Pass County Historical Society is making the magic happen and it's fun to be along for the ride.I'm not sure if there's a technical name for someone who chases Fire Lookout Towers on mountains, but it's become my new thing. The tower visited on this trip was for VIP only. 'V' for Volunteer. I've been wanting to add High Rock FLT to my list. It's the 9th one I've hiked/trail-run to in Western WA. However, being there as a volunteer supporting the restoration project made it extra special.

So glad I was able to hike this before it closed for repairs. Started the hike about 3:30pm on Sunday and got to the top about 4:45/5pm with lots of water and picture breaks on the way up. Beautifully clear day, and you could see the whole Volcanic Arc crew! Probably 10-20 people at the top enjoying the view and a summit drink/treat; saw way more people heading up for sunset when I was hiking out. Picked up some trash on my way down, but not as much as I anticipated which was awesome. Weirdest thing I came across was an icy hot patch stuck to a tree… 🤷🏼‍♀️

The road up was as others have described…pot holes galore, but passable. I had a lower/smaller vehicle behind me on the way up and they were able to navigate the rough road, just had to move slowly - even saw motorcyclist coming down, they seemed to have no problems! Parking area was mostly full when I got there, with a few folks starting to park along the road. If parking is scarce I would recommend maybe trying to find parking before the trailhead, or don’t go too far past the trailhead. There is some space for parking after the trail head, but after about 100ft, when the road starts going back down, the road gets reeaally rough and I would consider impassable unless you have a high clearance vehicle. I watched a smaller car get stuck in a rut trying to turn around, and a Toyota Tacoma just decided “nope” and backed right back up the hill. I’ve circled my perceived “do not pass” point in one of the last photos and included a picture of the road.

When I left the trailhead a little after 6pm crews were already unloading supplies to start the work on Monday. Can’t wait to come back and do this hike in September!

Please note : High Rock Lookout and the surrounding area, including High Rock Trail #266 and the trailhead parking area, will be closed for construction from July 7 to September 15, 2025. This closure is due to restoration work on the lookout, which includes replacing the foundation and reinstalling the structure.

I wanted my family to experience a gorgeous sunrise hike and what better way to convince them that this is an easy hike and that the trail would be inaccessible starting tomorrow 😊

We were at the TH by 3:55am. The last 8 miles to the trailhead takes time as the road has several potholes( see pics). There were around 50 cars by then. It took us 1 hour going up.

No bugs during the ascent but there were few mosquitoes on our descent. There are few beargrass and other wildflowers blooming along the trail.

It took us about 40 min to get back to the TH. 

What a beautiful day in the PNW! Go on this hike today! 

Bring bug spray! And drive slow going up to the trail head- dirt road and gravel as well as many potholes. Also there are no restrooms at the trailhead. 

It took me about a little bit over an hour to reach the top. Make sure to look for where the turn off is when leaving the lookout- dont be like me and miss it and climb all the way down the rocky mountainside...... there's nothing down there...

Tomorrow 7/6 is the last day to do this hike until mid September! Very beautiful though, bring water and be prepared it is a little steep. 

Did this for sunset last night, absolutely beautiful! Packed with people, and tons of mosquitoes going up- so layers and bug spray is helpful. So glad we got it in before it closes for the summer!