Kelly Butte — Friday, Oct. 24, 2003

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

took a quick zoom down to the Greenwater area and up to Kelly Butte to examine the old lookout there. I've heard that next year it'll start to be refurbished with a possible eye to becoming a rental. Drove up 70 and then 7030(the sign is gone but is an obvious major tributary of 70) The last mile of 'road' to the trail is probably only good if you have a high clearance vehicle. There is barely room to turn around at the end...room for about 5 cars max... The trail is an avalanche gully at the start...some gracious soul has left 75 feet of yellow plastic rope tied up to a tree hanging down this to help you up the hardest part. At the top, a switchback trail climbs the butte until the grade eases out. Lots of red huckleberry bushes and vistas of Mount Rainier make breathing stops worthy. After reaching the summit plateau, the trail makes a beeline straight for the lookout through fields of small firs and beargrass clumps. The lookout becomes visible a quarter mile away. The lookout itself is in pretty decent condition considering it hasn't been used in over 20 years....the structure is stable, but the door is loose and all the windows have been broken out. The original lookout furniture is all there, but so is 20 years of trash, bottles, cans. Graffitti has been liberally scratched on every available surface and some fool has built a fire at the base of the rock ramp to the lookout(much much too close for an aged wood structure.) The views are good but mottled by clearcuts. The power line up the valley through Lester is in the valley just north. Mount Baker and Glacier Peak poke their heads above the skyline of the Snowqualmie Massif....You can even see downtown Seattle and the Olympics quite well if the weather cooperates. Kelly Butte is a worthy short hike. The trail is is desperate need of WTA expertise.( by the way, it's only 1.2 miles and 900 foot of gain.) The lookout should be saved and cleaned up and honored as a historic place and revered instead of trashed. Go lightly there and urge its protection.