Hiking Schonchin Butte Lookout
Lava Beds National Monument, - Sat, 31 Aug 2019, 4:30pm
As we drove into Lava Beds earlier today we took note of Schonchin Butte. It's a cinder cone- a type of mountain that is notoriously hard to hike because of its loosely packed, fine grain composition.
Guess how we know cinder cones are hard to climb. 😏 Yeah, we've done it before. It's "Two steps forward, one step back" the whole way up. But this one has trees growing arounds its north side, suggesting a firmer surface there. And there's a fire lookout at the top.
The deal was sealed- we decided we had to go- when a ranger at the visitors center remarked, "And it's even staffed today! Ranger [mumble] loves company." A staffed fire lookout? We've been to more lookout towers than I can count, yet none have ever been staffed during our visit!
We began our trek to the top after hiking through Sentinel Cave. Yes, from hiking an underground lava tube to climbing to a mountain peak minutes later. With beauty all around me, I walk.
The hiking trail to the top of Schonchin Butte was steep, ascending 500 ft. in just 0.7 mile, but it was well graded most of the way. Only the final bit to the lookout tower (above) perched atop a lava cap at the top was gasp-inducing.
At the top, sure enough, a ranger was there performing fire lookout duty. She told us about a fire she was helping track from her eagle-eyed perch, following along on the radio as ground crews and air crews attacked it. As she talked about just how common fires are, we wondered again why it's so rare that all these fire lookouts built once-up-a-time atop countless peaks in California are rarely ever staffed. Some are merely abandoned (the stunning Sierra Buttes lookout); others have been torn down (the equalling stunning Needles lookout).
Oh, and the fire lookout here is vintage 1942, built by the CCC (see blog about entering the park).
From the lookout we enjoyed true 360° views. To the southwest, Mt. Shasta loomed on the horizon. To the east, the many ranges of the Great Basin. To the north, a view back over Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, where we visited earlier today.
In this picture you can see small-seeming Tule Lake. It's actually quite large, miles across. And 100 years ago it was 10x its current size. Settlers drained the marsh to reclaim the land used for farming also visible in the picture. To the west (left) of the lake is Gellem Butte, an example of a drop fault.
The ranger up here also gave us some suggestions for dinner in the town of Tule Lake. In a bit we'll head down and then out to eat.
Update: Read about our stay at The Hawk's Nest!
As we drove into Lava Beds earlier today we took note of Schonchin Butte. It's a cinder cone- a type of mountain that is notoriously hard to hike because of its loosely packed, fine grain composition.
Guess how we know cinder cones are hard to climb. 😏 Yeah, we've done it before. It's "Two steps forward, one step back" the whole way up. But this one has trees growing arounds its north side, suggesting a firmer surface there. And there's a fire lookout at the top.
The deal was sealed- we decided we had to go- when a ranger at the visitors center remarked, "And it's even staffed today! Ranger [mumble] loves company." A staffed fire lookout? We've been to more lookout towers than I can count, yet none have ever been staffed during our visit!
We began our trek to the top after hiking through Sentinel Cave. Yes, from hiking an underground lava tube to climbing to a mountain peak minutes later. With beauty all around me, I walk.
The hiking trail to the top of Schonchin Butte was steep, ascending 500 ft. in just 0.7 mile, but it was well graded most of the way. Only the final bit to the lookout tower (above) perched atop a lava cap at the top was gasp-inducing.
At the top, sure enough, a ranger was there performing fire lookout duty. She told us about a fire she was helping track from her eagle-eyed perch, following along on the radio as ground crews and air crews attacked it. As she talked about just how common fires are, we wondered again why it's so rare that all these fire lookouts built once-up-a-time atop countless peaks in California are rarely ever staffed. Some are merely abandoned (the stunning Sierra Buttes lookout); others have been torn down (the equalling stunning Needles lookout).
Oh, and the fire lookout here is vintage 1942, built by the CCC (see blog about entering the park).
From the lookout we enjoyed true 360° views. To the southwest, Mt. Shasta loomed on the horizon. To the east, the many ranges of the Great Basin. To the north, a view back over Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, where we visited earlier today.
In this picture you can see small-seeming Tule Lake. It's actually quite large, miles across. And 100 years ago it was 10x its current size. Settlers drained the marsh to reclaim the land used for farming also visible in the picture. To the west (left) of the lake is Gellem Butte, an example of a drop fault.
The ranger up here also gave us some suggestions for dinner in the town of Tule Lake. In a bit we'll head down and then out to eat.
Update: Read about our stay at The Hawk's Nest!