Red Mountain Lookout 9/21/09

[cfm]

Yesterday, I took a trip up to the southern end of Indian Heaven and did a loop trip up to the Red Mountain Lookout and Indian Racetrack.

I started at the gated road to the lookout- 6038 which is off Rt 60 just 1/3 mile west of the PCT. It's a bit over 3 miles and 1500 feet to the summit.

Red cindery road with a view south to Mt Hood:


The summit is being restored for rental use. They are covering the interior with nice wainscoting.


I have visited many lookouts in the northwest, and I think this one has the best views.

Adams:



St Helens:


Rainier:



Old barn with Sleeping Beauty and Klickitat:



I picked up the Indian Racetrack trail and headed down to check it out.



Then took the cutoff trail going east to pick up the PCT:


I spotted the LO from a meadow on the PCT:



Plenty of beautiful fungi, fall has begun!




old PCT sign:


When the PCT crossed FS 60, I just had a 1/3 mile trip on the gravel road back to my car.

Saw one other pair of hikers. 8 miles and about 1500 feet elevation gain.

[fettster]

That's a cool looking lookout. I didn't realize there were any by Indian Heaven. Do you think it would be very accessible in the winter, at least for the views up there? Did you make it to the race track?

[bushwhacker]

Looks like they rebuilt the place. I had snowshoed up there a couple of springs ago and the this is what I found. The winter had not been kind to the lookout tower:

And the top ended up here.

[drm]

Since Road 60 isn't plowed, it would be a long trek (at least 12 miles one way) in the winter from the Wind River Highway. But it's not in the wilderness, just next to it, so you could get part or all of the way on a snowmobile.

The Indian Racetrack itself is a meadow where they used to have pony races back when the tribes of the greater region had a large annual gathering at the spot. I think that these ended early in the 1900's and there is no overt physical sign of it, though I assume that if you dig around there must be lots of small stuff that was left or dropped. But I'm sure you're not supposed to dig.