After the clouds moved in and obscured the view of Mt. Rainier, I next focused on photographing the lookout structure itself.
During the early 1900s, early fire detection became a priority for the U.S. Forest Service. To address this need, they constructed fire lookout towers throughout the national forests of the Pacific Northwest, including Washington State.
In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps took on many of these important construction projects, including the Sun Top Lookout – one of the last remaining structures of its kind in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Constructed in 1933, the “view shed” structure housed the equipment and the “fire lookout,” whose duty was to search for wildfires in the surrounding wilderness. They positioned some lookouts, like Sun Top, atop peaks to maximize the viewing distance and range before the advent of aircraft and satellites.
Depending on which gates are open, reaching the summit of Sun Top can be a 16-mile hike (or bike ride) or a 2-mile hike. You can drive your car to the summit if both gates are open. However you choose to get there, the panoramic views are well worth the effort.
The mid-day lighting limited the perspectives available for my black-and-white photography on this particular morning. After evaluating the scene, I decided to focus on capturing the details of the renovated 1930s architecture—the full-glass window with its protective covers, the unique siding, and the distinctive roof of the view shed structure.
