GC1H7B9 Squaw Mountain Fire Lookout Tower
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: GreasePot, Garlic and Daisy-dawg @ | Hide Date: 10/14/2008 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N39° 40.768 W105° 29.590 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
         

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Gorgeous views of Mt Evans, Longs, Pikes, Greys and Torreys. The road is gated about 1/2 mile before the tower. Drive, walk, snowshoe, ski

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AGENCY/OWNER: Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests DATE STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTED: The Civilian Conservation Corp constructed the present USFS Lookout in 1940. The original 16’ X 10’ house was constructed in 1925 by the city and county of Denver. DESCRIPTION OF STRUCTURE: L-4 Gable roof, Native stone base with living quarters. Modified roof after 1969 Windstorm. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The original 16’ X 10’ lookout was constructed in 1925 at a cost of $731.98 by the city and county of Denver. A garage was constructed at the end of the road, also in 1925, at a cost of $408.30. A toilet and cistern was also constructed. This site was then administered by the Pike National Forest and transferred to the Arapaho National Forest on January 1, 1937. The lookout was replaced by the USFS due to lack of “seen area” for the national forest. The new lookout was placed higher in elevation by 50 feet, and increased the view by at least 25%, which covered the Berthoud Pass area of the forest. The present lookout was constructed in 1940 by the Forest Service at a cost of $4,472.62. Construction was primarily by Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) labor. An electrical line was completed to the site in 1950 and the lookout was equipped with an electric refrigerator. A range was added in 1951. The original lookout was destroyed by a severe windstorm on January 7, 1969 and subsequently rebuilt. The original gable roof was replaced with a slanted roof to endure wind and snow loads. 16 individuals or couples occupied the lookout from June 1941 until January 1969. In 1960 Bob and Margaret Swanlund began to live in their stone house year around at the saddle of the mountain. Construction of the house took more than 16 years. Bob was an Amateur radio operator (W0WYX) and conducted radio experiments and provided radio communications for surrounding counties and municipalities. It was the highest elevation staffed radio station in the nation for many years. The rock house is now referred to as the “house of radios” as it is currently a communications hub for government, private and amateur radio applications. The lookout is potentially eligible for the Register of Historic Places. Site 5CC194. Status not confirmed

Additional Waypoints

R11H7B9 - Road (drive or park here)
N 39° 41.017 W 105° 31.016
Park here and hike/snowshoe/ski up the road, or drive up the road if you wish

06/19/2019 By CasaMono
Found it with my 3 boys (14,13,11).

04/21/2019 By jax-man
Mugglehoney and I spent last week in Denver for a big volleyball tournament. We decided to take a vacation day afterwards to pick up several targeted caches.

We were surprised to see there was bike lane. Who would bike that road? That question was soon answered when we past a guy peddling up. He was moving pretty good too!

I wanted to get a two mile high cache, so I chose this one and the one on the way up. That way if I couldn't find one, I still had another to find. Mugglehoney had not slept well, so they decided to stay in the car and nap while I hiked.

After four days on my feet for 12-15 hours each, I was a bit concerned. Also they were calling for rain, which I assumed would be snow up this high. So before starting, I told Mugglehoney that if I found the first one, I was not going on. But once on the trail, wild horses would not have been able to hold me back from the top. When I texted to say I found the first one, but was continuing on, I got the sarcastic reply of, "I'm shocked!" I guess they know me too well.

I was surprised at how many people were on the trail today: there were two guys and a truck (They had tried to drive and had gotten it stuck just around the first bend. I offered to help, but thankfully they refused.) there was a family on their way down (one of their kids didn't have the right shoes, so they had to abort their quest for the top), there was a guy at the top who was recovering from knee surgery and just had to get out, I past two groups on their way up when I was heading back down, there also was a couple on their way up to spend the night in the lookout and the two guys with the stuck truck hadn't made much progress. I also met 5 dogs - they were all friendly. However, I didn't see any wildlife. I was thankful that it wasn't rattlesnake season as gz looked to be nice place for them.

I am from Pennsylvania and I'm used to hiking mountains. In fact, I live at the base of Nittany Mountain - Penn State is known as the Nittany Lions, and I hike the mountain regularly. OK, you call it a hill, but that's what we have. However, I am used to hiking where there is oxygen! This hike was a bit rough. I needed to stop about every 200 feet to catch my breath. But, I made like the tortoise and prevailed.

I decided to scramble up the rocks from the last switchback directly to the lookout. Then I climbed up to take in all the views and take lots of pictures.

I then took the trail over to the cache and made the surprisingly quick find. After signing and returning, I spotted the wire.

When I got to the trail, there was a sign that stated the tower was occupied!? I was just up there, not only taking in the views, but also checking out the accommodations. Glad I didn't peer in on anyone - remember, I met them on my way down.

I took lots of pictures, but the phone app only allows me to post one, so I'll need to wait till I'm at a computer to post the rest.

The hike down was quick and I was very happy to discover that for some reason, my knees were fine. I don't know if it had to do with the altitude or if the snow helped cushion the impact.

TFTC

10/07/2018 By GeoBender25
Visiting from TN, stayed overnight at the fire lookout, snow storm! Great spot and a great time!

10/07/2018 By dneedham
Found with Geobender25 while visiting from TN!

08/19/2018 By Wulff Pack
A rare revisit for me, I was here 4 years ago. Surprised that so few have visited, since my last visit. Why do so many geocachers ignore the best geocaches? Quantity, not quality, that's why.

05/22/2018 By animjason
That was a fun hike with Bhob. My first time up here. Great views.

Thanks GreasePot, Garlic and Daisy-dawg! Logged Squaw Mountain Fire Lookout Tower from a ninth galaxy using c:geo!

~ Geocache Find #9674 ~

03/11/2018 By DuneBuddy
Took advantage of the nice weather to hike to the lookout tower. Great views. We met two couples who were on their way to spend the night at the tower. Here is the link where reservations can be made.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/squaw-mountain-fire-lookout/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=113589

But book early, it is booked months in advance. TFTC

08/31/2017 By sciguy2
It had been three years since our hiking group visited the Fire Lookout so I decided that I'd check out the cache to see how it was doing. The cache is in good condition and the swag contents doing just fine and waiting for the next visitor.

Sciguy2
logged July 2, 2014

07/27/2017 By BlazeBlue
Found right away once I reached the right spot. The hike up the road wasn't terribly exciting, but the views were great up top. The firetower can be rented for a reasonable price, but usually needs to be reserved well in advance, even on week days. I spoke with some people who were getting ready to leave the tower at the end of their stay, and found out that the accommodations inside are not bad (workable kitchen and living area, and electricity.)