This article lends credence to the fact that this radar site was never completed.

Stretch out kinks of roap trip on trails of glorious Slate Peak
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

It`s a long drive and a short walk to the Slate Peak lookout, one of the highest lookouts you can drive to in the state.

The trail is too short to qualify as even a short hike, but the Pacific Crest Trail is close, and you can add as many miles as you`d like.

The summit of Slate Peak is a lofty 7,400 feet, and in mid-July there were still snow patches on the access road and along several sections of the Pacific Crest Trail.

You can drive within a quarter-mile of the lookout, but even so, non-hiking tourists or hikers with very small children may find Slate Peak enough of an outing. When snow patches linger, the entire three-mile Slate Peak Road is a good hike in itself and snail fossils can be seen in outcroppings along the road.

The views from the road are compelling, and from the summit of Slate Peak, which was leveled to make room for a radar station, you will see the giants of the North Cascades everywhere you turn. The peaks are too many to name, but the cast of alpine characters includes such luminaries as Mount Baker, Jack Mountain, Crater Mountain, Silver Star and Azurite.

Below the jagged peaks are the deep forested valleys of Slate Creek and the West Fork of the Pasayten River.

Slate Peak has a colorful history. During World War II the lookout was manned all year. The winters were so inhospitable that one person manning the lookout retreated to the Harts Pass Guard Station to thaw out. Lightning strikes were always a threat, and the building once was set on fire by a strike.

In the late 1950s the Department of Defense removed 50 feet from the summit for a radar station as part of an early warning system, but before the system was finished, it was declared obsolete and never used.

When the Department of Defense abandoned the project, the Forest Service inherited the road and made good use of the building as a fire lookout. The Forest Service did have to raise the building 50 feet on a tower so lookouts could see down into the valleys. Today it is manned only during periods of fire danger.

The Harts Pass area is steeped in mining history. There were several gold rushes in the 1800s -- one of which resulted in the boom town of Barron near upper Slate Creek. The dreams of riches remained only dreams for most of the miners, and by 1907 most of them had given up. This mining area can be seen from Slate Peak today, and much of Barron Basin is still privately owned.

The subalpine areas around Slate Peak make an ideal outdoor classroom for botanists to find and identify flowers and study geology or the effect of climate on the environment and how organisms adapt.

Such harsh climatic conditions result in some interesting botanical finds, such as willows that grow so close to the ground you have to get down on your hands and knees to see them.

To the horizon are views of distant peaks, and at your feet sprawl diverse subalpine plant communities.

There are several other trails near Harts Pass that you can hike as far as time, stamina and interest allow.

Hiking possibilities include the Buckskin Ridge/Silver Lake Trail, a long day hike or short backpack. For Buckskin Ridge, turn right at Slate Pass where the road is gated and look for the signed trailhead.

You also can visit Slate Peak lookout, then drive back to the Pacific Crest Trail (trailhead is at mile 1.5 on the Slate Peak Road between Harts Pass and the lookout) for more hiking.

If hiking north, the Windy Pass Trail makes a good destination as the Pacific Crest Trail traverses below the Slate Peak lookout.

Another option is Grasshopper Pass (south on the PCT). Grasshopper Pass is at its best in the fall when the larches turn golden.

Both trails start high and stay high as they follow the crest of the mountains. You also can access the Pacific Crest Trail from the Harts Pass Guard Station at 6,800 feet or from the end of the Meadows Campground road (2 1/2 miles).

Getting there
Take State Highway 20 to Mazama, 11 miles west of Winthrop. Drive to an intersection at one mile. Turn left on Harts Pass Road, also known as Lost Lake Road (FS Road No. 5400), passing a general store and post office. Pavement ends at seven miles and the road continues past the Riverbend Campground turnoff (nine miles).

A couple of miles past Riverbend there is a half-mile stretch of rocky road above Dead Horse Point with some exposure (though narrow, the road is in good condition).

Just before Harts Pass the Meadow Campground Road goes off to the left. Continue to Harts Pass at 6,198 feet and the Harts Pass Guard Station (19 miles from Mazama) and a split in the road. Turn right on the 3-mile Slate Peak Road (FS Road 5400-600). Pass a switchback at 1.5 miles and parking for the Pacific Crest Trail and continue to the second switchback at 1.8 miles to the Slate Pass trailhead, elevation 6,900 feet.

If there are snow patches, you will be hiking rather than driving the road. The road is permanently gated 1/4 mile from the Slate Peak lookout. From Seattle allow about 4 1/2 to 5 hours drive time.

Trail data
From gated road to Slate Peak Lookout, half-mile round trip, approximately 200 feet elevation gain. Silver Lake (from Slate Pass) is approximately 11 miles round trip with a total elevation gain of 3,200 feet.

The Pacific Crest Trail north to Windy Pass is about eight miles round trip, 1,500 feet elevation gain.

The Pacific Crest Trail south to Grasshopper Pass is about 11 miles round trip, 1,000 feet elevation gain.

For more information on trails at Harts Pass refer to "100 Hikes in Washington`s North Cascades National Park region" by Ira Spring and Harvey Manning (The Mountaineers, 254 pages, $16.95)

For current road and trail conditions, call the Methow Ranger district at 509-997-2131.

The recommended map is Green Trails No. 50 Washington Pass.