From web site at URL http://www.firelookout.com/wa/slate.html
SLATE PEAK LOOKOUT
16 miles northwest of Mazama WA
Okanogan National Forest
7440`
Slate Peak borders the Pasayten Wilderness Area in Washington`s
North Cascades. The first lookout structure here was a 1924 gable-roof cupola
cabin. The current 41` treated timber tower with L-4 cab was built in 1956,
after the Air Force decided they didn`t need to build a radar station here. The
summit was formerly 40` higher, but the Air Force kicked out the U.S. Forest
Service tenant, destroyed the L-4 cabin which had been moved to the summit just
2 years earlier from Leecher
Mtn. Lookout, and blasted the top 40` off the mountain. The project was
declared obsolete before completion, and what remains is a huge flat summit. It
is the highest point in Washington accessible by automobile. The lookout was
pressed into emergency service during 1994 when nearby Goat Peak Lookout had to
be evacuated because of a forest fire. It was used in 1996 to monitor the Elbow
Basin fire in the Pasayten Wilderness, and relay radio messages from personnel
on the fire. Photo © Rex Kamstra.