The first of back-to-back trips found me hiking ten rugged miles to Three Fingers Lookout (two extra due to road washout). Accompanying me were two good friends who had the same itchiness to finish this thing off. You see, last October we had almost arrived when a sudden snowstorm compounded with lightning strikes sent us "running" home! 
This historic lookout was established by the U.S. Forest Service during the early part of last century for spotting fires within the back country. On the trek up, my mind wandered often to the burliness of past mountain men, who a century ago carried heavy building supplies and telephone wire up this jagged peak. And to think that I sometimes fuss about the moderate weight I have to carry.But what a worthy spot it is for a building: _atop a narrow spire of rock with glacier to the north and a half-mile drop to the east. There is barely room for the lookout up there. Just beyond the window glass, the mountain falls away abruptly. Any sense of vertigo is promptly overwhelmed by 360 degrees of pure Washington State goodness! ! !
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