Finley Peak Lookout Site

Likely the first lookout structure in the Olympic National Park area, Finley Peak Lookout was built in 1916. The log cabin was built on a knife edge ridgeline in a saddle between the multiple highpoints of Finley Peak. Views in two directions were blocked by tall timbered summit knobs. The lookout was along the start of the original Skyline Trail that accessed the Three Lakes area and beyond to Kimta Peak. Finley Lookout was one of the first lookouts outfitted with a radio although a phone line also ran up the mountain from the ranger station at Lake Quinault. The lookout was abandoned in 1930 and destroyed in 1947.

Elevation: 3,376 feet
Hiking distance: 4 miles as birds fly
Elevation Gain: 3,200 feet
Access: Very good roads

There is no easy way to access Finley Peak, especially since the peak summit is labeled at different locations on numerous maps. The most often attempted route to Finley Peak is via Three Lakes. An abandoned trail leaves the lakes climbing to the Paradise Valley\Tshletshy Creek pass. From the pass, the abandoned Finley Peak Trail goes south up the ridge. Reports say the trail soon disappears after a half mile. Continue 2 miles from this highpoint on the ridge to the lookout location. Although the trail is long abandoned, sections surly remain. An alternate access is to take the ridge from the south utilizing the original start of the Skyline Trail. This trail has been abandoned for decades but can still be found once the ridge narrows at 2,600 feet. BUT, be warned, this route requires starting around 300 feet. That means 2,300 feet of low elevation bushwhack and off trail route finding. Although the steep forest slopes are pretty good for travel, numerous flattish areas hold pockets of dense brush that is difficult and disorientating.
This route should only be attempted if you are experienced with steep off-trail route finding. The advantage is a direct 4 mile route instead of the long 9 mile route via the Three Lakes Trail.

I parked on the North Shore Road, at a river access at mile post 9. Use a GPS because once you are going, the terrain between 400 and 800 feet is difficult to navigate. Use the annotated map provided.

On July 30, 1920, the Mason County Journal reported: "R.L. Fromme, supervisor of the Olympic national forest, has appointed Mavie Olsen, pioneer school teacher, as lookout at the 'Finley Fire' station 12 miles northeast of Lake Quinault. She is the first woman lookout appointed for the Olympic forest. Her duty is to watch for forest fire signs from her lofty station and report their location by telephone to patrolmen."

Though knighthood does not flower in the United States, to the extent of creating titles of “My Lord,” and “My Lady,” nevertheless, there sits on a throne in the Olympic Mountains, three thousand six hundred feet above sea level, a slip of a sun-tanned girl, Mavie Olson, who enjoys the title of “Lady Lookout.” She is constantly on the lookout for forest fires during the danger season, between spring and autumn.
Now, you timid maids who flee from the approach of a mouse, picture Miss Olson, a girl who recently rounded out her twenty-first year, away up on a mountain height, all by her lonely, except for the companionship of two dogs.
Save for the cry of some wild animal, solitude reigns supreme about the girl’s cabin, which serves the double purpose of the lookout station and Lady Lookout’s home. The place is built of white cedar, the logs rough-hewn, just as they came from the forest depths. Four large plate glass windows are set in each side of the cabin, giving an outlook in every direction of twenty-six miles. Twenty miles distant by pack horse, is Lake Quinault, where Mavie was born on the Olson homestead, and now, on her mountain throne, Lady Lookout has telephone connection with her parents home, as well as with all the forest stations in the district of her cabin. Each day the forest rangers inquire by telephone if all is well with Lady Lookout, and in case no answer is forthcoming, immediately someone from the valley goes over the steep trail to investigate.
Finley Lookout is but the summer home of Miss Olson, as she teaches school during the winter months. She much prefers her summer work, which consists of first and most important, the looking out for fires, and, in the event of discovering one, determining its location through use of the fire finder and map, and reporting the result to the district ranger’s headquarters at Olson on Lake Quinault. He sends the patrolman to attend to it, and Lady Lookout’s responsibility on that score is over for the time being.
Miss Olson has other duties beside those of keeping watch for fires. Every three hours, from six A.M. to six P.M. she must take the weather readings. For this reason the lookout station is not only provided with windows and telescopes but also with scientific instruments. There are such things as the following, for instance: an anemometer for determining the velocity of the wind; a psychrometer for registering the humidity of the air; a thermometer; a barometer, a range gauge, and an anemoscope for showing the direction of the wind. At the end of each month, she is required to send a complete record of the weather readings to the Weather Bureau at Portland, Oregon, and a duplicate copy to the Forest Supervisor, at Olympia.
This courageous girl, the picture of health, grew up in the Quinault settlement, and in typical Western fashion spent a great deal of time with her brothers, fishing, hunting, and on hiking expeditions among the Olympic foothills. She is a graduate of Bellingham State Normal School, and has taught near Hoquiam, Washington.
Miss Olson is never idle. Sometimes, when the weird cries of wild animals keep her awake during the night, she rases from her bed of cedar boughs, and busies herself about household occupations, such as baking bread, or a batch of biscuit, to pass the time until day dawns.
Miss Olson does her marketing by pack horse, and when it is necessary to replenish her supplies, is given four days leave of absence.
For pastime, she reads, writes, embroiders, or hikes about, exploring the mountains, when there is no immediate danger of fire, as for instance after a heavy rain. She admits having seen many bears while on hiking expeditions, but as the fur is of no value during the summer period, and the bears are harmless, Lady Lookout has not attempted to kill any of them. Cougars are numerous, but so far they have avoided her path.
She confesses to having learned many valuable lessons while in her mountain home, one in particular – always to carry a compass in the hills, as well as matches and gun. Though cautioned to do so, Lady Lookout one day, disregarding the caution, wandered out after taking the evening weather reading, in search of a lake in which to swim. Without matches, compass or gun, she with her dog went scouting for the swimming hole. After considerable wandering about, she got into a box canyon, and in her attempt to find an easier way out, became confused as to location, and, to her dismay, found that all sides of the canyon looked alike to her. She set about returning the way she came, and to her surprise shortly was back at the point where she had started out to retrace her steps. By this time darkness had fallen, and her dog, Stormy, had deserted her to chase a bear; so the girl was alone, without matches to build a fire, or a gun to protect herself from prowling wild things.
While Miss Olson laughs at fear, she admits that in this predicament she experienced the awful sensation of being lost, far from the haunts of civilization. She found a hollow cedar close by, where she was protected from the wind. But instead of going into it immediately, she sat down, wishing with all her heart that her dog would seek her; which he did about midnight. The Lady Lookout to prevent this again wandering, knotted her stockings together and with them tied the dog, and using him for a pillow, fell asleep. On awakening early in the morning, Miss Olson found that the sun was in the west, instead of in the east, as she had supposed it would be.
Here her dog proved himself invaluable, for he knew the way out through she didn’t. It was hard at first for her to consent to follow him, for he seemed to be trying to lead her away from home in stead of toward it. At last she surrendered the direction to home. He led her out of the canyon, and once upon the ridge, she had no trouble finding her way. She had to hurry, though, for the day was well broken. She got home just in time to take the six o’clock reading and to save herself the embarrassment of explaining anything to the authorities who called her up at the time. Since then she never ventures forth from the cabin without matches, gun, and compass.
Miss Olson’s duties as Lady Lookout end with the close of the fire season, near the wane of September, and her duties as teacher in Alaska begin in October. While Miss Olson looks forward to her school, she reluctantly bids good-by to her throne in the Olympic Mountains, to which she hopes to return.

Article about Mavie Olsen “A GIRL WHO LIVES VERY MUCH ALONE”

Too much snow' was the verdict brought back from a Skyline Trail trip taken by Pete Mattson, Oiva Knute and Emil Yuni of Aberdeen this week. They returned from a three-day trek to the Olympics. They tramped about 10 miles along the trail before being turned back by huge drifts of snow. Beyond the Finley ridge lookout station snow is from four to ten feet deep they said.

Centralia Daily Cronicle on June 30, 1932

Edwin Wilson, son of Judge J.M. Wilson, is in charge of a radio observation station on the Finley lookout in the Olympic national forest. He has the wireless station established by the government there to report forest fires and to receive reports from the airplane patrol wireless. His station looks out over most of Jefferson county, from just across the Grays harbor county line.

The Mason County Journal on July 8, 1921

Finley Peak Lookout and a guy next to a sign I wish I could read.

6 people at the lookout

Article about the Lookout Lady

Miss Olson and her lookout in 1920

Looks like Miss Olson

Similar to image on left

Family meal at the lookout

1920 Seattle Mountaineers Party

Two people on the observation post

Inside the lookout with the wireless radio equipment

Mountaineers with ice axes