FR 3810 - Funk Mountain

Trail Overview

From the main road (FR 28), this trail begins as an easy and wide dirt road that climbs up to the hillside. Once you turn South, the trail progressively becomes more narrow. The further up you travel, the more technical and tricky the trail becomes. Due to a small landslide, and until repaired, there is one section that will be challenging for 2WD vehicles, due to vehicle flex and tires being elevated. Beyond this section, the trail becomes very rocky, rutted, and steep as you near and reach the fire tower. The fire tower itself is really tall (40 feet) and quite a sight to see - you can climb the (very steep) stairs for a panoramic view of the surrounding forest. Closed in the winter and early spring months.

Photos of FR 3810 - Funk Mountain

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Difficulty

What begins as an easy, wide dirt road eventually turns into a narrow two-track. The last two miles or so are very rocky, rutted, and steep as you near and reach the fire tower.

History

In 1911, a trail was completed from the Gibson wagon road to an established lookout point on Funk Mountain. The distance was about 2 1/4 miles. A large watering trough was made and installed, and the spring was cleaned out and fenced on Funk Mountain. In 1914, the crow's nest tree was in use. (It is still there as of 2023 and in surprisingly good condition having survived fires, lightning strikes, age, vandalism, and the Forest Service lawyers for over 100 years. In 1935, an L-5 cab was added for sleeping quarters. In 1938, the Osborne Photo Survey team visited and chose to shoot from the crow's nest, so this somewhat confirms the cab was not used for fire finding. In 1943, the current 40-foot timber tower with an L-4 cab was built. In 1957, Mrs. Harry A. Gavin of Omak completed a 99-day season on Funk. She at that point had served a total of 1171 days as a fire lookout. Most of the 11 summers were at Funk Mountain. The district ranger Don Caron said that Mrs. Gavin was rated as one of the best lookouts in the Okanogan national forest. It is through the sincere effort of such devoted people as Mrs. Gavin that the fire detection program operates so efficiently, said Caron. In 1966, the Lookout Road was reported to be rough, and advisable to walk the last half mile to the top. In 2023, the Lookout is now in rough shape and definitely in its last years unless it is adopted.

Technical Rating