The Crane Flat Fire Lookout in Yosemite National Park was built in 1931. The lookout was the first one in Yosemite and doesn’t resemble fire lookouts used by the NFS. My friend Erin S and I decided to make a snow shoe trip up to the lookout while driving into the park the other day. We were expecting ‘spectacular’ 360 degree views of Yosemite but unfortunately the weather wasn’t listening to the meteorologists on that day. We caught glimpses of what might be an awesome view through the clouds. It was really interesting to arrive up at the top of the little tiny hill after our 1.5 or 2.5 mile hike. This is one of those trails where you get to decide how far you hiked since there are two signs, on the same pole, each with a different distance. There is the lookout, a Helli pad, an outhouse with an awesome view on a clear day(just leave the door open and you’ll see why, and the shell of an old helicopter. Nope. We didn’t get in it or anything. We didn’t see anyone else on this trail so it might or might not be a nice stroll in the summer. The trail meets up with the trail that leads to the Touloumne Grove off of Tioga Road. I’d like to go back and visit in the summer to see the view and climb up to the observation deck. We didn’t this time because the snow shoes interfered with the stairs and I was just too lazy to take them off… even if it meant fixing my sock.
