A lookout tree is a simple fire lookout tower created by attaching a ladder or a series of spikes to a tall straight tree with a view of the surrounding lands, allowing rangers or fire crews to conveniently climb the tree to survey their surroundings. The simplest kind consist only of a ladder to a suitable height: this kind was called a "ladder tree." Some ladder trees had platforms on the ground next to them for maps and a fire finder. A more elaborate version often created a platform on top of the tree trunk by cutting off approximately the last 10 feet (3.0 m) of the treetop and building a railed wooden platform on the resulting stump. These "platform trees" were often equipped with telephones, fire finder tables, seats and guy wires. Accommodation for the watcher was provided by a ten