Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Chat about non-hiking topics. The least serious of the forums on the site!
User avatar
kelkev
Posts: 800
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: McMinnville, OR

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by kelkev » February 3rd, 2013, 8:51 pm

Is this the Rebel Rock video you saw? It really IS in bad shape. I'm surprised the FS lets it stand considering the liability issues.[/quote]




That's the video Cheryl - - kind of an eerie production, very cool and stark. It's a bit of a lengthy gut buster to Rebel Rock, and last time I hiked it in the late 80's it was pretty brushy near the top. Not much in the way of views until you top out on the ridge - 5 or 6 miles as I recall. It is very surprising that it hasn't met a fate like most abandoned lookouts have. Olallie is in better shape, but it's not great either. As both of these lookouts are in the Three Sisters Wilderness, restoration is about 99.9% unlikely. An area where I disagree with Wilderness regulations. But I digress.

As far as luck with Recreation.gov, the only way we have had luck is weekdays (we will take vacation days mid-week).....weekends are virtually impossible to get. Gold Butte (and the rest) are much easier to get later in the year, one of my co-workers and his wife stayed 2 nights in mid-October, mid-week as well.

They enjoyed sunny warm days, cold nights, and beautiful fall color photography.

Kevin
"Going to the mountains is going home."
— John Muir

User avatar
kelkev
Posts: 800
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: McMinnville, OR

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by kelkev » February 3rd, 2013, 9:04 pm

One more that I've visited several times, Hawk Mountain Lookout Cabin. Very well preserved, I met a couple of folks from the Clackamas Ranger District doing some painting and roof repair a few years ago. Quickest and easiest access for me is via the Breitenbush Road from Detroit, worth a visit if you haven't been there. Here's a link to a trip journal "ramble" full of living history (with photos) of Hawk Mountain from my good friend Jim Scott's website www.cascaderamblings.com

http://cascaderamblings.com/ramble.php? ... 1093663806


Kevin
"Going to the mountains is going home."
— John Muir

User avatar
shawjr
Posts: 127
Joined: April 14th, 2010, 7:02 pm

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by shawjr » February 16th, 2013, 5:17 pm

Visited our first Lookout site of the year today!! :D

BALD BUTTE LOOKOUT
R.I.P. 1941-1972
Constructed in 1941 as an 80' wooden observation tower, it was cut to 41' with an L-4 cab added in 1944. The tower was gone by 1972.
Mt. Hood National Forest
14 miles northeast of Mt. Hood
Hood River County, Oregon
Elevation 3779'

Image

We goofed around on the summitt for a couple of hours waiting for the clouds to lift, but it was not meant to be :(

Not much remains...

Image

User avatar
donaleen
Posts: 153
Joined: July 21st, 2011, 9:24 pm
Contact:

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by donaleen » February 17th, 2013, 10:23 am

Besides the Kresek book, which is a wealth of information, I also suggest a book called "Poets on the Peaks" which is about the North Cascades lookout experiences of several poets who worked as lookouts in the heyday of lookouts. Well written. Great photos. Very interesting.

We spent a few days at Gold Butte lookout several years ago. It has such a great view of Mt Jefferson and is so well restored. Quite a treat!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/donaleen/s ... 367064276/

cfm
Posts: 1097
Joined: June 18th, 2008, 6:49 am

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by cfm » March 9th, 2013, 1:55 pm

I visited a very nice lookout tower last weekend. It's in a spot that most of us probably pass by because of the RV touron factor; it's Lava Butte on highway 97 between Bend and Sunriver.

The Lavalands Visitor center is closed for the season, but there is an open parking area ( no fee). I had the whole area to myself last Sunday morning and enjoyed walking the loop through the lava bed with informational signs, and then walked up the road to the butte.

What a great tower! It looks like an old tower, with the observation room below added later. My camera battery died, this pic is from my friend Neal:
Image

And (like Sand Mountain) you get to look into the crater of the cinder cone, there is also a trail around the rim.

Image

I nice little 5 mile ramble with 700 ft elevation gain.

justpeachy
Posts: 3066
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by justpeachy » March 12th, 2013, 9:30 am

cfm wrote:What a great tower! It looks like an old tower, with the observation room below added later.
Several towers have stood there over the years, but this one was built in 1998, so it's actually pretty new. They deliberately built it with that first floor visitor's center. I love that they have a mountain identifier in there!

justpeachy
Posts: 3066
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by justpeachy » March 14th, 2013, 8:23 pm

Someone made a short little film about skiing to the "last best lookout." They don't say where it is, though. Be sure to mute your sound before you watch.

http://vimeo.com/61761937

viking
Posts: 188
Joined: July 5th, 2009, 6:49 pm

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by viking » March 16th, 2013, 11:46 pm

a couple lookout tower notes,

When I was a kid we went up Lava Butte several times, long before the visiter center at the base or the construction of the new tower. At that time they would let you up on the observation floor and get the full view. There was paintings above the windows of all the peaks you could see with their names. What impressed me was the volcanos were all shown in full eruption, As a kid I thought that was how it was, all erupting at once. Also not thinking that I was standing upon one of the most recent hot spots.

Tower Mt. out of Ukiah (just south of Pendleton) has 80' lookout with a cabin on top that is so small if you try to get more than 3 people in it at a time you all better be good friends. It was operating a recently as ten years ago when I go invited up by the guard to see the view. She told me that in high winds it would sway 3-4', spooky.

In the mid '70s I visited a look out south of Bend, Odell Butte, China Hat?, can't remember for sure. But I do remember the guard, An older chap who said he had worked that lookout for 15 or 20 years. The inside he had plastered with photos from Hollywoods early heydays, Gable, Dietrich ect. I thought maybe he needed to get out more...

I remember some remaining beams and posts up on top of Mt. Hood during the early '70s and '80s but I haven't seen sign of anything for a long time. The story I always got was the Circus burned the structure and pushed the remains off the north side. While ice climbing on the Eliot glacier I have found many scraps of lumber, some burnt others not.

I remember laying on the roof of the Mt. Adams lookout one sunny day long ago. Never did figure out if the structure was collapsed or just buried. Not sure how much is still left Adams is too boring of a walk in the summer...

Devils peak look out, climb up on the roof, the best vantage of Mt. Hood is from there.

scrambler2
Posts: 449
Joined: June 20th, 2008, 11:38 am

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by scrambler2 » April 12th, 2013, 11:24 am

BrianEdwards wrote:Is there any evidence left of the lookout that used to be on the summit of Hood?
There is at least one anchor cable still up on the summit of Hood. Saw it on an September climb a few years ago.

Here is a classic fire lookout. Peachuck lookout.
IMAG0177.jpg
PCT class of 2012

User avatar
shawjr
Posts: 127
Joined: April 14th, 2010, 7:02 pm

Re: Fire Lookout Towers & Guard Stations

Post by shawjr » April 12th, 2013, 7:00 pm

Pechuck is a classic for sure! Also one of the closest still standing lookouts.

Here is a cool video I came across a while back, that talks about the history of Pechuck. I need to get back there...
http://vimeo.com/41782852

Post Reply