Trip Report.

Tuesday evening the weather started to shift towards colder temps and rain. We knew the rest of the trip would be a gamble weather-wise, but we were going to roll with whatever it dealt us. We were pleasantly surprised to wake up to blue skies Wednesday morning after a night of heavy rain. Our goal for the day was Huckleberry Mountain, a commonly used name. We even have one here in Oregon. This is another easy to locate trailhead right off a main road. From the Apgar Campground, we headed back towards the visitor center. At the intersection, we kept straight to continue on to Camas Road. If you were heading into the park from the West Glacier entrance, you would come to the same intersection but turn left to reach Camas Road. You will stay on this road, exiting through the Camas entrance kiosk, until you see the trailhead off to the left. There was enough parking for at least 7 or so vehicles, but we were the only ones there at 9AM. It was a bit unsettling knowing we’d be heading into bear country with no one else on the trail with us. Everywhere else we’ve been so far has had at least some people on the trails. The clear morning skies made it crisp and cold as we started our hike. You could tell this trail was less frequently used than the others just based on the width of the tread. The busier trails tend to widen as crowds circumvent each other, but this was nothing more than a single track with a bit of brush encroaching on it. The surrounding brush was still damp from the rain and slowly started to soak through our clothes.

The hike starts out flat through a dense forest and crosses a creek on a log foot bridge before it starts to gradually climb. Once the trail starts to turn up it continues that way until you reach a saddle. It is consistent but gradual. The trail flattens out for a bit after reaching the saddle before continuing the final climb to the fire lookout. The steepest portion of trail is the last half mile. We thought we might have the entire hike to ourselves, but were passed by a pair of hikers on our way up the gradual section. The day had heated up significantly after we started this hike making it slow going. Garnet decided to continue up ahead prior to the saddle to find a good spot to step off the trail while I picked my way up the slope. I thought I’d meet up with him once I reached the saddle, but I was greeted by the other pair of hikers picking huckleberries and having lunch. I asked them if my partner came through here while I caught my breath. They mentioned he passed through and offered to let me hike with them the rest of the way to the lookout. I was no longer too concerned about running into wild life at this point, but figured it couldn’t hurt to stick with more people. They were two older ladies and one lived in the area locally while the other was a visiting friend. The local had been on this hike before and had even met the lady that staffed the fire lookout that summer. She spent the rest of the hike pointing out different peaks we could see through the clouds and I talked about the other fire lookouts my partner and I visited so far in the area. I trailed behind a bit since my pace wasn’t quite as quick until I rejoined with them on the summit. I had once again assumed we would find my partner on the summit, but we were surprised to find no one else. I thought maybe he was in the privy, but that was locked up for the season. I was only mildly concerned since I knew he hiked ahead and planned to step off the trail to use the “facilities”, but I figured he would have still beat us to the summit. The ladies were nice enough to wait with me for a bit and even offered to let me hike back with them. I politely declined since we were still planning to have lunch on the summit and take our pictures, but we exchanged numbers just incase. We said our farewells and just as they started to hike away we could spot Garnet headed up the trail. The clouds were starting to roll in and the temps were getting cold again by the time he reached the summit.

We spent a while longer on the summit enjoying our lunch, but eventually it started to drizzle which was our cue to leave. Just as we were taking one final lap around the lookout and collecting our pictures, we spotted a deer in the brush. Then another. And another. And another. And another. It was a group of four adults and three baby mule deer. We decided to watch them for a while until they started to head closer to our packs, which were now sitting below the lookout and not on our backs. I assume they smelt our food, but I didn’t want them rummaging through it. They seemed habituated enough to not be concerned by our presence but our movement towards the packs was enough to keep them away. Heavier clouds were growing closer and the rain was finally upon us – that was enough dilly dallying. Garnet wanted to snag a few more pictures, so I gave myself a head start knowing he’d easily catch up to me. The hike back down was a wet one and we were completely soaked by the time we reached the car. The final mileage according to my Strava was 11.88 miles with 2,699′ of elevation.

Before heading back to camp we drove out to the edge of the park and did a small loop trail called the Forest and Fire trail. It was only an additional 0.95 miles with 66′ of elevation change. This had a few signs about the relationship between the forest and wildfires which we enjoyed.

History.

The first structure built on Huckleberry Mountain for fire detection was a cupola style cab in 1923. It even had a telephone line running to the summit. It was replaced in 1933 by the existing lookout structure. The current structure is noted as a 14’x14′ two story cab with a hip roof that extends to cover the catwalk. These national park designs differ from the USFS L-4 designs in that their shutters are removable instead of folding. This is one of nine remaining fire lookouts within Glacier National Park and is still regularly staffed during the season.