The Friday lookout tour hosted by the FFLA Western Conference was to Tope Creek. This lookout is located on private property and requires prior permission by the land owner to visit. We were expected to meet back at the VFW Post after our lunch break at 1:30PM to start the caravan to the property. Garnet and I had headed back to our camp at the Wallowa Lake State Park during the break to swap our vehicle. We had made the decision to drive my Civic to the conference in the morning with the intention of carpooling with someone. But, after a lack of hands raised for those with available seats to carpool, it seemed easier to drive ourselves. Garnet was borrowing his mom’s HR-V for the week which has better clearance. This decision ultimately put us behind schedule and we didn’t get back to the post until 1:45PM. There were still some vehicles parked here, so we got out to check if they had already left. I asked someone in the building and they confirmed what we had thought. We were both stressed since this wasn’t a good start and we didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to visit this one. A member had also previously warned that if you’re not willing to drive fast on gravel roads you would be left behind. Luckily, they had printed out directions on how to get there, so we started in that direction with the hope that everyone would still be there.
From Enterprise, we headed west on HWY-82 towards Wallowa and Lostine. We turned right onto Baker Road which is around 4 miles outside of Lostine and can be distinguished by the Wolff Ranch sign. We followed this road until we came to a T-junction with Jim Town Road. There were no road signs here, but you will want to take a left. This brought us to another un-signed T-junction with Whiskey Creek Road. We took a right and stayed on this road until we reached the first house off to the right. The house had a distinguishable bright blue metal roof. We turned right on the road immediately next to it and hoped we were on the right track. We followed this road for a little over 7-1/2 miles until we saw a two-toned blue metal rod marking a road off to the left. We turned and followed this road until we reached a hand-carved W sign. You will want to bear right here to reach the property. The roads getting here were mostly passenger vehicle friendly until we turned onto the road at the blue metal rod. It had some looser sharp rocks on this section of road that gave someone else a flat tire.
We were the last to arrive, but were relieved to see everyone still there exploring the property. I walked around to take some pictures and we signed up to get in line to climb the tower. The structure was a bit rough around the edges and they only wanted 4 people climbing it at a time. Once it was our turn, Garnet headed for the top. I made it to the third landing before I got a bit squeamish of the height. Forrest had passed me on his way down and he said it only got steeper from there, which didn’t help my confidence. I started up towards the fourth landing, but decided I didn’t need to freak myself out and headed back down. I find the 100′ towers that taper towards the top are the ones I have the most trouble climbing. These are typically the Aermotor or L-6 designs. I walked around the property to take some pictures of the sculptures and talked briefly with a few other members while I waited for Garnet to descend. Brain Wizard, who owns the property, is an eccentric artist and author. He lives on the property year round as a survivalist and was snowed in for 120 days last winter. We talked to him briefly while we were waiting for our turn to climb the tower. He mentioned he used to do terrorist surveillance and intel. Some of his work can be viewed on his website. It seems he is open to visitors with prior permission, but I would be wary of visiting without a group. He made a slight off-handed comment directed at me during our visit.
As everyone was getting ready to leave, we decided to look at possibly visiting another Fire Lookout in the area before dinner. This was a benefit to driving ourselves. The VFW Post was hosting a taco night for the conference, but it wasn’t until 6:30PM. This meant we had a little over two hours to kill. Howard Butte L.O. looked the closest on the map, so we headed in that direction next.
Pictures of Tope Creek cab courtesy of my partner.
History.
Tope Creek was built in 1936 as a 103′ timber tower with L-6 cab by the US Forest Service. The cab is listed as 7’x7′ on some sites, but noted as 8’x8′ on the NHLR. I found similar inconsistencies in the listed height from 100′ to 103′. I am unsure which dimensions are accurate. The 14’x18′ one-room ground house, used for the living quarters, was not added until 1938. Ownership was later transferred to the Oregon Department of Forestry and was staffed into the 1970s. It was eventually classified as surplus and sold to a private owner, Zella Guyness, during a state auction in 1978. The tower is still maintained by the current private owner, Brian Wizard.
NOTICE: As of July 17, 2024 this area is currently closed due to the active Retreat Fire.
Location.
Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest; Administered by Wenatchee National Forest
Status.
Maintained by Volunteers; Currently standing
Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.
4 hours
Date visited.
August 21, 2022
Elevation.
5,670′
National Historic Lookout Register.
US 1518; WA 69
Trip Report.
I’ve come to the conclusion that August is my least favorite month. It has nice longer days, but that is about all it has going for it in my opinion. It is otherwise too hot and things are usually on fire by now. This tends to mean trail closures and lingering smoke as well. My partner often says he’ll fight anyone who prefers 90 to 100 degree temps. I’ll complain about the rain, but I eventually long for it. The smell before it rains. The cooler temperatures associated with it. The fresh air that comes with a well hydrated forest. But I absolutely, whole-heartedly, never long for 100 degree summer days. Maybe I’m being dramatic, but the heat really kicked my butt this weekend. It wasn’t even forecasted to be as hot as it has been the last few weeks. We had just emerged from a one-night backpacking trip with our friends in the William O. Douglas Wilderness. We had an extra day left over for the weekend due to our friends schedules not quite lining up. It was a pretty gradual 5-mile hike out (10-miles RT), but the heat had zapped all the energy from me. Our plan was to head over to Jumpoff L.O. for another night of backpacking without friends. Based on the description from the WTA site there was a nice dry camp 2-1/2 miles into the hike to Jumpoff from Long Lake. But, I vetoed this after getting back to the car and we opted to disperse camp for the night. I needed to recoup if I was going to make the 8-mile RT hike up with over 2,500′ of elevation gain. We would later agree that this was a good call for a multitude of reasons.
Start of NF-653
Pull out parking
Long Lake
Shelter at Long Lake
From HWY-12, we headed east towards Yakima. This was the farthest either of us had been on this highway. We turned right at the junction marked for Rimrock Lake Recreation Area. This is NF-12 on the map, but there were no signs noting that on the road. We followed this paved road until we reached Milk Creed Road, NF-570, off to the left. This is a well-graded gravel road that we took to reach NF-1201. I read online that the paved portion of NF-1201 is a terrible road and this was the better route to access Long or Lost Lake. We didn’t spend much time scoping out the best dispersed spots in the area and picked one in close proximity to where we wanted to be in the morning. Our alarm was set for 5AM with the intention of starting our hike early to avoid the heat. It was still dark when the alarm went off the next morning which prompted us to reset it for 6AM. We then proceed to hit snooze until a little after 6:30AM. We weren’t up and moving as quickly as we had hoped. We turned right onto NF-1201 to head towards Long Lake. You can start the hike at Lost Lake as well but it adds an extra mile both ways that felt unnecessary for this trip. The gravel portion of NF-1201 was well graded as well and only had a few minor bumps to avoid. We parked in a pull out at the junction with NF-653, off to the left, based on a recommendation from a trip report posted to WTA. This is where we would start our hike.
First steep section looking up (sorry bad lighting)
First steep section looking down
Second steep section looking up
Second steep section looking down
Third steep section looking up (bad lighting again)
Third steep section looking down
The morning temps were still cool and bearable as we started walking down NF-653. It appeared to be a crummy spur road from the junction, but quickly turned into more of an ATV track with roots and embedded large rocks. Shortly after we reached the north side of Long Lake, which was blanketed in a green algae, and the notable shelter that marks the start of the route. We were surprised to see a truck on this portion of road too. It’s amazing where people are willing to drive instead of walk. From the shelter, the road continues steeply up a small hill. I had a screenshot of the trail description from WTA since many have mentioned it can be a confusing maze of roads and trails to the summit. Although, I didn’t find the route finding as difficult as mentioned, it was helpful to have for some of the way points. We also had a ranger district map for reference as well. After heading up the road away from the shelter, we were met with an immediate fork. Both routes meet back up with each other a short distance later, but the left is easier on foot. The second fork we headed left again, or straight depending on how you want to look at it. The trail you are following is an OHV trail and has no directional markings for you to follow to the summit. I thought that meant it would be similar to a road walk with some steeper sections thrown in. But, boy was I wrong! In the more gradual sections it was basically a road walk, but the steep sections were no joke. Toss in my fear of heights for good measure and this was now a challenging route for me. There were three notably steep sections that were problematic. All are within the first mile and a half before you reach Louie Way Gap. In all three sections, the road heads up at a steep angle that would be difficult even in an ATV to traverse. It is also made up of loose, rocky, and slick dirt that can make it hard to find stable footings. Heading up wasn’t great, but I knew heading down would be much worse. I took pictures for reference, but you can never quite capture the depth of field in a picture. The second steep section is avoidable by hiking cross country on the slope next to it. The ground is much more stable there than on the road. After the last steep section, we reached Louie Way Gap. It is an open field with a four way junction. I thought the hard climbing was over from here and that we’d have a gradual few miles to the lookout. Wrong again!
Louie Way Gap looking toward the road you came up
Louie Way Gap looking toward the road to Jumpoff
Louie Way Gap
Trail #1127 sign heading back down
It looked so far away from here
We turned left from Louie Way Gap on to NF-613. This is shown as trail #1127 on most maps, but it was once an old continuation of NF-613. It does eventually turn into a single track trail and is no longer drivable to any four wheeled vehicle. There were a few warning signs posted to trees about the upcoming side hill before the road deteriorated in case someone was to try it. The road from Louie Way Gap headed steeply up again. Nothing unmanageable, but it was starting to wear us down as the day was heating up. I thought this would be our final push to the gradual slopes of the Divide Ridge. but wrong, wrong, wrong I was! We found the aforementioned dry camp that had a nice view to the valley below. I would have struggled greatly with a loaded pack to make it here. I’m not sure if that is more a commentary on my fitness level or to the trail conditions. This marked that we were a little over half way there. The trail started to head down from here and the trees opened briefly to a view of our end goal. I stared on in confusion, the lookout appeared to be on a completely different ridge line from where we were. We both had the thought that we were somehow on the wrong trail, but that was impossible given that we followed all the directions. It just so happens that the trail heads down again to a saddle before the final climb. Something I completely missed when looking at the topo map. We could see where the trail crossed the exposed slope to the final ridge line, but it was a bit defeating to see. I already made it this far though, there was no turning back now. The WTA description describes the trail as Jekyll-and-Hyde conditions, which is accurate. Despite drinking water constantly, I could feel my body drying up on the final push, the actual final push, to the ridge. It stayed exposed the remainder of the way to the lookout, but was fairly flat from there. We crossed another four way junction where we headed straight. The NF-613, or Trail #1127, route eventually meets up with the drivable road NF-1302 to the summit.
I’ve read the NF-1302 road is 13 miles of rough and rocky conditions. But, they are in the process of building a communication tower on the summit which means improvements could be made. This was partially our motivation for making it up here sooner than later. We wanted to see the fire lookout before the area was obstructed by more communication buildings. The 100′ communication tower is already in process and the summit was littered with building equipment. We had the lookout to ourselves while we took pictures, signed the log book, and enjoyed a brief lunch. As we were finishing lunch, a couple drove up in their Jeep and greeted us on the catwalk. We asked about the road conditions and the guy said they had improved since the last time he was up there on his motorcycle. They joked that they took the easy way up in comparison. We only saw them and a group of three ATVs near the summit. We had the trail to ourselves the remainder of the time.
The hike back down was less grueling, but the heat was still giving me a hard time. I was dehydrated and dreaded descending the steep sections. The first one I ended up making it down by half sliding on my hip while I braced and stepped with my dominant foot. Mind you this is only a me problem between the two of us. My partner has little to no issues scrambling down these kinds of slopes. Yes, he’d agree it was steep and a bit sketchy, but he can at least descend while standing up. My main issue, besides just having the fear of heights, is that my center of gravity is in my ankles. It should be located somewhere like your core, but for me it’s not. Or at least I have that perception and my body acts accordingly to that perception. I typically use trekking poles to help stabilize my upper body. Anyway, this means that any time I feel unstable or like I’m going to fall I get low to find my stability. This leads to crab-walking, side-stepping, butt-scooting, or bear-crawling my way down steep loose slopes. I have no shame in getting dirty if I don’t feel safe. I’ve done it before and I will continue to do so in the future. Though I will note there have only been a few trails steep enough for me to roll around in the dirt like this. The second steep portion was once again easily avoided by cross country hiking the stable slope on the side of the road. I was already covered in dirt by the third steep section that I decided to take it low again. We made it back to the car in one piece, but not before this trail chewed me up and spit me out rotten. I conceded the car to my partner to drive us most of the way home.
History.
Jumpoff, often mistakenly labelled as Jumpoff Joe, was first established in 1923 with a D-6 cupola cabin. It was replaced by the existing R-6 flat cab sometime between 1958 and 1961. It was only sporadically staffed after the 1960s for emergencies. It fell into a state of disrepair with heavy vandalism and neglect. Starting in 2010, a group of volunteers decided to start restoring and maintaining it. Mike Hiller, who staffed the lookout during the summers of 1969 to 1973, was the driving force along with the “Friends of Jumpoff” volunteers. They completed a lot of their work by the summer of 2018. It is in better shape and still standing thanks to their efforts.
My partner and I weren’t as motivated to get up this morning. We planned to head to Burley Mountain as a day trip since I had family obligations on Sunday. This definitely would have been better for an overnight trip, but it’s doable as a really long day. We hit snooze a few times before grumbling out of bed around 8AM. After getting ourselves in order, we were able to get on the road before 9AM. We headed north on I-5 into Washington until it met up with HWY-12. The section of HWY-12 from I-5 to Packwood provides great access to different recreation opportunities in Central Washington. I’ve used this same highway to access Suntop Mountain L.O., Shriner Peak L.O., and some other trips not mentioned on the blog. This time we stayed on HWY-12 until we reached the community of Randle. We turned right onto Cispus Road which also starts out as HWY-131. Shortly after crossing a bridge you will want to bear left to diverge from HWY-131 and stay on Cispus Road. We stayed on Cispus Road until we reached the Cispus Learning Center. There were a few needed turns to stay on the right road but all were marked with a sign. You can either park at the trailhead here for a 14 mile RT hike via the Covel Creek Trail or continue past to attempt a drive up. I’ve read the trail is riddled with dead fall that can be difficult to navigate. We opted to attempt a drive up to get as close as possible for a road walk. From the Cispus Learning Center the Cispus Road turns into NF-76. There are two different access routes from here. You can either turn left onto NF-77 or NF-7605. I read that NF-7605 is a rough high clearance only route, so we opted for NF-77 that is partially paved. There is a sign for Burley Mountain at the NF-77 junction that notes it at 16 miles away. I zeroed my odometer here.
Sign at NF-77 and NF-76 Junction
Sign at NF-7605 and NF-77 Junction
Landslide over NF-77
NF-086 sign
Sign at NF-086 and NF-7605 Junction
The NF-77 road might be paved, but it is not a good road. My partner and I have found that paved roads in the forest tend to be worse than gravel. Any deterioration, pothole, or washout becomes significantly more treacherous with broken pavement. They just don’t see the maintenance needed to stay in decent condition. We were on pavement until the road reached a junction with NF-7708. After NF-7708, the NF-77 road turns to gravel and the conditions improve significantly. There were still a few potholes to avoid and a section that was covered by a landslide, but it all felt like gliding over silk in comparison. Eventually, we came to a four way junction that was signed. The sign noted Burley Mountain was only a mile away. Not only is this sign incorrect on mileage, but if you’re not paying attention you could head down the wrong road. We took a left onto NF-7605 at the junction, which is marked by a road sign. I was worried about the conditions along NF-7605 and that we’d get stuck in a tricky situation. While my partner was worried about not having enough time for a long road walk and getting back late. But, I was motivated to get in some hiking miles since we seem to be doing more driving than walking these days. I pulled us over in a pull out shortly after heading up NF-7605 and we started our road walk. My odometer read that we drove 14 miles. We walked along NF-7605 for at least a mile or mile and a half until we reached the junction with NF-086. There is another sign here for Burley Mountain that says it’s only a mile away. Deja vu! This time it was accurate. After walking along NF-7605, we realized the Civic could have made it to the junction with NF-086. I wouldn’t drive a low clearance vehicle on NF-086 though.
The final mile to Burley Mountain was hot, dusty, and exposed. It’s a narrow road with steep drop offs and is fairly busy to vehicle traffic. I would proceed with caution if you decide to drive the road. There is no where to pass on certain sections if you meet oncoming traffic. There was a dirt bike and truck heading down as we were walking up. The only people on the summit when we arrived was an older couple from Nevada that had parked in the lower pull out. We briefly spoke to them because they had initially been trying to find the alternate trail to Angel Falls. This is a hike that starts at the trailhead by the Cispus Learning Center. They had heard the bridges were washed out and wanted to try from the Burley Trailhead. Instead, they had accidentally ended up all the way up here after following their GPS. I’m not sure if by Burley Trailhead they meant where the trail meets up with NF-7605. But, if they did, it would have been a long and steep hike down to the waterfall. I asked if it wasn’t a ford-able creek, but it sounded like they only read online about the bridge washouts and didn’t check it out for themselves. We couldn’t offer them much more information than that since we walked the road instead of the trail. We wished them luck as they headed back to their truck and we continued to check out the lookout.
As far as I had known, Burley Mountain was still available for overnight stays on a first-come first-serve basis. We had even talked about potentially doing that, but we were dissuaded by the popularity of this area. We had read of reports from people driving up at all hours of the night which would, personally, freak me out. But, after seeing the condition of the lookout it is obvious that this is no longer an option. There were signs posted on it from the Forest Service stating it was currently under restoration work and being proposed for the rental program. You can tell it was recent work too. The windows were gone on one side and it looked like there were new wall supports added. The stairs had been removed and it looked like there was work being done on the foundation as well. Inside the lookout there is still a logbook to sign and a hand written note stating that the USFS is planning restoration work for the Summers of 2022 and 2023. We had the summit to ourselves after the couple from Nevada left and enjoyed a late lunch at the picnic table. It seemed we were getting lucky on our timing visiting some of these busier fire lookouts. We didn’t see anyone else until we started to head back down the road. A truck, 4-runner, and two dirt bikes proceeded to pass us all within our walk back down NF-086. We didn’t get back to the car until close to 4PM and home until around 7PM. It was a long day.
If you have any questions about the Burley Mountain project, you can e-mail matthew.mawhirter@usda.gov or call the Randle ranger station.
History.
Burley Mountain started as a fire camp in the 1930s back when the forest was known as the Rainier National Forest. In 1934, a 14’x14′ L-4 ground cab was built on the summit and still stands today. It offers views to Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Saint Helens, and even Mount Hood. It was actively staffed every summer until 1974 when it was subsequently abandoned. It had been vandalized and neglected over the years, but was updated in 1984 by a group of Volunteers and Forest Service employees. The most recent restoration work was completed in 2009 by FFLA member Dick Morrison and volunteers. For a long time, it has been open to the public for first-come first-serve overnight stays. But, it seems even with the love of the community this Fire Lookout has fallen into bad shape once again. Possibly due to the popularity of the area and the ability to drive up. The Forest Service has taken restoration work into their hands once again to potentially add this on to their rental program. We will see if their venture is successful. I’d personally recommend adding a gate.
Every year I like to plan a camping trip for my friends and I, or at least for the ones that are interested in camping. It started as a tradition with my friend, Anjelica, at South Beach State Park in 2016. It was the first time we came to the realization that we could plan a camping trip without our parents. It was just us and her boyfriend at the time. In 2017, it really took on its true form as a girls trip when two more friends joined us. During that trip, on a hike, there was a trail sign that someone had carved in the words “Lost Boys” and the year they were there. We joked that we were now considered the Lost Girls. Since then our little group of four has managed to go camping every year (minus a year for the Pandemic) and we still jokingly refer to ourselves as the Lost Girls. I always try and pick somewhere new for us to explore when planning. It generally ends up being in central or northern portions of Washington since we are split between Portland and Seattle. This year was a bit different since we had two more friends and three dogs joining us. The campground I picked this year, Silver Springs, was in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF and close to plenty of recreation opportunities. I didn’t expect to explore as much as we usually do just based on the logistics of getting us all around. Traveling with dogs immediately cuts out any trail options in the National Park too. Out of curiosity, I decided to look at the potential fire lookouts in the area. I saw we were really close to Suntop, which is just outside of the National Park with a great view of Mount Rainier. I recommended it to my friends who all seemed to be down. Step one in slowly tricking my friends into going to fire lookouts. I was still skeptical we’d be able to round up everyone for the caravan and short hike though. But, even after we all made it to camp they seemed motivated to make it happen. Not that any of them read this blog, but thanks friends!
We left camp around late-morning on Saturday with a two car caravan. I made the mistake of not bringing a map or doing much research on the route needed to get there. That’s on me, but I truly didn’t think it was going to happen. Luckily, I had a vague idea on where we needed to turn from looking at the route prior to the trip and guessed correctly. From HWY-410, we headed north and turned left onto NF-73. There wasn’t a sign for this road, so it would have most likely been a guessing game regardless. We were able to get service here and confirmed the remainder of the route. We stayed on NF-73 for a little over a mile before we turned left onto NF-7315 which was signed. You will stay on NF-7315 for around 5 miles until you reach the trailhead or summit. There is a gate just past the trailhead that might be open depending on when you visit. We were able to continue past the gate since it was open and I have the luxury of friends with high-clearance vehicles. The road getting there was rough and would need caution in a low-clearance vehicle just to reach the trailhead. Past the gate the road is significantly worse, but we were able to roll around the large embedded rocks with no issues in a Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Outback. There was a sedan that had made it to the summit too, but it didn’t look like it would have been worth it. We also passed a large RV broken down in a pull out along NF-7315 which is a skinny and steep mostly single track road. A reminder that just because someone has done it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea. My partner and I always joke about meeting something like that on these back roads, but I never thought I’d actually ever see one.
From the parking area on the summit, which has room for 10 to 15 vehicles, it was a short easy walk to the lookout. I was hoping to at least do a little portion of the hike, but I can’t complain about being chauffeured to the summit. The fire lookout can also be reached via the Suntop Trail #1183. If you park at the trailhead along NF-7315 it is only a half of a mile to the summit. But, if you are looking for more of an adventure you can start at the Suntop trailhead, which is accessed from a different road, and hike the 16 miles round trip. When we approached the fire lookout we were greeted by the friendly attendant on duty. I didn’t catch his name or ask as many questions as I wanted to because of all the people. But, he did mention he was staffing it through a volunteer partnership with the Forest Service. He was also only staffing it for two or three days before someone else would come up to volunteer and rotate service. We didn’t stay for long after taking pictures since we left our lunch at camp. I ended up driving my friend’s RAV4 back to camp since she wasn’t keen on the steep drop offs along the road. She also has a fear of heights like me, but I’m more used to driving on these kinds of roads. It was helpful for me to see the road conditions from the drivers seat for when I inevitably come back with my partner.
History.
Suntop was built in 1933 as a 14’x14′ L-4 ground cab. It is one of two remaining lookouts of its kind on the Snoqualmie NF. It was used for the Aircraft Warning Service from 1942 to 1943 during World War II. An access road wasn’t built to the summit until 1956. Although the same structure still stands today, it was refurbished in 1989. It is still staffed on a volunteer basis through the Forest Service.
Our alarms were set for 5:30AM in an attempt to get an early start. We were both pretty grumbly this morning and hit snooze until a little past 6AM. I let my partner get up first to start making breakfast while I sleepily packed our tent. We weren’t moving very fast this morning. By the time we were done eating, packed up, and on the road to the Northern entrance of Crater Lake NP it was already 8AM. The entrance kiosk was not open yet, but we already had a National Parks pass for the season and let ourselves into the park. We kept right once we reached the rim road to stay on the western side of the crater. It didn’t take very long for us to reach the parking area for The Watchman. It is painfully obvious where you need to park. Not only is it well signed, but the lookout is visible from the road. It is one of the busiest trails in the park and we assumed we would see a lot of people here. There were only a few spots left in the main parking area which has enough room for at least 20 to 30 cars. We parked and headed up the well graded trail. It’s a short 0.8 miles with 400′ in elevation gain to the summit. There were these neat blooms along the beginning of the trail that resembled something out of a Dr. Seuss novel. I know I over-use that reference, but these truly do look like miniature Truffula Trees from The Lorax. I later found out they are known as the Western Pasqueflower, or Anemone Occidentalis. I want to try and get better at identifying wildflowers in Oregon. I always ask my partner if he knows what the flowers are called, but he’s better at identifying the types of trees and birds. We passed a large group and a few other people on our way up that were heading down to the parking lot. The trail was still mostly shaded this morning which made for a really nice temperature. My partner reached the summit before me, per usual, as the last few people were leaving. We were shocked to have the summit briefly to ourselves. The lookout was blocked to public use but you still get a great view from the base. A couple joined us shortly after, but they didn’t stay long. We soaked in our time at the summit waiting to see when the next person would arrive. We stayed up there for at least 15 to 20 minutes without anyone else before deciding to head back down. We were up there fairly early, but it was still shocking to have it to ourselves. As we leisurely hiked down, we realized we were just slightly ahead of the crowds and had come at the perfect time. There were roughly 45 people heading up the trail on our way back down. The parking lot was full when got back to our car and people were starting to park in the overflow area. It seemed that a good amount of them were just stopping to check out the view point before moving on than actually hiking the trail. The flow of cars was pretty even on those coming in versus those leaving. The next time we’re in the Crater Lake NP we hope to hike to its highest point on Mount Scott.
History.
The first trail to the summit was established in 1916. It was shortly followed by the construction of a cupola-style lookout in 1917. The site was always intended for dual use of a fire lookout and an educational interpretive site. The existing two-story observation station was built from native materials with the intention of blending in with its surroundings. It was designed by Francis Lange as part of the 1920s Crater Lake Master Plan. Construction on the station started in 1931 and was completed in 1933. It was recently restored in 1999 and re-opened for public access. The mountain top museum had been previously closed since 1975. It is still occasionally staffed by a National Park Ranger in extreme emergencies.
My partner and I decided beforehand that if we only had time to add one other fire lookout to our trip to Garwood Butte (post), it should be Mount Stella. We both really wanted to see The Watchman (post) as well, but Mount Stella is in poor condition. It was on our priority list due to its higher risk for collapse, being torn down, or burning down in a wildfire. We didn’t reach our car until around 4:30PM after visiting Garwood (post). We knew there was still enough time to squeeze in Mount Stella for the evening, but only if we left immediately. This was also with the assumption that the road conditions to the gate were in our favor. We briefly contemplated setting up camp and visiting Mount Stella in the morning. But, if we successfully visited Mount Stella now that meant there would be time for The Watchman (post) in the morning. As we headed out of the forest to HWY-230 we could see darker clouds on the horizon. The forecast did mention a chance of rain and thunderstorms in the area, but we figured it unlikely with the heat. I could see some flashes in the clouds and we passed through a minor drizzle. Unfortunately, not enough to clean off the collected dirt on my car’s exterior. Thunderstorms are typically not ideal for visiting fire lookouts since you are on a higher point that can be more exposed to the elements. But, they seemed to be moving quickly in the opposite direction. Although these didn’t pose much fret for us at the time, it seems they were the same thunderstorms to kick off Oregon’s Wildfire season. The first, currently known as the Windigo Fire, being reported Saturday night within the Umpqua NF. The second, currently known as the Potter Fire, being reported the following morning within the Willamette NF. Both were just barely north of where we were camped this weekend. It’s a bit unsettling how quickly we turned from our wettest spring to our current fire season with little to no transition period. I’m inclined to stay hopeful for a mild season, but I’m also not holding my breath.
We were back on HWY-230 around 5PM and thankful for the longer summer days. We turned right on to NF-6510 just past where the highway crosses Bybee Creek. There were a lot more people camping in this area due to the water access. Once the road started to head away from the creek, we reached a fork. We took a left to stay on NF-6510, while NF-6520 was to the right. It is three miles from HWY-230 to the junction with NF-200. The NF-200 spur didn’t have a sign, but it is off to the left at a four way junction. The NF-100 spur was signed off to the right which helped us identify it on the map. It was roughly one mile down NF-200 to the gate and another three quarters of a mile to the lookout from the gate. The NF-200 spur was in decent condition, albeit a bit overgrown. We were able to drive the Civic to the gate with minimal caution. We ended up parking near the decommissioned road off to the right and walking from there. The gate was open but there were some large rocks embedded in the road that stopped us from continuing on in the car. It had potential to be worse than the access road to Garwood Butte (post), but it improved significantly after the first rocky section.
By this time, the heat had caught up with me. I was feeling completely drained of energy and dehydrated while nursing a headache. Despite my best effort to drink as much water as possible, it was no match to the heat. My partner took off at his usual pace for the summit while I meandered behind. It’s a mostly forested road walk until you come to a sharp bend. At the bend, it opens up to views of the valley just south of the summit. These are the only views we would get from Mount Stella. The remaining area is overgrown with tall trees and shrubs. I could hear rumbles of thunder in the distance as I reached the clearing. It wasn’t an immediate concern, but I also wasn’t inclined to stay on the summit for too long either. I quickly took some pictures of the tower and made my way over to the garage. As I was entering through the door to the garage something larger scurried towards me. I screamed and ran out of its way thinking it was a large wood rat. My partner had already warned me of the rabbit he spooked up in the garage earlier. Turns out I spooked the same poor rabbit. It was now past 6:30PM and we knew we needed to head back so we could set up a camp. As we were hiking down the road, we were surprised to be met by a vehicle. It was a government vehicle from the BLM fire crew. They didn’t stop to say anything, but I can only assume they were driving up to the view point to watch for fires. Based on that, one could argue the site is still used in emergencies even though they don’t use the tower anymore.
Art?
No stairs for Stella
Privy
We had planned on camping near Mount Stella if there were decent options and heading to The Watchman (post) in the morning via the Southern park entrance. But, it seemed most of the decent camps were already taken in this area. We decided it made more sense to head back towards the other camps we found closer to Garwood Butte (post). This would set us up for easy access to the Northern park entrance instead. We didn’t set up camp until after 8PM, but it was overall a successful day.
History.
A 20′ native timber tower with L-4 hip-roofed cab was the first structure built on Mount Stella in 1932. Similar to other Fire Lookouts, it was activated as a Aircraft Warning Station during 1942 until 1943. In 1946, the Forest Service replaced it with a 30′ treated timber tower and L-4 cab. This structure still stands today but has been abandoned since the 1980s.
NOTICE: This area was apart of the July 20, 2024 closure area for the Diamond Complex fires but has since been reopened. This area does not appear to have been impacted.
Location.
Umpqua National Forest
Status.
Abandoned; Currently standing
Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.
4-1/2 hours
Date visited.
July 30, 2022
Elevation.
7,017
National Historic Lookout Register.
US 1615; OR 139
Trip Report.
UPDATE: October 12, 2024 – while we were camping in the area we had drove down the NF-3703 road and it appears to have been regravelled recently which eliminated the majority of the potholes and hazards we originally saw. They were minor then but almost non existent now. We didn’t drive the entire way to the NF-370 spur but I assume the spur road conditions are still the same.
Oregon has been in a heat advisory for the last week with temperatures ranging in the mid to high 90s. It even briefly jump up into the low 100s a couple of those days. A haze was expected to settle over all of Oregon for the weekend due to a new wildfire in northern California. Is it too soon to say I miss the rain? Anyway, what better time to head into the forest than when you’re sweltering at home? It turns out it’s pretty hot out there too. But, my partner and I headed on as we always do. This weekend we set our sights on Garwood Butte. We figured we could do The Watchman (post) or Mount Stella (post) while in the area too. Yes, both were also an option. It’s a bit of a drive for a one-night trip, but we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re a bit crazy. Garwood Butte has been on our minds for a while. Mostly, because my partner’s name is Garnet and he goes by Gar on occasion. I couldn’t possibly visit Garwood without him. For this reason alone, we felt a connection to the fire lookout. It’s also just a really cute L-4 perched on top of a rocky outcropping with views towards Mount Bailey and the Crater Lake rim. What’s not to love about that? We had originally thought about adding it to our road trip itinerary, but were worried about the potential for snow. After our visit to Pig Iron (post), we could see it was snow free and that it would be accessible for a future visit to the area this year.
Start of the NF-370 spur
Parking Spot
First glimpse of Garwood
Our alarms were set for 6AM and we were on the road as early as possible. We headed down the I-5 corridor once more, but this time cut over on HWY-58 to meet up with HWY-97. We gave a quick wave to Odell Butte L.O. and Walker Mountain L.O. (post) as we drove past their marked highway turn offs. After a quick refuel in our now frequented stop in Chemult, we turned on to HWY-138 towards Crater and Diamond Lake. We passed the north entrance to Crater Lake NP and stayed on HWY-138 until we reached the turn for HWY-230 off to the left. I have been through this area a few times now on various different trips throughout the years. We were also familiar with the route due to an unsuccessful attempt of Garwood during our visit to Cinnamon Butte (post) last December. From HWY-230, we turned right at the access for Three Lakes Sno-Park. We continued straight to stay on NF-3703 until we reached the turn off for NF-370 spur. There were minimal potholes and ruts to avoid along the NF-3703 road. We didn’t even have to attempt a drive up the NF-370 spur to see it wasn’t a drive-able road. There were large ruts and rocks embedded in it that were not low-clearance compatible. The road is marked but the sign is sun-bleached and indecipherable. It is best identified by its terrible condition and a ski post marked with the number 36. We parked in a pull out just past the road. It was already noon by the time we got there, so we decided to have lunch in the comforts of our air conditioned car instead of the summit. While we were hiding out in the car, an ATV came brapping by and waited at the NF-370 junction. At first, we were confused on what they were doing or thought maybe they stopped because they were confused by what we were doing. But then, another ATV followed which triggered the first one to head up the road. When the second ATV reached the junction it proceeded to wait as well. The same thing continued to repeat itself until 8 ATVs had turned up the NF-370 spur. We weren’t too keen on starting a road walk that we knew would end in us being dusted up and decided to wait. The road eventually just dead ends and they would have to come back down. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long and their brapping continued on to somewhere else.
Start of Connector Trail
Where the Connector Trail meets the road again
Beginning of Main Trail
It was hot and dusty when we started our hike up the road. We knew it was roughly two miles to the Fire Lookout from the junction, if you stayed on the road and didn’t use the connector trail. As we walked along, the road conditions continued to deteriorate with larger embedded rocks, downed trees, and wash out. There was a point in the road where the ATVs even turned around. A large tree had come down across it and there wasn’t enough room on either side for them to get around. Ah, that’s why they didn’t take long. It would have required a chain saw to remove it. We both agreed, this was officially the worst road we’ve been on so far. I took some pictures of the road, but it never quite captures the true conditions. We eventually reached a more open area with a view of Garwood Butte. There was a defined trail off to the left that we assumed was the connector trail. A peakbagger report had mentioned this trail was no longer here in 2012, but from what we could see it was now. If you take this trail you can cut off a half of a mile of road walking. It meets back up with the road where the official trail #1471 to Garwood Butte begins. There is no official trail sign, but it was a well defined junction. If you have trouble finding it, always look for the cut logs first. As we headed up the trail, it appeared to have been brushed out more recently. It was clear to us that someone had been taking care of this route somewhat regularly despite the road conditions. It was a hot and slightly humid slog to the summit. The trail switch-backed through an interestingly mixed forest until it opened up to an exposed slope. The trail was in great condition besides a few loose sections that made finding my footing more difficult.
My partner reached the summit before me and was already making his rounds on the catwalk as I tried not to completely wilt away in the sun. I always seem to struggle more than him, specifically on steeper trails and in the heat. Partially, because I’m not in as good of shape but there are various other reasons as well. Garwood has a really nice summit on the edge of a rock that dropped off to views of the drainage below. The lookout structure was looking a bit worse for wear on the catwalk. Some of the stairs had broken and one corner was being supported by two boards. There was a sign posted on the cab mentioning the ongoing restoration, but I’m not sure if that is still active. Please use caution if you decide to climb the catwalk. We headed down after taking in the hazed over views and debated our next step. We had already found some decent dispersed camp spots and could have easily set up camp early to relax. But, there was also just enough time left in the day to move on to Mount Stella. We were both torn between wanting to maximize our short trip and just taking it easy for once. Who were we really kidding though? Of course, we headed on to Mount Stella (post).
History.
Formerly known as Bear Butte, it was renamed to Garwood Butte in 1946 to commemorate Leroy E. Garwood. Leroy was a former Forest Service District Ranger that died in March 1944. He was known as an old-timer on the forest and was the first to develop the lookout station atop the butte. The renaming also helped to eliminate another “bear” named feature within the forest. At the time the following features included the name bear; 6 Bear Creeks, 2 Bear Buttes, 2 Bear Camps, 1 Bear Bluff, 1 Bear Bones, 1 Bear Gulch, 1 Bear Lake, 1 Bear Wallows, 1 Bear Trap Mountain, and 2 Bear Mountains. Not the most creative. The structure on Garwood Butte was built in 1942 as a 14’x14′ L-4 ground cab. It was last staffed in 1973 and has since been abandoned. In 2012, the lookout was threatened by a nearby fire and had to be wrapped by fire fighters in Structure Protection Wrap. I believe it was the Butte Fire, but there were a few other larger fires during that year that could have caused this to be wrapped. There has been ongoing restoration work in more recent years, but it still needs a lot of work.
Coffin Mountain L.O. has been on my short list to visit since November 2018. A friend and I had been staying in Eugene for the weekend and tried to check it out. Our plans were immediately foiled when we met up with snow and ice on the road. We ended up exploring around a snow-park instead. I’m not sure why it took me so long to attempt another visit, but here we are almost 4 years later.
My partner and I had a toss up between adding Sand Mountain or Coffin Mountain to our weekend. My partner was leaning towards Sand Mountain due to the popularity of Coffin Mountain during this time of year. While, I was partial to Coffin Mountain. Alternatively, we could do neither but that was the least likely to happen. Based on reviews and trip reports online, we knew Sand Mountain would be a longer hike due to the gate and road conditions. The hike could have potentially been 10 miles RT depending on how far we’d make it down the road. We ended up waking up later than expected on Sunday morning which defaulted us to Coffin Mountain. We probably could have squeezed in Sand Mountain, but we both agreed we didn’t want to get back in town too late. Fine by me, Coffin Mountain it is!
We packed up and headed out from our camp on NF-15 to meet up with HWY-20. There were portions of NF-15 that were a bit rough for my Civic due to some recent logging in the area. We were able to make it out without incident, but it definitely slowed us down. We headed east on HWY-20 to connect with HWY-22. From HWY-22, the road you want is off to the left. It is NF-11 on the map, but was only marked as Straight Creek Road. It is located just past a bend in the highway, so make sure to keep an eye out for it. You will stay on this paved road until you reach NF-1168. There are two turns onto NF-1168, but you will want to take the second one. There is a sign at the first junction with NF-1168 that will point you in the direction of pavement. The NF-1168 road is well maintained gravel all the way to the trailhead. The trailhead can be found just off of the junction with NF-450. It should be obvious as you approach since you will get a glimpse of the lookout before you reach the trail. The NF-1168 road continues on to the Bachelor Mountain trailhead.
There is parking for a few cars directly at the trailhead and a few pull outs for additional parking. There were already cars here, but it was not as busy as my partner thought it would be. He can be a bit overzealous in his predictions when it comes to busier trails. We had just missed the peak bloom of Beargrass in the main meadow which helped to decrease the foot traffic. There was still a significant amount of wildflowers in bloom though. I always find it interesting what makes a certain trail popular over another. Ease of access? Length of trail? Views or points of interest? We were in the same National Forest, hiking to a fire lookout on a similar length of trail, and it offered similar views. Yet, Carpenter Mountain (post) is significantly less visited. I can’t help but think social media plays a dominating role. But, even then, what makes a spot blow up on Instagram versus another? I often see the same regurgitated spots on “must see lists” for Oregon, but there is still so much more to be seen. I am thankful in some ways that these lists curated by influencers and photographers aren’t usually unique. It helps keep other spots from being overcrowded. But, on the other hand, if there were more unique lists people might be more dispersed in general. Which in turn could lead to less impact on the current areas being overcrowded. This is a topic my partner and I revisit often, but I digress.
The hike to the summit is a little less than a mile and a half one way. You will climb over 1,000′ in elevation as you switch back up the side of the mountain through an open meadow. Today was forecasted to be hotter than Saturday which didn’t bode well for a more exposed hike. I quickly fell behind as I struggled with my tight calves and feeling dehydrated again. The main bloom of Beargrass might have already been done, but as I climbed the ridge line more and more blooms became present. Beargrass, or Xerophyllum Tenax, has such a unique flowering pattern. It resembles a q-tip or something out of a Dr. Seuss book. They can even reach up to five feet in height, which is almost as tall as me! As we neared the summit, we were lucky to have it briefly to ourselves aside from the lookout attendant on duty. He was doing his best to ignore everyone in sight. We gave him a hello which only warranted a wave and nothing more. I don’t blame him though, after watching a few hikers completely disregard his personal space I too wouldn’t want to try and talk to anyone. The poor guy was just trying to read his book and enjoy a lunch without being bothered. We enjoyed our lunch on the helispot before heading back down to the car. I was happy to be able to finally check this one off my list.
History.
Established as early as 1905 with a rudimentary platform pole structure, Coffin Mountain has been used as a site for fire detection for a long time. It received its morbid name due to the Coffin shape of the summit. In 1921, a D-6 cupola style cabin was erected in place of the platform. This structure housed the lookouts for 15 years until it was replaced in 1936. Its replacement was a 14’x14′ L-4 ground cab. The current lookout is a modified 15’x15′ R-6 flat top cab and was built in 1984. It is still actively staffed every summer.
NOTICE: August 27, 2023 – this area was impacted by the Lookout Fire that burned 24,754 acres on the Willamette National Forest.
Location.
Willamette National Forest; H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
Status.
Active; Currently standing
Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.
3 hours
Date visited.
July 23, 2022
Elevation.
5,369′
National Historic Lookout Register.
US 484; OR 77
Trip Report.
My partner and I set out on another one-night weekend trip in search of more fire lookouts. We decided to start picking our way through the closer options within the Willamette NF. We set our sights on Carpenter Mountain and figured we could either add Sand or Coffin Mountain (post) to the weekend itinerary. Carpenter Mountain is doable as a really long day trip from Portland, but we wanted to test our luck in finding a camp spot within a busier western forest. I love a quick overnight trip, but it has become more tedious for us this year. We moved into an apartment near the beginning of the year after deciding to officially part ways with roommate living. The trade-off for our own space was three flights of stairs that we now have to haul our gear up and down every trip. This has helped us to become more efficient and stream line in our packing. Any item accidentally left in the apartment pays the penalty of three more flights up and down. You learn quick to grab everything you can in as minimal trips as possible and leave nothing unchecked. No essentials left behind!
That being said, we left Portland mid-morning with a packed car headed down I-5 towards HWY-126. From HWY-126, we turned into the forest on NF-15 just past the community of Blue River. We stayed on this road until we reached the Lookout Campground. There is a sign for Carpenter Mountain that states it is 13 miles away in the direction towards NF-1506. We forked right to follow the sign and enter the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. There are multiple junctions along this route, but all roads are marked and you will want to stay on NF-1506. The NF-1506 road starts out paved but eventually turns into well maintained gravel. We stayed on this road until we reached NF-350 off to the left. According to my odometer, it was 5.7 miles up NF-350 to the trailhead. This is a fairly decent spur road with only a few rocky spots and potholes to avoid up until the last mile. The last mile is where the road deteriorates and becomes very rocky. It was slow going in a low clearance vehicle but passable with caution. We made it to the trailhead just before 1pm. It is a short but steep one mile hike to the fire lookout. You will gain over 800′ in elevation. It was shaded most of the way which offered a nice reprieve from the heat.
I was struggling with tight calves and didn’t want to trigger a Charlie Horse, so I took my time on the hike. My partner reached the summit before me and was already talking to the lookout attendant, Rob, upon my arrival. Rob was friendly and willing to answer our questions. He was a bit reserved at first, but eventually warmed up to us. A few times he would leave the conversation and return to the interior of his lookout. We figured a few times he was done talking, but then he would eventually come back out to continue on before we had packed up. We talked for a while about photography and he gave me some tips on camera use. He pointed us towards an old growth trail that is located just past the NF-350 road on NF-1506. It’s a 3-1/2 mile trail one way, but we only had time to walk down to the log bridge. It was worth the stop and a great recommendation. There were a lot of old trees to ogle at in the short section that we walked along. Afterwards, we headed deeper into the forest via NF-15 to find a camp for the night. There were limited options as we had expected but we were still able to find a place suitable to set up camp for the night.
Lookout Rob
Rob has been the lookout on Carpenter for 9 seasons. He used to work on Wildland fire crews and was an Archeologist as well. He has a degree in Anthropology. In the off season, he lives in Eugene with his wife. He has a special interest in wildlife and ecosystems photography. His work can be found and purchased as prints on his photography website (link). His site offers more detailed information about him, but above is what we talked about in person. Though, I found out through his website that he went to WSU too, Go Cougs!
History.
Carpenter Mountain was first established in 1914 as a rag camp. They built an open sided cupola style fire finder shelter in 1917. This was used up until 1921 when a direct hit from a lightning strike destroyed it. A new or similar structure must have been rebuilt to replace this since there are still records of the site being used as a fire lookout. In 1935, a L-4 cab was built by the CCC on the summit. This was actively staffed until the 1960s. Eventually, it fell into disrepair with another lightning strike causing excessive damage to the structure in 1986. A Ranger reported that the strike caused 14 windows to blow out, the door to blow off, the steps to blow over the side, and the roof to be raised off the frame. It was officially restored in the 1990s and has since been moved back into active service.
After our week long road trip dedicated to seeing fire lookouts in southern and south-eastern Oregon, we decided to look somewhere a little closer to home for a day trip. Clear Lake Butte has been in our back pocket for such an occasion given its easy access and proximity to Portland. Its popularity as a winter destination has kept us away in the colder months, but we knew it was actively staffed in the summer. I personally much rather talk to the lookout attendant than come upon some random renters during their winter stay. We left fairly early in the morning and found ourselves at the gated road before 10am. From Portland, you will want to head out to HWY-26 towards Government Camp. We turned right onto NF-42 which is past the turn off for Clear Lake Campground. The road to Clear Lake Butte is NF-240 off to the right. It should be obvious due to the gate, but it will be the second road down NF-42 on the right hand side. All roads are paved and parking is just a pull out at the beginning of NF-240. In the winter, you’d want to park at the snow park and hike in from there.
A renter, or some yayhoo, had ripped out the gate with their vehicle during the winter season. There were make shift road blocks and a sign that stated “Area Behind This Sign CLOSED to Public Entry” as replacement during our visit. The sign made us pause for a minute, but we decided to continue on since the Forest Service website noted the area as open. I assumed the sign was added to help deter any additional vandalism and disturbances to the lookout. We hoped for the best as we headed up the road. From the gate, it is a 2 mile road walk on mostly pavement with close to 1000′ in elevation gain. There’s not much of a view from the road or base of the lookout, but it is a nice walk in the woods. Once we reached the summit, all our worries about the sign were quickly squashed when Michelle greeted us. She was very friendly and immediately invited us up to check out the view. We even got to meet her very adorable dog. We talked with her for a long time about fire lookouts, the FFLA, the pros/cons of a fire lookout on the rental program, along with other interests. Based on her visitor log, we were only the fourth group up here for the season or at least that signed her book. She wondered if the sign would deter some people from visiting this year. After our visit, we had a brief lunch at the picnic table below the lookout and tried to find the crows nest on our walk back to the car. There are allegedly remnants of it remaining, but we were unsuccessful in our attempt to locate it.
Lookout Michelle
Michelle has worked on Clear Lake Butte for the last 8 seasons and the Mt Hood National Forest since 2004. She is accompanied by her sweet 13 year old rescue dog, Gidget. She can work up to 14 days straight since she doesn’t have a designated relief. She used to work in dispatch for the Forest Service and has also done work on a timber crew. She started working on fire lookouts when the primary lookout on Hickman Butte needed someone to fill in for them. Despite being in a busy area of Mt Hood NF, she only received around 84 visitors in 2021. Clear Lake Butte is currently part of the rental program which has caused problems for her during the start of season. Renters will move her stuff around, leave food/items that she has to clean up (this also attracts mice), someone stole her National Historic Lookout Register sign, and even tore out the gate to the road last season. There is even a protected board on the interior of the lookout that has been signed by everyone who has staffed it in the past. Renters will sometimes pry off the protected layer to try and crave their names with everyone else. Michelle has had to sand out a few names.
Book recommendation: Tatoosh by Martha Hardy
History.
Clear Lake Butte started with a crows nest tree just southeast of the true summit. I couldn’t find any information on what year the crows nest was built though. In 1932, a ring-connected timber tower with cab was built. It stood somewhere between 100′ to 110′ tall (Every site listed it at a different height and I couldn’t find a consensus). Old pictures show a cabin at the base for living quarters. The tower looked similar to the L-6 design on Frazier Point (post). This tower was briefly used for Aircraft Warning in the early 1940s. In 1962, it was replaced with the current 41′ treated timber tower and R-6 cab. It is still actively staffed every season.
The Roaming Civic 