Dry Mountain L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Ochoco National Forest; Managed by Malheur National Forest

Status.

Emergency; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

6-1/2 hours

Date visited.

June 17, 2022

Elevation.

6,281′

National Historic Lookout Register.

Yes

Trip Report.

After visiting Bald Butte L.O., we headed farther west along NF-41 until we reached NF-4120 off to the left. This road will take you all the way to the summit of Dry Mountain. There are a couple junctions along this road that could be mistaken for the route if you’re not careful but it is all signed and should be easy to follow if you’re paying attention. From the Junction of NF-41 and NF-4120 it is 12 miles of gravel to reach the fire lookout. The first 8 miles of gravel are well maintained and passable to any vehicle. It’s a really pretty drive through a canyon and ponderosa forest. The last 4 miles are a bit rough and rocky that could potentially be hazardous to low clearance vehicles. I was thankful for the additional clearance on the HR-V during this section and it had no issues driving all the way. My partner and I speculated whether we would be able to drive this section in my Civic. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it but I think we could have made it with a lot of caution, getting out to move rocks, riding high lines, and slow driving. It’s definitely a road for the heartier 2WD adventurers.

On the summit, there is a cabin and Aermotor tower with a couple communication buildings. The cabin is completely wood rat infested and I was only able to comfortably look inside from the frame of the un-locked door. My partner climbed all the way to the top of the Aermotor where he found a 2006 Burns Interagency Fire Zone Mobilization Guide and an old log book that the lookout attendants used. His mom and I only felt the need to climb part way up the tower to a few of the landings. You are basically on the edge of the forest and there is a lovely view into the valleys below. For some reason, there were a bunch of mosquitos in this area. It would be the only time we ran into them this trip but we all walked away with a few bites. They were so distracting that we even forgot to take our group picture with the lookout. My partner and I realized this after bumping down the road a ways but it was a bit too far to justify turning around. We were both pretty bummed even though it’s mostly for posterity.

After leaving Dry Mountain, we were able to find a nice camp with a view of Bald Butte and even enjoyed a camp fire. It wasn’t until we were getting ready to go to bed that it started raining on us. Yes, that’s right, more rain. Thunderstorms rolled in later that night and struck within less than a mile of our camp twice. My intrusive thoughts kept me up for most of the night after that. I ran through what I knew about thunderstorms and why or why not I would be its next target. Is being in a tent safe with metal poles? Does my air mattress act as a buffer since I’m not touching the ground? Is it more likely to hit the lightning rod on Bald Butte, the car, or the tree next to us? Is it better to be curled up or lay flat? Does moving around help or hinder? Does it matter if we’re on the highest point or not? Of course, the storm passed quickly and we were all fine, but it made me think about safety tips. There seems to be more thunderstorms on our recent trips and I’m sure there will continue to be more in the future as weather reaches more extremes and climates change.

Lightning Safety Outdoors

The flash-to-bang method is the quickest way to calculate how close you are to a storm. It is calculated by how many seconds pass between the flash of lightning to the sound of thunder. You will then need to divide by 5 to estimate the distance it is in miles. I used to only count the seconds as the distance in miles which means some thunderstorms have been closer than I initially thought. If the time between lightning and thunder is less than 30 seconds, it is close enough to be dangerous.
Minimize contact with the ground. Lightning is typically looking for the easiest path of least resistance to the ground. The best position to be in is crouched in a ball-like position with your head tucked and hands over your ears, avoid laying flat.
Avoid elevated areas. If you’re on a peak or high point, attempt to reach lower ground and avoid sheltering under isolated trees. Lightning will most likely strike the tallest object.
Avoid water and metal since both can carry an electrical current. If you’re in the water or on a boat, head to shore immediately.
Find shelter. If going indoors is not an option, your hard-top vehicle with the windows rolled up or lower trees in a forest will work. Do not use a cliff or rocky overhang as shelter.
Avoid open spaces. Avoid open vehicles and open structures since these will not sufficiently protect you from lightning.
If you are in a group, separate. This will help reduce the number of injuries if lightning strikes the ground.

History.

In 1929, a platform was constructed near the top of a yellow pine tree making a 110′ crows nest. This was the highest platform occupied by a lookout on the Ochoco NF. A ground cabin was added in 1930 for the lookout’s living quarters. The existing 70′ Aermotor tower with 7’x7′ cab was built in 1932. It was moved to emergency use in the 1970s, but has been staffed more recently in the 2000s during extreme weather by the BLM. As of 2017, it has been listed for decommission by the Forest Service.

Boardman L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Boardman, OR

Status.

Beacon light; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

2-1/2 hours

Date Visited.

May 31, 2022

Elevation.

N/A

National Historic Lookout Register.

Trip Report.

After a successful but unarguably wet camping trip for Memorial Weekend, we were headed back to Portland from the Umatilla NF. The weather had cleared off significantly and was supposed to be in the mid-70s. My partner informed me there was another fire lookout just off the highway in Boardman we could see on our way home. I figured what was one more to round out the weekend. You should be able to see it from the highway if you know what you’re looking for. From I-84, we took the exit for Tower Road just after Boardman, or before depending on which way you’re driving. You will want to head towards the Love’s Travel Stop and continue past on Tower Road. It should be very obvious from this point. We turned right on one of the first roads leading off to its relative direction and then left onto an unmarked access road. We were able to walk right up to it. It was another easy on and off. I used to drive past Boardman often when I would come home from college. I always remembered it for its tree farm, but had no idea there was a fire lookout here.

History.

My partner discovered this lookout from a post in the Oregon Fire Lookouts Facebook group by Howard Verschoor. All this information was provided by Howard and I was unable to confirm the validity of this information through additional online sources. He is the head of the FFLA Oregon Chapter, so I’d consider him a reliable source. I am unsure of it’s origin date or timeline. The Aermotor tower was originally moved from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It was used by the US Navy Bombing Range to watch for fires after their bombing practice until it was converted into a beacon light for the Boardman Airport.

Fox Butte L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Deschutes National Forest

Status.

Abandoned; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

4-1/2 hours

Date visited.

May 15, 2022

Elevation.

6,025′

National Historic Lookout Register.

Yes

First view of the Aermotor from the road

Trip Report.

Sunday was our last full day of the trip. Our only set plan was to attempt to locate the Pumice Springs crows nest. I was given the choice to add on East Butte or Fox Butte since my partner had already been to both last year. I decided Fox Butte made the most sense since it was closer to our camp and recently slated for decommission. My partner’s dad decided to hang back at camp instead. After breakfast and packing a lunch, we headed out on NF-23 to NF-550. It didn’t take us very long to get there from camp. There are three water bars along NF-550 that will need caution if you are in a lower clearance vehicle. We obviously had no issues in the truck and parked at the signed junction for Fox Butte. There is a locked gate up the road that doesn’t have a pull out or turn around spot. We were well aware of this gate beforehand and didn’t attempt to drive up. The lookout is about a mile or so road walk from this junction. As we headed up the road, we were surprised to find the gate was actually open. I speculated that maybe the Forest Service was on top of their plan for once and had already torn down the lookout. Luckily, I was wrong and someone had just cut the lock. We made sure to close the gate on our way out in hopes to deter at least some vandals. The weather was clear and it felt like summer as we hiked the road. Once on the summit we checked out the L-4 ground cabin that had seen better days and climbed part of the Aermotor tower. My partner climbed all the way to the top, but I stopped on the second landing. It seems to still be in somewhat decent shape, but be wary to climb at your own risk. We spent some extended time on the summit since this would most likely be our last time up here before it’s gone.

After hiking back down to the truck, we headed out on NF-23 towards Sand Springs Campground. We were following directions based on a Geocache that was supposed to take us to the area of the crows nest. We turned left at the four way junction near Sand Springs Campground than right on to NF-900. The cache and crows nest were supposed to be right off the NF-900 road according to the coordinates. We wondered around the area for 2 hours trying to find the tree but all existing pines looked too young to host a crows nest. It was definitely not down this road. Another source had mentioned it was located half way between Pumice Springs and Sand Springs. We drove out towards Pumice Springs and kept an eye out for significantly taller trees in the area. I assume it is probably farther off the road than the eye can see but we didn’t have the hours to spend hiking off of every road in the area. We were unsuccessful in our attempt which was disappointing. This just means another trip to the area is in our future.

History.

Fox Butte started as a lookout site in 1919 when a heliograph was set up on the west point. A year later, in 1920, they ran a telephone line to the butte from the Cabin Lake Ranger Station. A standard D-6 cupola was built on the western summit in 1924. The lookout was later destroyed by the Fox Butte Fire in 1926 that burned over 15,000 acres of timber. They started to rebuild a new lookout tower the following year. This was noted as a pole tower with ground cabin for living quarters. In 1933, they started construction on the eastern summit of the existing 80′ steel Aermotor tower. The living quarters from the western summit were moved to the eastern summit for use with the new tower. A 16×18 wood frame garage was added in 1934. The living quarters were eventually replaced with the L-4 ground house moved from Sixteen Butte in 1948. There is record of it being consistently staffed up until the late 1950s. It could have been used for longer but I wasn’t able to find a definitive date on when it was abandoned. The Forest Service briefly used the lookout for a season in 1995 while the East Butte L.O. was being reconstructed. It is now apart of their proposed plan to be removed.

Clatskanie Mountain L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Hopkins Demonstration Forest

Status.

Refabricated & maintained for educational purposes

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

45 mins

Date visited.

October 23, 2021

Elevation.

2,081′ (original)

National Historic Lookout Register.

Trip Report.

My partner, his dad, and I decided to take a trip to Hopkins Demonstration Forest in Beavercreek. They had recently finished reconstruction of the Clatskanie Mountain L.O. in February 2021. The lookout is located right in the parking lot and easy to access. It was a really rainy fall day, so we were unable to climb the tower. I believe they will open this to the public on nicer days for tours. We checked out the adjacent Everett Hall, historic Molalla Log House, and hiking trails on the property as well. Hopkins Demonstration Forest offers learning opportunities about different sustainable forest management techniques over 140-acres and is operated by Forest Forever Inc. Places like this are important for preservation and education. Please donate if you are able or visit their website to learn more about getting involved!

History.

The Clatskanie Mountain L.O. is a 65′ Aermotor tower with 7×7 cab. it was originally built in 1954 and managed by the ODF in the coastal range near Astoria. It was constructed as a replacement for the Benson Lookout. In 1984, it was dismantled and moved to the Magness Tree Farm. Fun Fact: It was dismantled by the same person, Don Rust, that had originally assembled it. The World Forestry Center operated it there as an educational exhibit and historic display. They experienced issues with vandalism and the continued maintenance over the years. In 2008, they decided to refurbish and relocate the tower. It stood on the Hopkins property for 9 years before reconstruction started in 2019. Finding the proper components, knowledge, and skills needed took time. They were able to find a company to fabricate all the needed components to restore the structure to it’s original specifications. The company, Fire Tower Restoration, specializes in finding and saving Fire Lookouts before they are sold for scrap. The remaining work of replacing treads, railings, and safety fencing was completed by Hopkins volunteers over the last year. It is now open and ready for the public thanks to all their hard work!

The Hopkins Demonstration Forest is also currently working on restoring the Molalla Log House which will be completed in 2022. This historic log house is believed to be the oldest building in Oregon, if not the entire Pacific Northwest. It is made of Douglas Fir that had been hand hewn and held in place by tight half-dovetail notching. The origins of the log house are un-known even after extensive research, but believed to be built by fur hunters and trappers from Canada in the late 1790s. The building securely sat in the foothills of the cascades near Molalla for 200 years before it was dismantled in 2007. It was warehoused with plans for rehabilitation and preservation until it found it’s forever home in 2017. The building is a 18’x25′ log cabin with 1-1/2 stories. We will have to make a trip out to see it once completed!

More Information.

Hopkins Demonstration Forest

Trout Creek Butte L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Deschutes National Forest

Status.

Abandoned; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

3-1/2 hours

Date visited.

October 9, 2021

Elevation.

5,546′

National Historic Lookout Register.

Yes

Trip Report.

My partner and I decided to make a quick one-night trip down to the Deschutes National Forest area for the weekend. We wanted to try and see Henkle Butte, Trout Creek Butte, and Lava Butte lookouts. Trout Creek Butte L.O. is an easy drive outside of Sisters. To get there you will take the Mackenzie HWY-242 to signed NF-15. NF-15 starts out paved and eventually turns to well-maintained gravel. After 5 miles it will fork to become NF-1524 and NF-1522. You will keep right to stay on NF-1524. Eventually it will fork again with NF-1524 continuing to the left and NF-1018 to the right. You will stay right at this junction as well. Continue on NF-1018 until you find spur NF-800 on the right. It is a pretty notable road since it is still red rock instead of fresh gravel. FS-800 will take you the remaining way to the summit. All roads were in decent condition and are manageable in a passenger vehicle. There are a few bumps on NF-800 but you’ll make it with caution. We decided not to drive to the summit and parked in a pull out near the old gate. The gate is still there but no longer blocks the road. It’s about a 1/2 mile to the summit from this point in the road. Walking up the road to the summit, we became worried that the tower might have fallen or already been removed. The area was burned in the 2017 Milli Fire but there are still a lot of tall trees on the summit obscuring the view. We weren’t able to see the tower until we were almost to the base of it. It was like playing Where’s Waldo? with a lookout. Scroll down if you want to try and spot it in my pictures. The first three levels of stairs are removed due to safety concerns and to help deter vandalism. The tower is in terrible condition. The cab on top is missing its floor, window glass, and part of the roof. Although there is not much of a view from the summit, the views from the road before the summit are worth the stop alone. We drove back down NF-800 to the junction with NF-1018. Instead of heading back out the way we came, we turned to take NF-1018 in the other direction. If you stay on NF-1018, it will eventually take you all the way back to HWY-242. But it will pass Whispering Pine C.G. beforehand. We were running out of day light so we decided to camp there for the night.

History.

This 75′ steel Aermotor tower with 7×7 cab is the original built by the CCC in 1933. Some sources note this as a 86′ tower instead, but I believe this is counting the concrete poured for the tower. The tower was last used for emergencies up until the 1970s. There used to be a T-1E 16×18 garage and 14×16 wood living cabin on the summit as well. Both were built a year after the tower in 1934, but I couldn’t confirm any information on what happened to these structures. The outhouse was relocated to Sand Mountain L.O. as part of a restoration project in 1992. The tower is the only remaining structure on the summit and is slated to be decommissioned by the Deschutes NF.

Can you spot the lookout?

Pull the slider to the left to see where the lookout is located in the below pictures.

West Myrtle Butte L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Malheur National Forest

Status.

Abandoned; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

6 hours

Date visited.

September 4, 2021

Elevation.

6,384′

National Historic Lookout Register.

Yes

Trip Report.

My partner and I decided to switch our Labor Day weekend plans from backpacking to car camping due to the wildfire smoke. Our plan was to head out to the Malheur National Forest to see West Myrtle Butte, Sugarloaf, and Snow Mountain lookouts. And if we had time we would attempt to go to Tower Point L.O. in the Ochoco National Forest as well. The Malheur NF looked to be the most promising for visibility and air quality. We knew it would be busy since it was bow hunting season and a holiday weekend but we were still able to find somewhere to disperse camp. We decided to start by checking out West Myrtle Butte L.O. since it was the most northern of the three. We took FS-37 to FS-641 to get there. We were able to drive my Civic down FS-641 until there was a fork in the road. FS-641 continues to the left up to the lookout. The road immediately deteriorated after passing this junction. We parked in the shade on a pullout and road walked the remaining 0.7 miles. You are basically already on the ridge at this point so the grade getting to the lookout from here is gradual.

History.

There are two living quarters on the summit along with a pit toilet and Aermotor tower. The Aermotor is an 80′ steel tower with a 7’x7′ cab. The main living quarters were a wood 16×20 foot plan 6-D 61. Both of these structures were built in 1929 and are still standing. A 16×20 wood frame Aladdin style garage was added to the summit in 1934. I don’t recall seeing a garage on the summit when we visited, but it might have been the second structure. It appeared to be more of a storage area or additional living quarters than a garage but I couldn’t find any information on this. It may have also been torn down. The main living area had some vandalism with broken windows but is in otherwise fair condition. The Aermotor tower was open to climb even though the FS had deemed it unfit for use. All structures showed signs of wood rat activity, and there was even a nest in the fire finder platform cupboard. All of these structures are slated for decommission by the Malheur NF.