Hello fellow lookout enthusiasts, staffers, or readers alike;
It is nearing the end of 2025 and has been a while since I have posted on here. For lack of better words I have simply fallen behind. The reality is, despite being busy in many different ways, I have lacked motivation to write. I do plan on completing my backlog and I know there are no expectations for my own blog, but the longer I sit on it the less useful the information becomes. Anyway this is all just a quick post to say – hi, hello – I am still here and see that there is still traffic on this page.
A small update on this last season. We didn’t visit as many fire lookouts within our own state, but have found ourselves at more former sites than previous years. They can be just as interesting to us and tend to still have a decent view. One of our longer trips was a 10-day 1,768 mile road trip around Minnesota which consisted of visiting 23 fire lookouts within the state. That trip made up the bulk of the fire lookouts we have visited this year. Our second longer trip was an 8-day 50 mile backpacking loop through the Eagle Cap Wilderness. We did manage to check off some harder to reach lookouts in Oregon via backpacking trips, specifically Pearsoll and Mule Peak.
What’s to come in 2026? Only the forest service roads can tell us for sure. We are planning on a 2-week road trip but haven’t settled on which states or parks that will include yet. We are still in the speculative stage of planning beyond the dates. More than likely it will expand our fire lookout scope to another state but that is not the sole purpose of the trip. we will still continue to chip away at fire lookouts here locally but there are less and less every year.
I am most active on Instagram for now under the handle @takeahikedani if you want more day to day updates on where we have been recently.
I am also happy to stay connected via e-mail – especially if you notice any discrepancies of information, have condition updates, recommendations, or have questions on fire lookouts we have visited (e-mail: sullivan.danielle@yahoo.com).
I learned a new term on the way back from our most recent trip to the Kalmiopsis wilderness. Kalmiopsised. As far as I can tell this was a term coined by the Northwest Rafting Co that does commercial rafting trips to this area. It is the best description I have found to explain the appeal and hardships that come from visiting the Kalmiopsis wilderness.
Kalmiopsised [Cal-mee-opp-sis-ed] – adj. 1. being cold, wet, exhausted, and happy in Oregon’s Kalmiopsis Wilderness. 2. in pain and despair in a rugged, harsh place with a big smile your brain is trying to relay to your face muscles.
We have been to the Kalmiopsis wilderness a handful of times now. Our first trip was just last year during the 2024 Memorial Weekend, where we planned a 5-day backpacking loop through the eastern side of the wilderness. The second trip was for Garnet’s birthday and focused solely on reaching the fire lookout on Pearsoll Peak. Our most recent trip(s) were for Garnet to complete the 50-mile Leech Loop through the wilderness. I had backpacked into Babyfoot lake both times to send him off and pick him up. Each trip has offered memorable challenges and left us wanting to return for more. The below report will detail the relevant sections of trail from these trips that you can take to reach Pearsoll Peak.
The Chetco Pass trailhead is the main access point to reach Pearsoll Peak. From there, the hike is moderate in length and elevation along the old roads that now make up the “trail”. The variance in routes comes from how you decide to get to Chetco Pass. The access road is gated in the rainy season from end of September to beginning of June. It is narrow, rocky, and full of erosion issues not suitable for most vehicles. If you drive a low clearance vehicle, like us, the only way to reach Chetco Pass is via hiking. Unfortunately, this turns a relatively moderate day hike into a strenuously long one. We opted to break up the distance and spend more time in the area by turning this into a backpacking trip. Please note the fire lookout is not open for overnight stays at this time and is currently secured with a lock bar – do not plan on camping in the lookout. If you are hiking your way to Chetco Pass, the closest starting points are going to be from the McCaleb Ranch area or the Kalmiopsis Rim trailhead.
McCaleb Ranch Access to Chetco Pass
From Grants Pass, we followed HWY-199 until we reached Selma. We turned right onto the paved Illinois River Road that leaves directly from the community. We stayed on this road until we reached the unsigned junction with NF-087 off to the left that heads steeply down to the McCaleb Ranch. The junction is located where the pavement ends and the road splits off from a wide turn around area. The Illinois River Road is paved most of the way to this junction minus one short section of gravel in the middle. There are some potholes to avoid along the route, but we were able to maneuver around them. You will also pass a major junction with NF-4105, stay left to continue on the Illinois River Road. It should be obvious since NF-4105 is not paved. The biggest hazard along this route is meeting oncoming traffic. The road narrows the farther you drive and it is not wide enough for two passing cars except for when there is a pull out to utilize. You will know you are close when you pass the Store Gulch Campground. Once at the NF-087 road you have three options for parking. The first option is located at the bottom of the road just below the McCaleb Ranch after you cross the river. This is only suitable for high-clearance vehicles and day hikers. The parking area is large and offers a bathroom, but has signs posted for no overnight parking or camping. There is also a small section just beyond the bridge before you reach the trailhead that is not passable to low clearance vehicles. If you are attempting to drive all the way to Chetco Pass you would follow the directions to this trailhead and continue beyond the yellow gate from there. The second option is to park at the trailhead for the swinging bridge, I believe the official name is the Fall Creek trailhead. This is located along the first sharp bend of the NF-087 road. This is where we decided to park our car. It was slightly confusing on if we could park here given the two No Parking signs posted on each side of the trailhead. We ultimately decided those were meant to keep people from parking on the edges and potentially blocking the road. The old signboard here offers no information and the historic swinging bridge is currently closed to pedestrians due to some structural concerns. From what we found online, the Forest Service does plan to repair the bridge eventually but it is a slow going process that is not as simple as it seems and even more so with our current administration in place. If you want to avoid any confusion or are worried about traction issues, your third option would be to park at the junction at the top of the NF-087 road and hike down from there.
We reached the trailhead just after noon and had a quick lunch before saddling up with our packs to hike the road. We knew we had at least 4-1/2 miles of road walking to reach Chetco Pass and planned to find camp just beyond along the Slide Creek trail. The temps were forecast for a high in the low-60s and mostly sunny, but with the exposure and weight of our packs it ended up feeling much warmer. We had to hike down the road and cross via the vehicle bridge due to the swinging bridge closure. Once across the Illinois River, we headed towards the yellow gate at the back of the parking area. The only other gate is posted with private property and no trespassing signs for the McCaleb Ranch behind the bathroom. There is also a bridge that leads to the Fall Creek Trail off to the left. The road wastes no time gaining elevation and we took breaks often in what little shade the few trees had to offer. The condition of the road is deteriorating and I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up permanently closing the gate at some point instead of making the needed repairs. There are some sections that are not that bad, but there are major erosion issues happening that will make it difficult for most vehicles. The worst of it was about a mile below the pass on a tight switch back. The water run-off cuts deep through the road and a small section has eroded away to no more than the width of an ATV. You would most likely have to put one of your wheels on the side slope or off the road completely to fit a standard vehicle past this point. These are just cautionary warnings since the road is narrow, rocky, soft bedded when wet, and does not offer many turn around points if you decide to abort part of the way there. It’s obvious this road does not see much traffic just from the amount of shrubs and grass growing through it.
I eventually fell behind Garnet and started to struggle with my calves trying to seize into a charlie horse. I was probably less than half a mile from the pass when my calf cramped. I was frustrated because I had drank almost all of my water and wasn’t even over exerting myself. One water bottle was even full of electrolytes. I felt fine in every other aspect, but my body obviously needed more water. I had to shorten my steps the rest of the way to keep my calves from cramping again but I eventually made it to the pass with Garnet waiting. I won’t even bother telling you how long he had been waiting for me. We continued straight to head down the Slide Creek trail in search of a camp. We knew there was a decent one at least a mile down, but ended up finding one less than a few 100 yards from the pass that worked perfectly for our base camp. There was a creek not too much farther down the road either. I’m not sure how reliable this water source is for year round visits, but if you are ever in need of water in this area look for the Darlingtonia plants. They grow where the water sources are most concentrated. Strava tracked my mileage from where we parked to our camp at 5 miles with 2,650′ of elevation gain. I took a screen shot when I reached the pass of the mileage and it was around 4.85 miles. The elevation gain would have been the same since we only headed down to reach camp.
Kalmiopsis Rim (Onion Camp) Trailhead to Chetco Pass
From Grants Pass, we followed HWY-199 past Selma until we reached the paved Eight Dollar Mountain Road off to the right. It’s on a curve in the highway with it’s own turn lane. If you reach the community of Kerby you have gone too far. The Eight Dollar Mountain Road narrows to a single lane beyond the gate and eventually turns into the NF-4201. It becomes gravel after crossing the bridge over the Illinois River. There are a few deep potholes in the paved section of this road but all are currently avoidable. You will stay on the NF-4201 road until you are almost to the Babyfoot Lake Trailhead. Just before you reach the Babyfoot Lake TH, you will turn right onto NF-142 and follow this to the Kalmiopsis Rim Trailhead (sometimes referred to as the Onion Camp TH). The gravel conditions are good for the majority of the drive and passable to low clearance vehicles. Some caution is required though. The last six miles has the majority of hazards as the road narrows and becomes rockier. There are some potholes and minor high lines but all are currently passable. Your biggest threat is oncoming traffic around blind corners. It is roughly 17 miles from the highway to the trailheads and there is a little less than a mile and a half between the two trailheads. The trail begins to the left of the signboard at the Kalmiopsis Rim TH.
We had hiked the Kalmiopsis Rim Trail #1124 as the start of our route for a 5-day trip through the wilderness. The mileage for this route is estimated based on online information since I didn’t track it on Strava. I opted to conserve my phone’s battery for photos instead. The trail starts out by mildly climbing to meet the ridge line and turning to head towards Whetstone Butte. It drops down on the left hand side of the butte to descend to Eagle gap. Our destination for the night was a dry campsite tucked in a saddle between Eagle Gap and the summit of Eagle Mountain. We didn’t plan on making it very far our first day since we had a long drive from Portland and didn’t make it to the trailhead until after 4PM. We were also traveling with Garnet’s mom for the weekend and had to keep that in mind. There is a spring at Eagle Gap and that is where you would need to get water if you plan on camping in the same spot. You have to drop below the trail on the right side of the gap to reach it. It wasn’t completely obvious where exactly it was located, but we were able to locate it by the Darlingtonia growing around it. From Eagle Gap, the trail becomes faint and steeply climbs to the ridge again. It is roughly 2.75 miles and anywhere from 1,300′ to 1,700′ of elevation gain (I found varying information online) from the trailhead to the summit of Eagle Mountain. I’d estimate the camp spot is about 1/2 of a mile before the summit (a little over 2 miles from the trailhead). These mileages really only matter if you want to break up your route into a backpacking trip like we did.
The next morning we woke in a dense cloud with wet gear. We packed up to make the final climb up Eagle Mountain before heading down again to Chetco Pass. I recommend taking a small off trail detour to take in the expansive views from the official summit of Eagle Mountain. There is a small pocket as you are coming down from the mountain that has a few matchstick sections of downed trees to navigate. Once past the treed area the trail widens to an old mining road and you have a clear view of where you are headed. Chetco Pass is roughly 4-1/2 miles from the Kalmiopsis Rim trailhead. You don’t gain much more beyond summiting Eagle Mountain from this route to reach Chetco Pass. You could hypothetically break up your route by camping just below Chetco Pass instead of near Eagle Mountain too. We had hoped we would have had time to reach Pearsoll Peak during this trip but that would’ve required another day for us. Our route for the weekend instead continued down the Slide Creek trail from there to meet up with the Chetco River before heading back up to Babyfoot lake.
Chetco Pass to Pearsoll Peak
Once you have determined which route you want to take to reach Chetco Pass, the official hike to Pearsoll Peak begins. There are three trails that leave from Chetco Pass. The Kalmiopsis Rim Trail #1124 continues on both the left and right side of the pass, while the Slide Creek Trial #1102 continues straight (if you’re looking at it head on from the road). The hike to Pearsoll is accessed from the right hand side of the trailhead and follows the old road to the official lookout trail. This is the only area with the wood fence cut out – I’m not sure if that was intentionally done or if someone personally cut it to drive farther up the road. The old road continues for a mile before you reach a fork with your first view of Pearsoll Peak. The Kalmiopsis Rim Trail continues straight, but you will want to take the road heading left. This road continues for another mile before ending at the remains of the old Pearsoll Mine and narrowing into the official Pearsoll Peak Trail #1125. The Pearsoll Peak Trail climbs steeply to the back side of the ridge for half of a mile to reach the summit. The map shows that this trail can be accessed from the continuation of the Kalmiopsis Rim Trail on the other side as well, but we did not scope out that route (Aka if you continued straight at the aforementioned junction). The tread along the trail is in mostly good condition given that it is built into the rock, there is only one section that looks like it could erode over time near the main switchback given the looser conditions. We enjoyed our time on the summit with a leisurely lunch before heading back down. Breaking up the distance allowed for us to have more time to enjoy our surroundings.
Although we decided to turn this into a 4-day backpacking trip, you could easily modify it into a shorter trip or a day hike if you’re into hardier hikes. The first half of our trip was sunny conditions and warm temps, but the second half and hike out was in the rain. This lead us to a couple of discoveries. The first was that our tent is probably well overdue for a re-water proofing. The second was that the Chetco Pass road becomes very soft under wet conditions – I wouldn’t recommend trying to drive it if there is any rain in the forecast. Even our feet were sinking in the road in certain areas which only tells me that a car would do the same. Anyway, I’m sure this is way more information than what you need or even want but if you made it this far congrats.
Chetco Pass to Pearsoll Peak is ~ 5.4 miles RT, 1,400′ of elevation gain
Kalmiopsis Rim TH to Pearsoll Peak is ~ 14.4 miles RT, 2,900′ of elevation gain
McCaleb Ranch TH to Pearsoll Peak is ~ 15 miles RT, 4,050′ of elevation gain
History.
The first structure built on Pearsoll Peak was completed in 1920 as a D-6 Cupola style cabin. There is evidence to suggest this was utilized as a fire detection camp as early as 1914 when a telephone line was constructed. The lookout was replaced in 1954 by the current L-4 ground cabin. This was actively staffed into the early 1970s before being abandoned and falling into a state of disrepair. In the early 1990s, the Sand Mountain Society partnered with the Illinois Ranger District to help to restore the lookout. Thanks to their efforts it still stands today. It is unclear if the Sand Mountain Society still plays a part in maintaining this structure (their website has some glitches and is under construction last I checked). There is a new standing platform and signs of recent paint on some of the shutters. I think most of the maintenance and work is now captained by the Siskiyou Mountain Club. They play a major role in keeping the Kalmiopsis Wilderness accessible for hikers and backpackers through their stewardship programs.
Did you know that Yosemite National Park has two standing fire lookouts within the park boundaries? This is something they don’t advertise on their brochure maps the way that other National Parks might. It seems you have to actively seek out the information online from sources other than the NPS. It’s possible they do this to dissuade visitors from bothering working crews or disturbing the surrounding neighborhoods since both areas do not have capacity for high visitation. I commandeered our plans for end of September to satisfy my desire to check Yosemite NP off my bucket list. I still wanted to work some fire lookouts into our route for good measure and was pleasantly surprised to find there were a couple within the park. We had originally planned to visit the park back in 2020 during a 2-week road trip, but chose to reroute due to wildfire park closures and terrible air quality. It’s been on my redemption list since then. Thankfully, it seems that some National Parks have taken to withholding a few camp spots within a 2-week period instead of the usual 6-month rolling period. This has particularly come in handy for me as I’ve shuffled things around this year or if you’re more of a last minute planner. It helped that we were also traveling slightly outside the peak season when most kids are back in school and the daily timed entries were only required on weekends. I found no issues claiming my preferred camp spot at 7AM on recreation.gov 2-weeks prior to our trip.
The first day of our trip was spent in the car, well past dark, to get to our reserved spot at the Crane Flat campground. It took us significantly longer than what was estimated and it was beyond my limit for the amount of time I wanted to spend in a car for the day. That being said, the second day was planned for as little driving as possible. This meant exploring the area closest to our campground at the Tuolumne Grove Trailhead. We started with the relatively short hike down to the grove and ate our lunch at one of the trailhead picnic tables afterwards. Our other destination for the day was the Crane Flat lookout which can be reached via road or trail. There is still a short trail to the lookout if you decide to go by road, but we decided to follow the longer route via the lower trail. This conveniently starts from the same trailhead as the Tuolumne Grove. To find the start of the lookout trail we headed away from the obvious trailhead area and toward the overflow parking behind the bathrooms. We followed the parking lot to it’s end where an old dirt road bed continues and a small sign on a tree indicated it was to the lookout. This will zig-zag up to meet with the paved road that people can drive. From there, we hiked the road to the official lookout trailhead and followed the short trail around. There are a few signs along these trails but it is not present at every junction. Be aware of your surroundings and note where you are heading so you can find your way back.
The summit is occupied by a mixed working crew of fire management and SAR. They are specially trained to manage fires and make backcountry rescues via helicopter. Due to the popularity of rock climbing in the park many rescues are vertical in nature. The trail that starts from the parking area helps to direct visitors around the helipad and keep them out of the way during emergencies. Please be respectful when visiting and do not disturb the crews onsite – they are there for your safety not your entertainment. While the majority of buildings onsite are off limits, the fire lookout structure is open to the public as a standing exhibit. There is a ton of information inside that offers the history of the lookout and the crews that occupy the area. We had the lookout to ourselves and didn’t see anyone on trail the majority of the hike up. We did help a couple in their car along the paved road that was trying to locate the Crane Flat campground. They somehow ended up on the road to the lookout instead – GPS can do that if you’re not careful. We spent a decent amount of time enjoying the surrounding view trying to pick out the other lookout towers just outside the park. This was an out and back hike so we followed the same route back to the car. My Strava app calculated this at 3.05 miles RT with 452′ of elevation gain. Please note that the road is gated at times and might not be accessible to drive. If you hike from the base of the gated road it is around 3 miles RT as well with similar elevation gain according to AllTrails.
History.
Crane Flat was the first fire lookout structure built within Yosemite National Park in 1931. This predates the time of the CCC and was built by the National Parks Service. The structure is a two-story rustic NPS style lookout with 13’x13′ wooden cab and catwalk. The first floor was used as a garage with storage and is built partially of stone. It was actively staffed into the 1980s but now stands as an educational site for visitors. Interestingly enough it seems the site is still utilized by fire crews within the park. There is a secondary structure onsite next to the fire lookout that houses Helitack, fire crews, and even SARs. The park still makes an effort to manage and maintain their wildfires but does so by helicopter now. The Helitack team is utilized to transport firefighters to the park’s remote areas, sling a Bambi Bucket to directly support fire suppression missions, and perform high-altitude SAR missions from vertical surfaces.
We bounced around a few different ideas for our Labor Day trip this year ranging from the Sky Lakes to the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. We have been heavy handed on the backpacking this year and wanted to continue that trend. Our final decision wasn’t made until the Monday prior when I booked our permits. The wildfire season has been hot and fast this year, but had quieted down some in the mild August conditions. Though after regaining cell service this weekend we found the fire season had been extended. Lightning had caused some new fires over the weekend and predictions are calling for a hot September. It was quite the contrast from when we left the cell service range prior. Normally smoke and fire ends up dictating our plans for this high holiday weekend. It still played a minor role but it was nice to have what felt like more flexibility. Dodger Point has been thrown around a couple times in the past as a potential trip option, but we have been deterred by the cost of permits and the time needed to get there. It requires a bit more planning than your typical fire lookout. We ultimately decided to bite the bullet after agreeing that the permits are not going to get any cheaper or the distance any shorter or us any younger.
Things to note for a trip to Dodger Point L.O.:
America the Beautiful Pass – Annual $80 or 7-Day $30 for trailhead parking
Olympic National Park Wilderness Permits – $8 per adult per night + $6 reservation fee (2-adults for 4-nights was $70). Permits for this can be found under the Elwha starting area on Recreation.gov. Please note: Recreation.gov imposes a 15-mile limit between campsite permits. If you select another campsite first such as Humes Ranch, the Dodger Point campsite should appear as an option for the second night. If you plan to hike to the Dodger Point campsite on the first night the permit will have to be set up in person, via e-mail, or over the phone with the WIC.
Bear Canister – the back country campground below Dodger Point does not have a bear hang wire and a bear canister is required for storing your food properly. You can check these out from a WIC on a first-come first-serve basis with your permit if you do not own one.
Parking – the Olympic Hot Springs Road which had previously provided access to the Whiskey Bend trailhead has been washed out indefinitely since December 2017. The closest trailhead for parking is Madison Falls and the remaining distance along the road must be hiked or biked. This adds an additional 7 miles (one-way) of hiking along the road to access the necessary trailhead.
Camping – There are two backcountry campgrounds that hikers typically use on their route to Dodger Point. The first is Humes Ranch along the Elwha River at 9.5 miles from Madison Falls TH. There is a bear hang wire here and back country toilet. Though trip reports confirm the bear wire is in bad shape and is noted as more of a bear piñata. It was completely down during our visit but I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. The second is appropriately named Dodge Point as it sits just below the fire lookout off of the Long Ridge trail. This campground is located 20 miles from the Madison Falls TH. There is no bear hang wire, no toilet, and no campfires allowed. It seems that most break up this hike into a 2 or 3-night backpacking trip.
Water – the water source located at the Dodger Point camp is noted as unreliable especially late in the season. You will need to plan appropriately to carry enough water for your stay. There is a reliable spring 2-1/2 miles before you reach the camp that we found to be the best water source. We did notice a few sources closer to the camp still running but they were much smaller or stagnate.
Friday.
We decided to plan our route to Dodger Point as a 5-day/4-night trip since those were the days we had already requested off from work. This allowed us to camp below Dodger Point for two nights giving us a rest day between the longer hiking days. I already own a BV500 bear canister that I bought specifically to have on hand for back country trips like this to Washington. But given the length of our trip we quickly realized it would not fit all of our food. We decided to test our luck at the Port Angeles WIC to rent a second one for the weekend. Our hopes were slim to none since it was the Friday of Labor Day weekend, but it never hurts to ask. We didn’t leave Portland until 7:30AM since I needed to book a last minute camp spot for a planned girls trip, but they weren’t available on Recreation.gov until 7AM PST. We still managed to avoid most of the holiday traffic until we reached Port Angeles. The WIC located in town was busy but we were surprised to see they had rows of bear canisters ready for use over the long weekend. We were able to check out one with no issues and were headed to the trailhead shortly after noon. The Ranger that assisted us with the bear can mentioned we might be visiting the only quiet part of the park this weekend. Finding a less traveled trail in some of the busiest areas is our forte. The Madison Falls TH was only 15 minutes outside of Port Angeles off of the paved Olympic Hot Springs road. The main parking area was full, but we had no issues finding parking in the overflow area. We brought lunch to eat in the car before starting our trek out to Humes Ranch. Garnet didn’t want to leave any food in the car after our mouse experience from Jarbidge and was trying to finish off everything we brought before heading out. I was getting worried about time since I’m not a fast hiker especially when saddled with a backpack and decided to get a head start.
The “hike” starts beyond the gate along the Olympic Hot Springs road. This portion is on pavement until you reach the Bypass Trail that circumvents the road wash out. It was a surprisingly steep little trail as it directs you up and away from the road before dropping back down. This section can be challenging for those trying to bike the road. Once off the Bypass Trail it was back to pavement until I reached the old Elwha Ranger Station. The ranger station is located 2-1/2 miles from the trailhead and makes a good turn around point for day hikers. It is an interesting collection of buildings that are starting to show signs of neglect. It seems this area has been mostly abandoned by the parks service after the road washed out. I met where the road forks just beyond the station and continued left to turn onto the Whiskey Bend road. The paved Olympic Hot Springs road continues further to the right to access different areas within the park. The road walking turns to gravel from this junction to the trailhead. It was another 4-1/2 miles along this road. I had been hiking ahead of Garnet at this point, but I was slightly worried he might not notice the road turn off. There was a sign but it was mostly worn down and unreadable. I waited for a bit near the junction until I saw him heading up the road. From there, he caught up to me quickly. My legs were feeling good at this point and for once we were able to keep a similar pace. We stopped briefly to check out the remains of the Elwha Dam that had been removed in 2011-2012 to help restore the river. I’m pretty sure this is what eventually led to the road being washed out. The gravel road was mostly in good condition minus one or two parts that have sunk down. Something to note if they do manage to reconstruct the Olympic Hot Springs road in the future. There were some signs of construction along the bypass trail that suggested it might be in progress, but I haven’t done any additional research to confirm.
While hiking along the road we were met with a family of grouse, I believe they were Sooty Grouse, that seemed completely unbothered by us. It reminded me of the Spruce Grouse we encountered while in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters in 2022. They did not have the best fight or flight instincts and were willing to get within an arms reach. Garnet fell behind trying to identify them with the Merlin app as I continued ahead. I finally reached the trailhead, sweaty and tired, after 7 miles of road walking. I took off my pack and laid down on the picnic table until Garnet arrived. Road walking can be really hard on your feet. The remaining distance to Humes Ranch was 2-1/2 miles along the official Elwha River trail. There are a few different junctions heading off to the right to note along this trail. The first we came to was an over grown trail that had a sign for an overlook. The second was an obvious junction but was not signed. We debated whether this was our turn or not since the trails all seemed to interconnect on the map. We decided to stay on the Elwha River trail. Looking at a map after the fact, it appears this was the Rica Canyon trail. The third junction we came to was labelled with a sign for Krause Bottom. We figured this might be our junction and even started to head down the trail a bit, but decided to turn around after the tread started to grow faint. Once again looking at a map after the fact, it looks like this would have connected to Humes Ranch but it is not the main route. We continued on the Elwha River trail until we reached Michael’s Cabin. There is an obvious junction here signed for Humes Ranch and Dodger Point. The trail drops down from here to the edges of the Elwha River passing another trail fork for Dodger Point, a cabin from the Humes Ranch, and a junction that connects to Krause Bottom. There is a small camp spot where the trail first meets up with the Humes Meadow, but the main camping area is located across the meadow. We assumed we would see people while we were here since there were more than just our permits taken out for the night. We were surprised to find an empty campground and as the sun started to set we were surprised no one ended up joining us later in the evening. We hadn’t seen anyone else since we left the paved part of the road.
Our estimated mileage for the day was 9-1/2 miles with 1,800′ of elevation gain. These numbers are just an estimation since I didn’t use the tracker on my phone due to being worried about conserving my battery.
Saturday.
We didn’t set an alarm for the morning and didn’t attempt to wake up any earlier than we normally would while camping. This probably wasn’t our best call, but today was going to be an uphill marathon not a sprint. My joints were still stiff from the day prior and I hoped I’d be able to make it all the way. I decided to get a head start on Garnet since I had finished repacking my bag before he was ready. I headed back up the steep little trail we came down yesterday until I met up with the fork that was signed for Dodge Point. I turned right to continue on this trail. I could tell no one had been this way in the last day or two due to the amount of cobwebs that greeted my face. After hiking for a mile I came to another junction pointing back to Humes Ranch. I cursed myself for not looking closer for a cut off trail while in camp the day prior and made a note to take it on the way back. I had known all the trails around Humes Ranch interconnected, I just hadn’t known where it ended and began. I wasn’t completely sure how much mileage this would have cut off, but it would have definitely saved some back tracking and unnecessary elevation gain. I debated whether to wait at this junction for Garnet or not, but shortly became worried he might already be ahead of me if he found this junction from camp. I continued on since there were still many more miles to be seen for the day and Garnet would catch up soon enough. The trail had been mostly in good condition until it started to turn back towards the Elwha River where signs of erosion have crept in. One particular section of note was only a short distance but barely wider than my foot. In a more exposed rockier section you could tell where the land had slid and users had reworked their own trail over the moved debris. Both of these sections made me a bit uneasy knowing I was barely over a mile into our hike for the day; what other obstacles lie ahead? would the suspension bridge still be there? and why hadn’t Garnet caught up yet?
One of my questions were quickly answered as the trail headed steeply down to meet the suspension bridge to cross the Elwha. It’s an impressive bridge. The river crossing would not be possible without it, at least at this section of trail. I crossed the bridge after taking in the impressive flow and drop down to the river. The bounce of the suspension always gives me a bit of anxiety. I paused on the other side and decided to wait a bit for Garnet again. But the longer I waited, the more I felt the pressure of the miles ahead. I continued on with the reminder that today was a marathon not a sprint. The trail turned gently up from here and any signs of erosion where left behind the other side of the bridge. I started to lollygag after every downed tree or mild obstruction wondering “how Garnet hadn’t caught up yet?”. I probably should have just stayed focused on making it farther but my mind always ponders if something could have gone wrong. He caught up to me around 2-1/2 miles into the hike as we continued our way up, up, up. There was a brief section of flat trail as we met a shelf in the ridge. If you look at the topo lines on the map the real climb begins beyond this shelf as you switch back quickly up to the main ridge line. The trail straightens out after this initial climb to make a gradual ascent for the rest of the way. This section is aptly named the Long Ridge Trail as you follow the ridge for what feels like a very, very long time. We stopped to have our lunch around 3:30PM and roughly 6 miles into our hike along the main section of switchbacks. We had been holding out for a decent place to sit but had no luck and eventually just picked somewhere along the trail. At this point we thought we were over halfway to our camp for the night with only a few miles left. Oh how wrong we were. The information I had from online stated that it was only 10-1/2 miles from Humes Ranch to Dodger Point camp. Oh how wrong we were.
Dramatics aside, this piece of misinformation really added to how long the ridge felt. There comes a point in the trail where you can start to see out beyond the trees. This unfortunately didn’t help with our perceived length of the trail either as we thought our destination grew closer only to turn the corner and find more ridge. I knew this late in the season we would have to find a water source prior to camp and water carry for a least a couple of miles. I was unsure of the exact location of the recommended water source and thinking that we were closer than we actually were made me worried when we came upon the first water source. It was barely a drip of a spring with a mildly murky pool that didn’t replenish fast enough to fill all of our water containers. We took what we could and hoped for a better source along the way. Luckily, we found a few better sources roughly between 8.3 to 8.8 miles into the hike. We ended up dumping the murky water we had and replacing it once clearer sources were found. We were also able to fill the remainder of our containers with these sources. We each had two 32oz Nalgene bottles, along with my 3L water filter, and a plastic gallon jug. The goal was to bring enough water to support us for the next two nights until we could return to these sources on the way out. We cursed a bit for being too proactive as we came to the best and most reliable water source at 9.7 miles into the hike. This was the one I had seen recommended previously on someone else’s trip report. Their report mentioned it was around 2-1/2 miles from the camp which is accurate. Unfortunately, given that I thought we only had to hike 10-1/2 miles, the water sources back at the 8-1/5 mile made sense to me. We decided it didn’t hurt to replenish our water again and topped everything off for the last time. It was roughly 6:45PM now.
From here, I let Garnet hike ahead since he was carrying the gallon jug for us and I figured I wasn’t going to get there any faster at this point. I continued on with the reminder that today was a marathon not a sprint! The additional water weight stacked on top of the miles for the day started to slow me down and I had to start a mantra in my head to keep my feet moving. I had to keep telling myself that there was still a mile left to go because every corner and downed tree was starting to deceive me of ever reaching our destination. I was thankful that the days still had some length to them otherwise I would have been hiking in the dark. I still came very close as the sun set behind the ridge and I was still hiking at 8PM. I knew I was at least somewhat close to camp as I saw the tarns below that I recognized from many previous trip reports. I started to lose it a bit as I crested the hill beyond into a more open area with no sign of Garnet or an obvious camping area. Garnet eventually spotted me as I was hobbling along the trail and called out to me from behind the trees that obscured my view of the camp. Originally we had hoped to make it up to the lookout today, but any plans of that were thrown out along the Long Ridge trail. I was just happy to make it to camp as my feet screamed at me and the final bits of sunset dropped away. We set up camp and ate our dinner under the light of our headlamps. My body was equal parts stiff and restless as I tried to lay down for the night.
The total mileage for the day came out to 12.11 Miles and 4,845′ of elevation gain according to my Strava tracker. The final 4 miles included the additional water carry which could have been lessened if I had been more aware of where the reliable water source was located. Some mileage probably could have been cut if we had found that connector from camp at the beginning. One forgiving aspect of this trail was the gentle grade, it was a continuous up for most of it but never gruelingly steep.
Sunday.
The only agenda for the day was to make it the remaining distance to the fire lookout just above camp. We decided to make this our first task after breakfast to avoid the heat of the day. I got another head start on Garnet since he was still fussing around camp and I wanted to take my time getting there. My legs and feet were still very sore from our prior two days of hiking. I meandered my way up to the top of the ridge and reached the lookout around 9:30AM. I took some photos and sat on the steps to enjoy the view while I waited for Garnet to join me 30 minutes later. Dodger point has a spectacular view of the inner Olympics, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and even some peaks of Canada in the back drop. We had a pretty clear view of Hurricane Ridge as well. It was an interesting contrast watching the endless cycle of cars and hikers while we were completely alone. Both locations are similar in elevation and views, but have drastically different means of reaching them. We hung out on the summit for a couple of hours before we decided to head back down for lunch. We figured we could always make our way back up for sunset if we felt the need.
We expected to laze about camp for the remainder of the day; reading, eating, and lounging. And although that was the gist of our day, we were met with an additional complication. The bear canister lid on my BV500 would not open. This was a problem because it contained half of our food for the trip. Garnet is a very strong individual and despite his multiple attempts was unable to get it to budge. I tried too but it is to be expected that I was unsuccessful as well. The solution ended with us sawing off the lid using my multi-tool and finding that it was all due to a well placed chip clip. The bright side was that due to the placement the outcome would have had to happen regardless of where we were located, so it wasn’t a wasted effort. The down side was that it could have been avoided if the chip clip had been placed in a different location before the lid was closed. I was also thankful that I left my multi-tool in my backpack. We normally rely on Garnet’s Leatherman, but it had been stored away in the bear canister as well. This would have left us in a much different predicament. Luckily, we usually overpack our food so there was no danger of us going hungry even if we had been unsuccessful.
Prior to leaving for the weekend, I hadn’t seen any other permits taken out for Dodger Point. We knew it was still a possibility that we might see someone, but it felt unlikely given that we hadn’t seen a soul since we left the paved road on Friday. That’s why it was a shock to see someone show up in camp without a pack on. It was just a girl and she was asking if there was a water source nearby to which we had to inform her of our water carry. The tarns below camp would be her best option if she didn’t want to hike back 2-1/2 miles to the spring. After talking with her for a bit, her hiking partner joined us in camp seeking the same answer. They both didn’t have packs on which we can only assume they dropped back on the trail to scope around for water. We asked them where they had come from and if they were camping here for the night. It seemed like the most logical assumption since they came up from Humes Ranch. When he responded he seemed unsure of where they planned to camp. Their “route” headed toward Ludden Peak and would hopefully loop back via the Olympic Hot Springs road. I was confused by this initially since there was no mapped trail in the direction he mentioned. We wished them luck on their trip as they headed out into the afternoon. Once back in cell service I was able to find the route he was describing known as the Bailey Range Traverse. Let’s just say they were on a much more extreme wilderness experience than I would prefer and I hope they made it through without issues. I’m not sure how the permitting works for those kind of routes either.
The exact distance from our camp to the fire lookout was only 0.81 miles with 482′ of elevation gain according to my Strava tracker. Round trip this made our total mileage for the day 1.62 miles (excluding any wandering done around camp). We didn’t end up hiking back for sunset, but we did get to see a full grown Black Bear grazing on the hill from camp.
Monday.
We didn’t manage to get an earlier start even though we knew it would take us a while to get back down to Humes Ranch. Though not nearly as long as it took for us to get up the ridge. We started our downward trek around 10:30AM. Sometimes this can be harder than the up on the joints. The route had quite a bit of downed trees, mostly small and easy to maneuver. We decided to count them as we headed down since I recalled reading a previous trip report stating there were 100 along the route the year prior. I was curious to find out if they had been right or were over exaggerating. We called out the count as we stepped over each tree to help keep track. And down, down, down we continued. We replenished our water once we reached the spring at the 2-1/2 mile mark even though we still had some left over from our original water carry. The gallon jug, 3 liters, and four 32oz nalgene bottles worth of water ended up being the perfect amount for us over two nights. The hike down was fairly uneventful since we knew what to expect. It was much easier to track our progress as we passed notable milestones. There were the false final springs where we filled up the water first. The sign stating we were at 3,500′ and no open fires/stoves beyond that point. The end of the long ridge into the switch backs. The random spot along the trail we decided to have lunch previously. We opted not to have lunch in the same location. We wanted to make it to what we deemed the “comfy spot” because it was located closer to camp and had a nice bed of moss to lay on. Garnet had stopped there on the way up while waiting for me along the switchbacks. When I had finally caught up with him he looked so peaceful and comfortable hence the name “comfy spot”. There were still a few times we passed switchbacks thinking we had made more progress than we actually had. From the “comfy spot” we had roughly 4-1/2 miles left to camp. And down, down, down we continued. Passing the small flat section of trail and eventually meeting up with the suspension bridge again. Garnet and I had hiked together most of the trail leap frogging each other every so often until he eventually ended up ahead. He waited for me once he reached the bridge and we crossed it together.
The small section heading up and away from the river felt much steeper than it did when we had hiked down it two days prior. My joints and feet were screaming at me during this final push. The eroded portion of trail felt insignificant now but I still stopped to take pictures. We turned on the connector trail we missed previously leaving camp and were dumped out at the other end of the campground. This trail was much shorter and flatter than the other one we had taken out. We made it to camp a little after 5PM. I had stopped counting the downed trees after I reached 100 but there were definitely more (somewhere in the 106-116 range). We encountered our first person of the day once we reached Humes Ranch. There was one other backpacker camped in the spot we had taken originally. There are a few other spots in the camp ground and we choose the next best one that offered the most amount of privacy. A group of three joined us a couple hours later. We spoke with them briefly about their route and they had hiked across the length of the Olympics from a southern starting point in the same amount of days. We didn’t get a chance to talk with the other backpacker and were unsure if they were starting or ending their journey. I’m always impressed at how much mileage people can cover with what seems like ease. Meanwhile, I feel like I am struggling to convince my joints to make it the 12 miles down hill.
I didn’t track the mileage for this day since I had tracked it on the way up and wanted to conserve battery for the final day. We can assume it was around 12 miles with mostly elevation loss. The connector trail probably cut off 1/2 of a mile total.
Tuesday.
This morning we made more of an effort to start early since we knew we had a 9-1/2 mile hike out, at least a 4-1/2 hour drive home, and minor stopovers to return the bear canister and see Garnet’s mom for her birthday. The other backpackers in camp were already up as well getting ready to move out. The solo backpacker was the first to depart with us shortly after. We managed to eat, pack up, and knock out the first 2-1/2 miles from Humes Ranch to the former trailhead by 10AM and thus began the long road walk back to the new trailhead. Once on the road Garnet ended up ahead of me. It wasn’t long before the group of three caught up and passed me as well. I didn’t manage to take any pictures on the hike back besides the one in front of the trailhead sign. I was only focused on keeping my body moving and getting back to the car. Garnet had been waiting for me near the old guard station, but I wasn’t able to keep up with him at this point and fell behind again. Back on the pavement we saw a lot more day hikers and other backpackers heading out. I tried to keep my composure so I didn’t look like I was in as much pain as I was, but Garnet told me later I had a very noticeable limp by the time I reached the car. Two people at the trailhead ended up asking if I had made it to the Hot Springs to which I told them no and that I had gone much deeper than that. They followed up with “was it pretty at least?” to which I responded with “it was gorgeous!”.
Strava tracked our final day at 9-1/2 miles with 941′ of elevation gain. We had no issues returning the bear canister or driving home. It made for a long travel day home, but it was worth the effort. This was definitely the most remote fire lookout we have visited to date. There are not many left this deep within the wilderness and it is a destination we will remember for a life time. Our total trip mileage estimation from start to finish is around 45 miles with at least 5,000′ of elevation gain (if not more).
History.
The fire lookout located on Dodger Point is a standard 14’x14′ L-4 ground cabin that was built in 1933. At the time this was built and managed by the U.S. Forest Service and considered a part of the Olympic National Forest. All of the lumber and windows were packed to the remote location via horse back. The point was named Dodger Point after Dodger Bender who had done trail, telephone maintenance, and construction work for the Forest Service. The Olympic National Forest wasn’t designated as a National Park until 1938. It was utilized as an Aircraft Warning System in early 1940s like many other fire lookouts within the area during WWII. It was most recently restored in 2017 by a group of volunteers with grant funding from the National Park Fund and REI Foundation. This is one of two remaining fire lookouts standing within the Olympic National Park boundaries today. I could not locate information on when the fire lookout was last staffed, but it appears it is still listed for emergency use. The cabin is locked and not open to public use.
We still had one more night of our trip but I had fudged the reservation at Pickett Butte and only booked two nights. We brought all our gear to disperse camp for the final night. The trickiest part would be locating a good spot to camp. We got up early enough to pack up our things and clean up the fire lookout before locking up. Always try to leave it better than you found it. We headed back out to the paved CR-46 and turned right to head deeper into the forest. If you stay on CR-46 long enough it eventually turns into NF-28 once you have reached the forest boundary. We drove a little bit past our turn for Acker Rock to check out the South Umpqua Falls first. This is a popular swimming area in the summer when the water and current are not as strong. There were still a handful of people here trying to take advantage of the warm weekend in the shallower areas. We didn’t stay too long since the day was only getting warmer and we didn’t want to be hiking in the heat of the day if possible.
We back tracked a bit to cross the South Umpqua River on NF-29 and followed this to NF-2838 off to the left. We stayed on NF-2838 until we reached the gated NF-950 where the road walking would begin. There were a couple signs for Acker Rock along this route that made it easy to navigate. This is a rentable fire lookout as well, but the season is much shorter and it does not open until August 1st. We decided to visit outside of the rental season since it’s directly on the ground and would make it hard to visit without disturbing the renters. There was one other car parked near the gate when we arrived and we could only assume they were at the lookout. If you are renting, you should get a code to unlock the gate to drive closer. Though there is still a short but steep 0.4 mile hike to the fire lookout to be aware of. We packed a lunch to have at the lookout and began our road walk. It’s fairly straight forward. We followed the road until it dead ends in a parking/turn around area. From there, it turns into more of a trail that switchbacks up the side of the ridge. You will pass the exposed composting toilet on your way up and hope that no one is using it at the time of your visit (or hope that no comes up while you are using it). There were some smaller downed trees we had to navigate around at the start of the trail, but I’d be surprised if someone hadn’t cleaned them up since our visit. There was no one else at the lookout when we arrived and we didn’t run into anyone along the road either. We speculated that maybe the vehicle was abandoned or they were wondering somewhere off trail. We eventually got our answer as we saw two guys rock climbing up the other side of the ridge. One of them came over to check out the lookout while we were having lunch and gave himself a scare when he didn’t hear us. We spent a good chunk of time hanging out at this lookout since the only thing left to do for the day was find a place to camp.
The Strava app calculated this hike at 3.08 miles RT with 1,025′ of elevation gain. You can assume the road is around 1-1/2 miles from the gate to the summit. We ended up camping off the side of a road in a grassy pull out for the night. We passed up a couple different official dispersed spots given their location or otherwise. Not all dispersed camp spots end up being what we want and are more about convenience for the night. There were a couple of campgrounds in the area, but we had passed on those as well.
History.
Acker Rock was first established as a fire lookout site in 1932-1934 when a 14×14 L-4 gable roofed ground cabin was built on the summit. At the time the lookout was accessible by driving 21 miles outside of Tiller and then hiking an additional 3 miles. It was noted as possibly being used as a lookout point prior to this but no structure was utilized. It was replaced in 1963-1964 by the current R-6 flat cab structure and was staffed until at least the late 1980’s. Given the precarious location of the lookout, replacing the structure was no easy task and required helicopter assistance. A news article from 1963 stated “the lookout house appeared to be supported on one side by rock and on the other by little more than imagination”. In 2006, the roof was replaced and needed repairs were completed before it was added to the current rental program.
After heading back down from Bland Mountain (post), we continued our route along county HWY-1 to reach the community of Tiller. The ranger station is easily located after crossing the South Umpqua River on the left hand side. The office building was already closed for the evening but you are still welcome to explore the grounds. The access to the re-located fire lookout is found to the right of the main parking lot via a short trail. You can see the fire lookout from the lot and it is well signed for access. The lookout was closed up for our visit, but I believe they open it up to visitors during working hours upon request. Despite being well cared for throughout the years, it is definitely starting to show its age. I’m curious to see if access and maintenance on the lookout will change once the rangers are relocated to Canyonville. I would guess that it would make it and the other historic buildings onsite an easier target for vandals. Strava tracked the walk as only 0.24 miles RT with not enough elevation change to register. There wasn’t much to note about out visit except there is a spigot in the parking lot that provides water to the public. After taking a refreshing rinse, we continued on into the forest for the weekend.
History.
The original site of Red Mountain was developed in 1921 by adding a 25′ platform crows nest with tent camp. A D-6 style 12’x12′ cupola cabin was added to the site in 1928. The fire lookout was actively staffed into the 1960s. It sat unused on the site until it was relocated to the Tiller Ranger Station in the fall of 1985. There is a dedication plaque on the lookout crediting Roy O. Brogden, District Ranger 1984-1998, with heading the relocation and restoration efforts in this area. Restoration work was completed in June 1986 by a combined effort of the Forest Service, State Historic Preservation Office, and the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Additional restoration work was completed in 2000 by community volunteers in celebration of National Public Lands day. The site is open to self guided tours at anytime, but the lookout itself is locked. You can inquire about gaining access between Monday through Friday from 8am to 3:30pm. I’m unsure if access to the interior will be available after they move the Rangers stationed here to Canyonville.
We were headed out on a four day trip to explore the South Umpqua drainage in celebration of Garnet’s 30th birthday. I had booked Pickett Butte for two nights and we planned to disperse camp for the third night. Bland Mountain was planned as our first stop before heading into the forest for the weekend. It is located just outside of the community of Days Creek on BLM land. From Portland, we shot down I-5 all the way to Canyonville and turned onto county HWY-1 to head towards Tiller. We followed this to Days Creek where we hung a left onto Days Creek Road. The road is located right off the bend entering the community. We were following the directions off a Peakbagger report from Dennis Poulin. He seems to have a lot of helpful reports on Peakbagger in relation to accessing fire lookouts. I always click on his reports first when I see his name listed. Unfortunately, we saw somewhere that he had passed away (may he rest in peace). His directions indicated that the BLM road 30-4-10 was only 2 miles down Days Creek Road. This was helpful since most of the roads off of Days Creek are private drives. There was a sign for the BLM road, but it would have been impossible to spot from the main road due to it being turned around and slightly leaning in the brush. It’s easy enough to locate if you keep an eye out for a main gravel road off to the right around the two mile marker. Once on the BLM road 30-4-10 its a little under 2-1/2 miles to the gate for Bland Mountain. There was one junction that wasn’t mentioned on the directions after we entered a clear cut and had a view of the fire lookout ahead. The road we were on looked to continue straight but there was another road veering right that looked like it could have headed toward the summit as well. We stayed left (straight) since it wasn’t mentioned. The next junction we met off to the right was on a bend in the road and was the one we took to reach the gate. The gate is shortly after you start up this road and doesn’t offer much room to turn around. I’d recommend parking below and hiking up from there if you’re not comfortable making a tight turn around or backing down the road. We parked at the gate and prepared to walk the remaining distance. As I was turning around the car I noticed an animal off to the left. This might be one of the strangest things I’ve seen in a while, but it was a llama free range grazing near the gate. I can only assume it was owned by someone in the area, but there was no one else around that we could see.
There wasn’t much to note about the road walk to the summit except that it was too hot and dry for early May. I feel like we’re gearing up for a terrible fire season this year *narrator: a terrible fire season indeed*. This entire spring has been lacking what Oregon is best known for, rain. There was a pretty display of California Poppies lining the road. I even found signs of an old gate that was probably used back when the fire lookout was staffed. The final spur to the fire lookout was off to the right while the main road continued straight. Despite being a short hike, I was struggling in the heat by the time I reached the base of the tower. I waved to the fairly new looking camera and headed for a spot in the shade of the tower. A new lock had been added to the trap door to keep visitors from accessing the catwalk and, more importantly, to keep them away from the fancy equipment. The view was pretty much the same from the base of the tower anyway. I found this lookout and summit to be accurately named. It does have a uniquely repurposed base to add interest though. We didn’t linger for too long since we still wanted to visit the lookout at the Tiller Ranger station and get settled at Pickett Butte for the night. All the roads getting here were good pavement or decent gravel and we had no issues in our Civic. The hike along the road came in at 1.75 miles RT with 472′ of elevation gain on the Strava App.
History.
Bland Mountain was established as a fire detection site in 1942 with a tent camp. The first tower was built in 1947 as a 20′ treated timber tower with 14’x14′ cab. The NHLR notes it as being a 25′ tower. The base was replaced in 1996 by a 20′ tapered metal tower that was formerly used to support a water tank. It was actively staffed up until the late 2000s, but has since been abandoned. It’s most likely still listed for emergency status. A camera has been added to the cab for surveillance of the area.
It seems that stumbling upon available fire lookout reservations has been our luck. We have yet to actively seek out renting a fire lookout, but have simply been looking at the recreation.gov page at the right time. This was how we acquired our Steliko Point (post) reservation and that is essentially how we acquired this one. I feel fortunate in this aspect since some people attempt for years to get certain reservations with no luck. We were searching for potential places to travel during my birthday trip in April and stumbled upon Pickett Butte availability. At first glance we thought the dates were for April, but quickly realized it was available during Garnet’s birthday weekend in May instead. We decided to roll the dice and book it with hopes of it being snow free with decent weather. It is a fairly low elevation fire lookout, so the main concern was how the weather would pan out. I did end up fudging our reservation a bit because I thought I needed to wait to book the third night, only to realize I should have booked it at the same time (a little too late). This was not a big deal to us, it just meant we needed to bring more gear to accommodate dispersed camping for one of the nights we’d be gone. Somehow our gamble paid off and the weather was forecasting in the mid 80s with sunny clear skies for the whole weekend.
Friday.
We headed out via I-5 and exited in Canyonville to turn towards Tiller on the county HWY-1 making brief stops at Bland Mountain (post) and the Tiller Ranger station (post). We turned onto CR-46 that is situated right before the ranger station. We stayed on this for 3 miles until it reached a signed junction with NF-3113 off to right. The route is well signed and seemed to be well maintained. We stayed on NF-3113 for 5 miles until we reached another signed junction with NF-300. It is an additional 2 miles to the fire lookout from this junction. There is a gate below the lookout that you will need the code for if you have a reservation for the night. Otherwise, this is where you would park to walk the remaining 0.6 miles along the road. Though the best time to visit if you’re not planning to make a reservation would be from mid-June to mid-October when it is staffed for the season. Keep in mind whether you visit during the active fire season or the renter season, it is their space and inviting you up to enjoy the view is at the discretion of those onsite. The road beyond the gate had the most signs of wear with a few water runoffs starting to form across it. There were a handful of potholes along the entire route, but they were minimal and easily avoided. This is probably one of the easier rentable fire lookouts to access in Oregon. Once parked we debated what we wanted to haul up or not. We thought it would be novel to cook something in the fire lookout, but ultimately opted to leave our food/cooking at ground level. There is a crate on a hand wench system to help bring your gear up, but it’s small and would require many loads. The stairs are also narrow and steeply pitched, more so than other fire lookouts we have visited. I could see making this effort if we had planned to hang around the fire lookout all weekend. But per usual, we had our days fully packed and only hauled the essentials to the top.
Saturday.
Our plan for the day was to back track out the way we came and continue further on county HWY-1 in search of the crows nest on Callahan Mountain. All the sources we found online claimed it was still standing and should be there. There are no trails or roads that lead directly to the summit, but we were able to get close enough to hike cross country the remaining distance. After a bit of wandering around the summit Garnet was able to identify the tree by a remaining grounding wire hanging from the branch. We are happy to confirm the tree is still very much alive and well with minimal evidence that it was ever used for fire detection. After a successful find, we headed back up CR-46 passing our turn off for Pickett Butte and continuing on to Cathedral Falls and the (former) World’s Tallest Sugarpine. There was some debate prior to our trip about adding in a former fire lookout site, but we were already feeling the fatigue from the heat and decided to enjoy a more leisurely afternoon instead. We stopped at a nice spot with access to Jackson Creek along NF-29 to cool off before heading back to the lookout for the evening.
Sunday.
We spent our morning packing up our gear since we wouldn’t be coming back to Pickett Butte for the night. Our agenda for the day included a stop at South Umpqua Falls and a hike to Acker Rock. That gave us the rest of the evening to locate a dispersed camp spot in the area. We had already spotted a few around, so we knew they existed. Our day eventually ended in a grassy pull out after passing up and vetoing a couple of our more official dispersed options. Nothing felt quit right to either of us. It wasn’t our best camp spot but it wasn’t our worst either. Thankfully the temperatures were much cooler that evening which was a nice change after feeling over heated the entire trip. We both agreed this area was pretty, but we much preferred the vibe of the North Umpqua area. Monday was spent driving home and finding out we missed a spectacular show of Northern Lights after coming back into service. It was unfortunate since where we were would have been a great spot to see them if we hadn’t been asleep. We didn’t even stay up for our regular star gazing and Milky Way.
History.
Pickett Butte gets its name from the homesteader, William T. Pickett. He traveled to the area via horseback in 1898 and decided to stay. The first lookout structure was built on the butte by the CCC in 1934 as a 25′ round timber tower with L-5 cab. It was replaced in 1941 by the current 41′ treated timber tower with L-4 cab. It was actively staffed up until the late 1990s. Eventually it was moved to the rental program for recreational use. In 2001, it was moved back into active duty to be staffed during the fire season while only offering this as a rental during the off season. As far as I can tell, this still remains to be true.
The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is an important wetland for year round resident birds and wildlife managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s also a major stop over for migrating birds along the Pacific Flyway. It is located in the south-eastern portion of Oregon’s high desert and is considered part of the start of the Great Basin. The Refuge was established in 1908 to help protect the migratory bird population and now encompasses over 187,000 acres. Within the boundaries of the Refuge, you will find more than just a plethora of wildlife and resources. There is also a significant amount of history ranging from early Indigenous peoples (Petroglyphs) to the first European settlers of the area (Round Barn, P Ranch, & Sod House).
I decided to spend my birthday camping near the Malheur NWR in hopes of seeing a decent amount of birds and visiting the lookout towers noted in the area. Early April is always a challenging time when trying to locate a place to camp with decent weather. I was robbed again of visiting the Enchanted Valley in the Olympic National Park and almost everywhere in the state was forecast to be wet. I didn’t realize until the morning of our departure that this was the exact same weekend of the Migratory Bird Festival in Burns, OR. We were a bit concerned about not being able to secure a spot at the Page Springs Campground after reading about it. Many birders come to this area in early spring to watch the migrations. One might say they flock to the area, har har. But, we decided to risk it and hoped for the best. It took us around 7 hours from Portland to reach the area. We were lucky to be coming in on a Thursday and were able to find a camp spot, almost all were taken by the end of the day.
We were able to visit all four of the towers in one full day along with the visitor center and taking the auto tour through the Refuge. Our second day we had hoped to visit Riddle Mountain L.O., but decided not to continue our attempt after meeting a particularly muddy section on the road. Our tire had even sunk in a bit after making an attempt to circumvent it. We knew there was still snow on top from the AlertWildfire camera, but figured it was hikable if we could have driven closer. This one will have to wait for when we know the area will be dry. It was a bit of a disappointment since this one is very isolated to reach and will require its own trip. The trade off was that we now had time to see the Round Barn, the Diamond Craters Outstanding Natural Area, the petroglyphs near Krumbo reservoir, and the old homestead site at Benson Pond. We were pretty lucky on our weather conditions as well. The highs were in the 70s and we got mostly sunny skies during our trip. The forecasted thunderstorms and rain seemed to only roll in during the evening and were usually gone by the morning. Minus our final morning, where we had to pack up everything wet while it rained.
I will preface this list below with the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any confirmed evidence that any of these were used to detect wildfires. I am still going to count them towards my total, but I’m inclined to believe they were built and used primarily for wildlife viewing in the area. Two of them are even listed on the NHLR, but I think that mostly has to do with the fact that they are the same Aermotor design as a fire lookout. I found this interesting since I have gotten some push back on a couple sites I tried to nominate due to not meeting requirements. Everyone has their own qualifications on what they count as a fire lookout. My personal take is that if a structure, of any form, was used in the detection and spotting of wildfires it should still count no matter if it has been relocated or not. If said structure, of any form, is still intact at the original site or standing it should still count as existing. It becomes a former site, in my mind, once the structure has fully collapsed, been removed, or burned down. Take that for what it is, my opinion.
P Ranch.
Date visited.
April 11, 2024; April 12, 2024
National Historic Lookout Register.
US 430; OR 55
About.
The 72′ Aermotor tower with 7’x7′ cab was built by the CCC in 1933 near the site of the original P Ranch. Most of the ranch buildings were demolished by the CCC during the same time and the main ranch house burned in 1947. In 1935, the site became a part of the adjacent Wildlife Refuge. This tower can be easily accessed from Frenchglen by taking the Steens Mountain Loop road and turning left onto the Center Patrol Road. It’ll be the first left off the Central Patrol Road and can be found by following the signs to P-Ranch. It sticks up high enough though that you will see. The area around the base of the tower is closed due to wildlife, but it can easily be viewed from the road, parking lot, or the Riverview trail. I really enjoyed how the Turkey Vultures used this one to roost at night. This is stop #19 on the Blitzen Valley Auto Tour Route.
Sod House (Headquarters).
Date visited.
April 12, 2024
National Historic Lookout Register.
US 429; OR 54
About.
The Aermotor tower with 7’x7′ cab was also built by the CCC in the 1930s. It was most likely completed around the same time as the Refuge headquarters in 1935. I found conflicting information on height varying from 80′ (NHLR) to 90′ (Rex’s Fire Lookout Page) to 99′ (Burns Herald-Times). This tower is easily accessed from HWY-205 by turning on to Sodhouse Lane and following the signs for the Refuge visitor center. You can either drive right up to the base or access it from the short Overlook trail starting at the visitor center. The trail is only 0.11 miles of packed gravel. You can walk up to the base of this tower, but the bottom stairs have been removed to keep visitors from climbing it. The base of the tower offers a nice view out over Malheur Lake and the headquarter grounds below. This is stop #1 on the Blitzen Valley Auto Tour Route.
Stubblefield Butte.
Date visited.
April 12, 2024
National Historic Lookout Register.
Not registered.
About.
This 50′ tower with wooden platform was built by the CCC in the 1930s. It appears that the main access is from the road along the Stubblefied Canal, but the area has since been closed to the public due to wildlife. It is best viewed from HWY-205, but can be seen from the Center Patrol Road as well. We found the best view was from a small pull out just across the highway from a private residence near Saddle Butte. You might be able to get a closer look from hiking along adjoining BLM land, but make sure to have a decent map. It’s not completely clear on what is private and BLM land beyond the fence line. I recommend a good pair of binoculars for viewing. This tower still has it’s stairs intact due to the limited accessibility.
Rattlesnake.
Date visited.
April 12, 2024
National Historic Lookout Register.
Not registered.
About.
This 50′ tower with wooden platform was built by the CCC in the 1930s. It is best viewed from the Center Patrol Road that is considered a part of the Auto tour route of the Refuge. This is included in stop #6 on the Blitzen Valley Auto Tour Route. You can no longer walk up to the base of the tower, but the road gets you really close. The surrounding area is closed to the public due to wildlife. The stairs on the tower have been removed to dissuade visitors from attempting to climb the tower. The tower is named after the larger Rattlesnake Butte across the road that used to provide the only natural crossing of the Blitzen River for miles.
Please reference our original trip report on Heybrook L.O. for information on the history of the lookout, status, our initial site visit, and directions (post).
Date revisited: March 31, 2024
Trip Report.
We found ourselves in Kirkland once again for the weekend visiting my friend, Anjelica. The reason for this trip was bittersweet since we were getting together to celebrate our mutual friend’s engagement and simultaneous going away party. Her and her now fiancé are moving to California to be closer to his family (and a multitude of other reasons). I already only get to see her a handful of times a year, so the move won’t be much of a change in that aspect. But, it still offers the emotional growing pains of early adulthood as we all search for our next steps in life. Last time Garnet and I were in the area together was for Friendsgiving in November, which is when said friends announced their upcoming move. We had debated making a trip to Heybrook L.O. before heading home then, since Garnet hadn’t been yet, but the weather wasn’t ideal at the time. This time around the forecasted weather was sunny with a potential high of 57 degrees. Where we were staying in Kirkland was conveniently located for a visit to Heybrook and it only took us 50 minutes to get to the trailhead off of HWY-2. Unfortunately, a lot of people had the same idea as us and the parking lot was completely full when we got there around 11AM. There was enough of a pull out across the highway to park our cars and no signs in sight prohibiting us. It’s a busy highway though so always be cautious and careful of oncoming traffic. We noticed a few people were double parked in the actual parking lot just waiting like sharks for someone else to leave. This is on par with most of what I’ve experienced from popular hikes in WA, there’s just so many more people in this area than Oregon and it seems to be a larger international tourist destination. This isn’t to say you can’t find uncrowded hikes there, they exist, but if you want to visit somewhere you’ve seen online close to Seattle you better be prepared to join the assembly lines or go extremely early (even then I’ve been to a popular trailhead and just barely snagged the last parking spot at 7AM). Oregon is much less competitive in my opinion. We spent the first steeper portions of the hike leap frogging with some other groups as we each stopped to catch our breath. I haven’t been on a trail since January 1st and my stamina reflected that significantly. This is my sign to start conditioning now for our summer season before I hurt myself later. Once we reached the ridgeline we had a little more breathing room from the other hikers until it bottle necked again right before the lookout. There were a good amount of people on and around the lookout when we got there. We waited awhile at the base before Garnet and Anjelica decided to hike up the tower while I opted to wait at the bottom. They said there weren’t too many people on the viewing platform, but squeezing past people on the stairs was difficult. We were surprised to see that the cab was completely boarded up for the season, I had thought it was rented year round. A quick search on Recreaton.gov confirmed it’s only rented from May 1st to October 31st. I’m sure I mentioned it in my other trip report, but I would feel like Rapunzel trapped in my tower if I ever stayed in this lookout during a weekend. It was still nice to get outside and absorb some much needed Vitamin D, but Garnet and I both agreed we probably won’t be back here again. The amount of people would not be as bad if everyone respected hiking etiquette and had more spatial awareness. But unfortunately, when you get a hike this busy you have people blasting their music and no yielding of any kind. And you kind of have to do the same in return to make any progress. On the hike down, Anjelica and I were separated from Garnet due to people not being able to wait to get by us going in both directions. We yielded for them, but no one yielded for us. Once back at the trailhead, the cars had multiplied in the pull out we had parked and was now full of cars as well. There were even some people walking along the highway from a more distant pull out. It starts to reach dangerous territory when you have this much crowding and is part of the reason places end up being permitted. I know it probably seems like I complain a lot about the amount of people, but it is meant to provide a realistic expectation. I am not out seeking nature to be apart of the crowds. If you still plan on visiting, I’d recommend it during a weekday. I saw significantly less people on an early Friday afternoon in August and it was much more enjoyable to me. My Strava app only calculated this hike at 2.07 Miles RT with 812′ of elevation, but I had forgotten to start it from the trailhead.
We have been in a deep hibernation this winter and are finally defrosting ourselves for the season. Although this is a repeat for me, this was a first for Garnet and is our first visited fire lookout for 2024. We will have to wait and see where else the Forest Service roads, weather, and fires take us this year. In the meantime, I will try to finish up our trip reports from Montana before our busy season begins. Happy Trails!
The Roaming Civic 