Ochoco National Forest

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Avoid open spaces. Avoid open vehicles and open structures since these will not sufficiently protect you from lightning.
  7. 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.

Bald Butte L.O. (Ochoco NF)

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Ochoco National Forest; Managed by Malheur National Forest

Status.

Abandoned; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

6 hours

Date visited.

June 17th, 2022

Elevation.

5,920′

National Historic Lookout Register.

Yes

Trip Report.

My partner, his mom, and I headed out on a 3-day camping trip to kick off her recent retirement. We left it up to her on what kind of trip she wanted to take, whether it be backpacking or car camping. She decided she was interested in visiting some Fire Lookouts with us and we set out to plan accordingly. Bald Butte, Dry Mountain, and Wagontire Mountain were all lookouts we had planned for our road trip this summer. They were a bit farther out than the rest of our route and we figured it would make a decent 3-day trip instead. This way we could re-route our road trip to other Fire Lookouts farther south as well. We headed out early Friday morning towards Hines, Oregon. We decided to drive her Honda HR-V since it can fit three people plus camping gear more comfortably than my Civic. It also has the added benefit of additional clearance for the rougher Forest Service roads. From Hines, we headed into the forest via the Hines Logging Road that is right next to the Sinclair truck stop. It will eventually turn into NF-47 once you reach the boundary. Our plan was to visit Bald Butte and Dry Mountain before setting up camp for two nights. You will want to take a left onto NF-41 after entering the forest to get to both of these. The turn is signed but it was hard to see from the approach out of Hines. We actually drove past it and had to turn around.

On our drive in we noticed there were interesting arrows and signage noting there would be bikes on the road tomorrow, June 18th. My partner and I joked that we always seem to run into these extreme races while out in the woods. It turns out we were right in assuming it was another one. We looked it up when we had service the next day and found the Skull 120/60/30, also considered America’s Gnarliest Gravel Race. It’s a gravel bike race hosted by Harney County to help showcase Eastern Oregon and help bring money into the county. There are three different lengths to the race you can sign up for; 38 miles, 65 miles, or the gnarliest 128 miles. We have also managed to stumbled upon the Baker City Cycling Classic during their Stage 4 Anthony Lakes Road Race in June of 2021. We were driving home from a 9-day backpacking trip through the North Fork of the John Day Wilderness when we had to drive around the peloton. My partner was also passed by some racers from the America’s Toughest Race while camping in the Deschutes NF with his dad in May of 2021. They even had a chance to talk to one of the racers and asked them where they were coming from to which they responded “a long ways away”. The America’s Toughest Race is a combination of foot travel, water travel, and cycle travel through rugged off trail routes. Everyone from your team must finish together otherwise you are disqualified. Anyway, it seems most of these races attract extreme masochists. It’s not what I would consider a fun time outside, but to each their own.

We were glad that we decided to do Bald Butte and Dry Mountain on Friday instead of Saturday. It seemed that a lot of the bike route for the Skull 120/60/30 was along the roads we needed to take to get there. You will be able to see Bald Butte L.O. as you drive along NF-41. It is a surprisingly nice paved Forest Service road that I expected to be gravel. From NF-41, Bald Butte is less than a mile up NF-4117 off to the left. There is a sign but it is covered by trees and I wasn’t able to spot it until we were driving out. Luckily, even without the sign it is pretty obvious which road will take you to the summit. There are some deep washouts and water bars along NF-4117 that would make the drive difficult to impossible for lower clearance vehicles. I wasn’t comfortable driving the HR-V up the road, so we parked near the NF-050 spur and walked the remainder. It was a pleasant walk to the summit and the road had a lot of wildflowers along it. The lookout on Bald Butte, unfortunately, has seen better days. The tower seems to be standing strong but the cab has lost a supporting wall and a few support beams. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cab collapses under heavy snow within the next few years. I believe the glass was removed and salvaged by Howard Verschoor though. An assessment done by the Friends of the Blue Mountains Lookouts in 2021 found it to be too unstable for any additional salvage work. They even mentioned that it would be torn down later that year. We were happy to find that they were wrong and the lookout was still standing. There is a wire fence surrounding the base but someone had cut a hole in it and the trap door was open to the catwalk. Climb at your own risk. We savored the views and said our good-byes to the lookout before hiking down to the car and heading on to Dry Mountain.

History.

Established in 1931, Bald Butte originally had a 45′ pole tower with 8’x8′ cab. It was replaced in 1959 with the existing R-6 cab and 41′ treated timber tower. It was moved to emergency use in 1964 and listed up until the 1990s. As of 2017, it has been listed for decommission by the Forest Service.

Snow Mountain L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Ochoco National Forest; Managed by Malheur National Forest

Status.

Active; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

6 hours

Date visited.

September 5, 2021

Elevation.

7,163′

National Historic Lookout Register.

Yes

Trip Report.

After exploring West Myrtle L.O. and Sugarloaf Mountain L.O. we decided it made the most sense to move camps the next day. Snow Mountain L.O. was in the area by forest standards but it would’ve been a long day of driving from our current camp. We drove out of the Malheur NF and into the Ochoco NF via FS-37 to FS-47 to FS-43. We drove FS-43 all the way to FS-4380 which lead directly to the lookout. We set up camp in the area and decided we had enough time left in the day to see the lookout. We figured if we were successful in seeing the lookout that afternoon, than we would have time to see Tower Point L.O. the following day. We continued up FS-4380 which was a decent road for my Civic until the last mile where it deteriorated significantly. I was able to drive within a 1/2 mile of the lookout, but it was another bumpy road that was graded over a scab and required caution. We parked in a pull out and walked the remaining distance. There were no trees on this summit and we could see the lookout from where we parked. We were surprised to find no lookout attendant onsite and the catwalk locked up. This is noted as an actively staffed lookout online and from what we could see in the windows there were signs that someone had been there recently. We speculated that the weekend fill-in attendant must have already left for the day and the full-time lookout had not arrived yet. We enjoyed exploring the summit undisturbed and what limited views we had before heading back down to the car. We did attempt to see Tower Point L.O. the next day but were unsuccessful. I ended up bottoming out on the ruts in the road and was too distraught to attempt road walking. Thankfully, my Civic only received minor damage to the heat shield.

History.

Snow Mountain was developed as a fire lookout site in 1915 with a D-5 ground cab. They replaced the ground cab in 1930 with an L-4 cab. And later replaced the L-4 cab in 1961 with the present structure. The current standing lookout is a 10′ treated timber tower with an R-6 flat top cab. The summit also has a current Forest Service style vault toilet and communication towers. We weren’t able to climb the lookout but the views from the base would still be panoramic on a clear day.

There is a beautiful hand carved map in the Idlewild C.G. that we stopped at to fill our water containers. It notes most lookouts in this area except for West Myrtle Butte L.O. It is pretty rudimentary when it comes to the actual roads getting to these places but gives a general idea of what is in the area.