My childhood was spent helping my father maintain Park Butte Lookout each summer and fall. We also went to
Hidden Lake Lookout now and then. My father worked hard to save Sauk and Excelsior Lookouts from the torch
but to no avail. He successfully fought to keep mines away from the Miner's Ridge Lookout. My love for
lookouts began before I could hike to them myself.
The lookouts were mainly built in the 1930s for the purpose of spotting fires. During the war, some were used for searching for signs of enemy planes. They were manned into the 1950s and 1960s but gradually abandoned with many falling into disrepair until adopted by various organizations. The Forest Service feared lawsuits due to injury and burned most of them down. Lookouts continue to be vandalized, a sad state of affairs. Fortunately, many are being looked after by various groups. I suggest visiting Eric Willhite's site for much more history of the lookouts.
When I met my husband Dave, it turned out he also had been collecting lookouts!! Therefore, we now try to include getting to several each year. I hope to get to all the ones with structures as 93 is a reasonable goal plus all the sites in some of the zones where we already have been to many of them.
The lookouts were mainly built in the 1930s for the purpose of spotting fires. During the war, some were used for searching for signs of enemy planes. They were manned into the 1950s and 1960s but gradually abandoned with many falling into disrepair until adopted by various organizations. The Forest Service feared lawsuits due to injury and burned most of them down. Lookouts continue to be vandalized, a sad state of affairs. Fortunately, many are being looked after by various groups. I suggest visiting Eric Willhite's site for much more history of the lookouts.
When I met my husband Dave, it turned out he also had been collecting lookouts!! Therefore, we now try to include getting to several each year. I hope to get to all the ones with structures as 93 is a reasonable goal plus all the sites in some of the zones where we already have been to many of them.