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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 1B
OPINION • UPCOMING EVENTS
0
Black Mountain Lookout open to the public
The view to the north
encompasses Honey Lake--
that's Highway 395 running
up its side --- and Thompson
Peak, the highest peak here,
which has a lookout that is
still staffed for fire detection.
The effects of recent fires are
visible on the mountainside
sloping down to Highway 395.
On a clear day, Lassen Peak is
visible to the northwest.
Below, the view to the
west from Black Mountain
takes in Squaw Valley, Squaw
Valley Peak and Squaw Peak;
to the southwest (out of the
frame) you can see the
still-staffed lookout on top
of Smith Peak on the west
side of Lake Davis,
Black Mountain Lookout
ACCESS: From Lassen County,
via Highway 395 near Milford
up the Milford Grade. From
Plumas County, via the Beck-
wourth-Genesee Road off High-
way 70 in Beckwourth.
AVAILABILITY: Late May
through late October
PRICE: $69/night
FACILITIES: Accommodates four,
eight with tent ca~mping. Two
single beds, four-burner stove
and oven, small refrigerator,
some kitchenware, heater,
lights, electricity, firefinder,
picnic table and vault toilet.
No water. Pets allowed.
RESERVE: recreation.gov,
(877) 444-6777
MORE INFO: 836-2575
NOTES: Constructed in 1934 by
the Civilian Conservation Corps,
Black Mountain is an extremely
well-preserved example of a C-3
type lookout, with a single-story
10-foot tower.
Center, the Osborne Firefinder is an essential
piece of equipment for any lookout.
Invented in 1911 by a young forester named
William Bushnell "Bush" Osborne, the fire-
finder, with adaptations, has been in use
ever since. It consists of a topographical map
of the area, with the lookout positioned
in its center, oriented to the landscape. A
circular rim indicates minutes and degrees.
The lookout uses a scope to align a smoke
with its position on the map. When Plumas
National Forest personnel went to Black
Mountain Lookout to assess its potential for
renovation, they were pleasantly surprised
to find the Osborne Firefinder intact,
complete with the original horsehair in the
sighting mechanism. They removed the fire-
finder for safekeeping and replaced it with
this modified, and more affordable, version.
Center right, the view to the east is of the
Diamond Mountains, considered the last
range of the Sierra Nevada. Just over these
hills lies the Honey Lake Valley and Highway
395. To the southeast (out of view), you can
spot the lookout on top of Dixie Mountain.
Built in 1928 and staffed continuously
since then, it is the oldest lookout on the
Plumas National Forest.
The view to
restoration of
the south shows off Feather River Coordinated Management's
Last Chance Creek (at center). Photos by Delaine Fragnoli
pond-and-plug
Other nearby lookouts
you can rent
CALPINE LOOKOUT
Sierraville Ranger District
Tahoe National Forest
Access: One mile north of Calpine on
Highway 89, 1.5-mile dirt road; winter
access via skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles
Availability: Year-round
Price: $45/night
Facilities: Two single beds, a dry sink, table
with four chairs, three propane lights, a
propane heater, propane stove with oven,
some kitchenware and fire finder. Pit
toilet, picnic table and fire ring outside.
Reserve: recreation.gov, (877) 444-6777
More info: 994-3401
Notes: Built in 1934 by the Civilian
Conservation Corps, the lookout was active
until 1975. One of three once-common
windmill-style lookouts left in California.
The style features an enclosed tower with
a cab on top.
See Other nearby lookouts, page 13B
Delaine Fragnoli
Managing Editor
dfragnoli@plumasnews.com
You're going alone?"
That was the invari-
able response when I
told folks I was headed for a
stay at Black Mountain Look-
out, recently opened as a
recreational rental on the
eastern edge of the Plumas
National Forest.
Well, yeah, I was going
alone. That was the whole
point of it for me: quiet,
solitude, time for reading,
reflecting and writing.
I recognize that not every-
one visits a lookout for soli-
tude. These iconic structures
exert a powerful allure for
folks with a variety of inter-
ests. While staying at the
McCarthy Point Lookout on
the Lassen National Forest
a few years ago, I found an
entry in the guestbook by
a couple who had spent a
romantic weekend there,
drinking white wine and
barbecuing sea scallops,
Photographers, of course,
love lookouts, with their
landscape vmws and wonder-
ful light.
Stargazers also are drawn
to lookouts. Forest Service
sources told me a woman had
already reserved a night at
Black Mountain in August to
catch a meteor shower.
Those hikers and cyclists
who can't resist a climb,
called "mountain goats" in
trail parlance, flock to look-
outs. They know their hard
work will be rewarded with a
360-degree view.
The structures also draw
students of geology, geogra-
phy and fire history, as well
as four-wheelers and bird-
watchers.
Increasingly, the U.S.
Forest Service is recognizing
the broad appeal of the been removed to the Plumas doned them to the elements.
towers and rehabbing unused County fairgrounds. Some were removed because
ones for recreational use by Like a number of lookout they posed a hazard or were
the public, styles, the Black Mountain attractive nuisances. Some
design was made of pre-cut were left in place, but their
From disuse to reuse lumber with each piece num- stairs were removed to pre-
Thousandsof lookouts bered for easy installation in vent unauthorized access.
once dotted the country, with the field, so crews did not Others, like Argentine Peak,
as many as 625 in California need extensive carpentry Kettle Rock and Pilot Peak
at one time, according to the skills. The only modification on the Plumas, have fallen
Forest Fire Lookout Associa- made during the restoration victim to vandals.
tion (FFLA). was moving the stairway. Still others have been re-
The 1930s marked the apex Beginning in the 1970s, placed by telecommunica-
of lookout building. Black advances in firef',ghting tech- tions equipment. Ironically,
Mountain Lookout is one of nology, such as aerial patrols, some have burned in the very
nine the Civilian Conserva- computerized lightning detec- wildfires they were meant to
tion Corps built on the tion systems, radio communi- detect.
Plumas National Forest in cation, GPS and cellphones, Nationwide, about 2,000
the mid-1930s, said Forest led to a decline in lookout lookouts remain today,
Service archeologist Mary use. (The Forest Service and according to the FFLA. Cali-
Kliejunas, who led the reno- CalFire are currently testing fornia has 198 still standing,
vation. The C-3.type cab sits a program that uses high-and 50 of those are currently
on a 10-foot enclosed timber definition cameras and staffed.
tower, the same style as the microwave wireless links to The Forest Service stopped
structures on Mills Peak and monitor file activity.) manning Black Mountain in
Smith Peak, which are still Agencies like the Forest the 1980s, except during light-
staffed for fire detection, and Service stopped staffing ning events. -
on Mount Ingalls, which has many lookouts and aban- Over the last 20 years, a
renewed interest in the
structures has prompted the
Forest Service to restore and
rehabilitate the towers in
what it calls "adaptive
reuse." Today, dozens of
lookouts, guard stations and
cabins are available to the
public as overnight rentals.
Nearby, the Lassen
National Forest rehabbed the
McCarthy Point Lookout for
recreational use in the mid
to late 1990s. The Tahoe
National Forest opened the
Calpine Lookout as a recre-
ational rental in summer
2005. This easily accessible
lookout has proved hugely
popular. It books up quickly
and in its first two years of
operation made $9,000 in
income for the forest.
Success breeds success
with lookout rental pro-
grams. Because the forest can
See Black, page 13B