Wolf Mountain

Type: 108′ tower with L-4 cab
Status: Staffed
Elevation: 6,483′
Visited: July 16, 2011

Greg and I drove up Road 5840 – another rough and terrible road – to visit Wolf Mountain. I was glad I was in my high clearance Outback and was amazed to arrive at the lookout and find that the woman there drove a sedan to and from the tower!

Wolf Mountain Lookout

The woman was very friendly and invited us to come up. The views up there were great! We could see a rainstorm off to the southwest.

More views

The access road looks tame from up here!

Lookout view

Going down is a lot harder than going up.

Down we go

More information

Forest Lookouts
Rex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page
National Historic Lookout Register
Peakbagger
Panorama Photos (west) (east)
Geocache

History

The first lookout on Wolf Mount was a crow’s nest in 1921, which was about half a mile southwest of the current tower:

Wolf Mountain, 1923

In 1926 a 50′ wooden tower and cabin were constructed in 1926:

Wolf Mountain, 1929

In 1931 another crow’s nest was added, this time half a mile east of the current tower in 1931. In 1947 the tower that stands there now was built.

Wolf Mountain was the site of a tragic plane crash in 1942. In February 1942 a B-18A Bolo bomber was on a flight from Sacramento to Spokane. The plane hit tall trees on the slopes of Wolf Mountain and crashed. They had last been in radio contact in California so when the plane went missing no one looked for it on Wolf Mountain. It was seven months before a shepherd saw the wreckage and reported it.