Mt. Harris

Type: 40′ tower
Status: Abandoned
Elevation: 6,071 feet
Visited: August 18, 2012

After visiting Point Prominence we drove over to Mt. Harris. The paper map and the GPS showed different and confusing networks of roads, but we finally figured out the correct route and found ourselves on another dreadful road. It was very rough, very rocky, and very rutted. Rainwater and snowmelt have gouged deep channels into the roadbed. It was truly wretched and of course the pictures don’t do it justice.

It finally got bad enough that when I found a wide spot in the road I did a ten point turn to get the car pointed downhill and we left it there to hike the rest of the way up, which turned out to be about 1.8 miles.

After a hot hike up the road we finally reached the top, which is chock full of radio towers and antennas.

In fact the lookout itself serves as a platform for some of that equipment.

The views were pretty obscured by trees but we could see down into the valley and the snaking Grand Ronde River.

We could also see south, where the valley and the mountains abruptly meet.