Saddleblanket Mountain

Type: 70′ steel tower
Status: Abandoned
Elevation: 4,969 feet
Visited: July 6, 2013

After visiting Little Cowhorn Mountain I headed over to check out Saddleblanket Mountain. According to the map Road 143 from the south can get you very close, with just a short walk to the tower. But I thought that the road might be gated and if I had to hike I’d rather do it on a trail than a road. So I approached from the north, driving to the end of Road 144 and parking there. It’s a 1.5mi hike along a somewhat brushy trail from the end of the road to the lookout.

The Little Blanket Shelter is located right at the trailhead.

This lookout has been here for a very long time. It was built in 1927 and abandoned in 1967, almost 50 years ago! Those old aermotor towers really stand the test of time, I guess. The Forest Service has removed the lower section of the ladder to keep people from climbing up and hurting themselves.

The ground cabin is long gone and the area around the tower has gotten very brushy and overgrown. It’s almost impossible to stand back and get a good look at it because if you stand too far away you’re in the trees!

Before the tower was built there was a crow’s nest lookout here. I totally forgot that remnants of it could still be seen and I didn’t remember to look for it. Darn!