Type: 100′ steel Aermotor tower
Status: Abandoned
Elevation: 4,219′
Visited: June 18, 2023
I parked along Road 62 and began walking up Road 090, around the gate:
This road must have served as a fire break in 2015 when the Grizzly Bear Complex fire burned through. The trees on the left were fine but it was mostly snags on the right:
I turned right onto the 091 spur:
The buildings here consist of the old ground cabin living quarters, a garage, the tower, and an outhouse:
The cabin underwent restoration 22 years ago, but has since fallen into disrepair:
The window was missing on the door:
The garage is in even worse shape:
Outhouse:
The cabin at the top of the tower is missing several window panes:
Who knows what this old tag said, but it was probably along the lines of “structural deficiencies” and “condemned”:
The lower stairs have been removed to keep people from going up:
On the other side of Road 090 the old crow’s nest tree is apparently still standing. I found the faintest remnants of the old road that used to go out there, only because I was looking for it. But it was brushy with blowdown and I decided against bushwhacking out there:
More information
Forest Lookouts
Rex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page
National Historic Lookout Register
Peakbagger
Panorama Photos
Geocache
Directions
From the town of Troy drive south over the bridge on Troy Lane, then turn right onto Eden Lane, which becomes Road 62. Approximately 12.2 miles from Troy reach the junction with gated Road 090 on the right. Park along the road without blocking the gate. Walk 0.6 miles up Road 090, then turn right on the 091 spur to the lookout.
History
A crow’s nest lookout was established on Hoodoo Ridge in 1925. In the 2015 historic register listing it is described as “a vertical, wooden structure built on and up a 36 inch wide by 110′ tall ponderosa pine tree. The original design included a wooden pole ladder that wound up to the top of the tree where there was a 6′ wood platform with railing for a person to stand and oversee the forest and surrounding area. Approximately 55′ of the ladder remains presently with 33′ on the southwestern trunk and 22′ on the eastern/southeastern trunk. The bottom portion of the ladder is no longer extent. The ladder is found on two sides of the tree as it changed direction on its way up the tree to avoid limbs. The ladder is constructed of 4″ wooden pole uprights with 18″ wide rungs made of 2″ × 4″ wooden boards that are 1* apart. The ladder is secured out from the tree trunk by 2″ × 4″ wooden boards and 9″ wire fastened to the tree limbs and trunk. The ladder extends up the eastern/southeastern trunk to a hole in the eastern/southeastern side of the platform where entry can be gained to the platform or crow’s nest. The platform is a 6′ × 6′ area of wooden planks held together by a frame of 2″ × 4″ wooden boards beneath fastened to the tree trunk. A 4″ wood pole railing lines the perimeter of the platform for safety. Two ceramic telephone insulators are found 15′ up the tree from the base, one brown and one white, which provided telephone service to the southern Hoodoo Ridge Lookout and/or Long Meadows Guard Station. A wire extending from the tree reveals where a third insulator was once fixed but is no longer extant. The crow’s nest is densely surrounded by forest and has no other exterior features. The structure is in good condition and maintains its integrity as no alterations or modifications to the tree or structure have occurred.”
In 1933 a tower, cabin, garage, and outhouse were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps about a quarter mile away:
The lookout ceased to be staffed during the late 60s or early 70s. The cabin living quarters was restored in September 2001 by Passport in Time volunteers so that it could be placed on the rental program (which never happened). This is the project description for 2001: “The Hoodoo Fire Lookout Administrative site consists of a lookout tower, a frame building, and a garage. All of the buildings are thought to have been constructed in 1935 by the CCC. The 100-foot-high Aeromotor steel tower has a 7-by-7-foot cab. The 320-square-foot ground house is of wood-frame construction, and the garage is wood frame with double swinging doors. Last used as a lookout on a regular basis about 20 years ago, the site has since suffered deterioration from weather and lack of maintenance. The administrative site is a prime example of fire-detection and -suppression activities from a past era and is still in good enough shape to rescue. The FS intends to rehabilitate the ground cabin and garage to be used in the FS cabin rental program, and the tower and cab will be stabilized to serve as an example of past fire-detection methods.”
The Passport in Time website shows before and after photos:
During the summer of 2002 a second round of Passport in Time volunteers came here when the garage underwent restoration as a second phase of the project. The description read: “The Hoodoo Lookout Administrative site is the last remaining, complete CCC fire lookout complex on the Umatilla NF. Its 1930s buildings have suffered the neglect of the passing seasons but stand ready to enter the 21st century with a new attitude. However, they need your help! Volunteers will spend 4 days painting inside and out, reshingling a roof, glazing windows, chasing pack rats, and applying TLC to these historic buildings plucked from the brink of decommissioning.”
After all that restoration the site was never added to the rental program for reasons I have been unable to determine.
The buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015 (form). Regarding the cabin: “The building is in good condition and maintains its integrity. In September 2001, Passport in Time volunteers cleaned the building and covered openings (doors and windows) in order to keep rodents out and deterioration from occurring. Volunteers also painted the building exterior white with green trim. No work took place to remove or replace any historic fabric or design.”
The area around the lookout burned in the 2015 Grizzly Bear Complex Fire, but the trees in the immediate vicinity of the lookout remained unscathed, as well as the buildings.