Saturday, July 15, 2023
After I finished the Pig Iron hike, the day was still young so I headed over to Illahee Rock.
The trailhead is at the end of a short spur road which had an open gate:
The road ends at a small unsigned trailhead parking area:
Much of this area burned in the 2017 Happy Dog Fire:
I saw some wildflowers in bloom, and some butterflies:
The last stretch of trail to the summit traverses an open rocky slope:
There are two fire lookouts on Illahee Rock. This is a 1925 cupola lookout that had its cupola lowered at some point:
It wasn’t locked, and in fact the latch on the frame and the door no longer line up:
It appears it was being used for storage:
The lightning protection system is broken:
There is also a 20′ tower (built in 1956) that was once staffed, but not anymore:
The trapdoor to the catwalk is locked, but someone cut a hole in it at some point to gain access. It’s not a very big hole, though. It would be a tight squeeze:
The lookout is quickly deteriorating and there were pieces of wood everywhere:
The shutters on one side have come undone:
I have no idea what this was used for:
This must be a helicopter landing pad:
View to the south. The big rounded hump right of center is Twin Lakes Mountain:
Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey to the southeast:
Harding Butte and Spring Mountain to the northeast, with Diamond Peak in the background:
Bohemia Mountain and Fairview Peak to the north:
View to the west, with burnt trees from the fire:
I had the summit all to myself and I sat in the shade for awhile before hiking back:
Gaia stats: 1.9 miles, 560′ elevation gain
