{"id":1028,"date":"2021-10-24T20:23:41","date_gmt":"2021-10-24T20:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2023-01-15T18:56:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T18:56:59","slug":"high-ridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/2021\/10\/24\/high-ridge\/","title":{"rendered":"High Ridge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Type: 67&#8242; tower with R-6 cab<br \/>\nStatus: Staffed<br \/>\nElevation: 5,303&#8242;<br \/>\nVisited: October 17, 2021<\/p>\n<p>On my way home from staying at the Fry Meadow Guard Station I made a detour to visit the High Ridge Lookout. As I approached I could see it from Road 31:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51625237997_60805cda0e_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I turned onto Road 270 then immediately left onto 271, then parked at the gate and started walking:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626939800_9f420038ce_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626302963_cfefcd196a_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626938530_79f988243a_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626937970_d20d52e1b3_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It was one mile from the gate to the tower, which was built in 1959:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626080241_7ce740eb8d_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This late in the season it wasn&#8217;t being staffed anymore and the catwalk was locked, as I expected. But there&#8217;s a nice viewing platform just below where I got to experience being blasted by the wind:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626723654_3297e4730e_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The views were great and I could see lots of beautiful larches:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626750399_77a8ba4ebc_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626998970_d3ea2349a9_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51625302367_eaeb047a50_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The distant Wallowa Mountains were visible:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626732584_18c0255f53_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nice view along the ridge:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626300533_66fcb03051_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I could see the old outhouse in the trees:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626079091_16058ae646_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I spotted some deer grazing below:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51627014575_fa2d4e683d_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Lookout shadow:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626380628_8de0ac41ff_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After coming down from the tower I walked out along the ridge. There are remains from the prior 1941 lookout out there:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626391273_793172b93f_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626357088_60f5a8cc45_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51625306122_b2ee79b77b_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking back at the tower:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51626782889_1baf54f5d5_c.jpg\" alt=\"High Ridge Lookout\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the intersection of Highway 204 and Road 31, head west on Road 31. After four miles turn right onto Road 270, then make an immediate left onto Road 271. After about 0.3mi you&#8217;ll reach a gate which may be closed and locked. If so, park here and hike up the road approximately one mile to the tower, otherwise you can drive all the way up to the top.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More information<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/oregonlookouts.weebly.com\/high-ridge.html\">Forest Lookouts<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.firelookout.com\/or\/highridge.html\">Rex&#8217;s Forest Fire Lookout Page<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/nhlr.org\/lookouts\/us\/or\/high-ridge-lookout\/\">National Historic Lookout Register<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peakbagger.com\/peak.aspx?pid=64482\">Peakbagger<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/iamwho.com\/cdv2\/eastOr\/umatilla\/umat140\/site.htm\">Panorama Photos<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/coord.info\/GCPE2X\">Geocache<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>History<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>High Ridge became a lookout site in 1941 with the construction of a 40&#8242; pole tower and L4 cab, pictured here in 1955:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/oregonlookouts.weebly.com\/uploads\/1\/5\/9\/1\/1591048\/5769092_orig.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<em>USFS<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That tower was replaced in 1959 with a 67&#8242; tower and R6 cab that still stands there today, pictured here in 1963:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7533\/16284927516_3918df5725_c.jpg\" width=\"534\" height=\"800\" alt=\"High Ridge, 1963\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Type: 67&#8242; tower with R-6 cab Status: Staffed Elevation: 5,303&#8242; Visited: October 17, 2021 On my way home from staying<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/2021\/10\/24\/high-ridge\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">High Ridge<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1029,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-umatilla-national-forest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1028"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1238,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions\/1238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}