How to Rent a Fire Lookout in the Pacific Northwest

by Tish McFadden, Tom Foley

Overview

Learn how to rent a fire lookout in the Pacific Northwest!

This completely updated edition of the first complete guide to the cabins and fire lookouts available for rent in Oregon and Washington now covers a total of 61 properties (29 new!). Ranging from a luxurious cabin just off the road to a remote 60-foot tower deep in the wilderness, these scenic, secluded, and historic structures can be your own private place in the woods. Inside you'll find:

• Complete descriptions of each property, including heating, lighting, and water availability, cooking and sleeping facilities, furnishings, and suitability for children and pets
• Information on rental procedure, cost, capacity, and dates of availability
• Detailed directions, tips on local attractions, cabin history, and maps

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780899973845
Publisher:	Wilderness Press
Publication date:	05/13/2005
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	196
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

During the mid-1970s to late 1980s, Tish McFadden worked for the United States Forest Service as an anthropologist and historian. She worked to preserve historic and prehistoric cultural sites, artifacts and architecture on public lands in the Intermountain and Pacific Northwest Regions. In 1988, after many years of fieldwork and federal employment, Tish put her attention to entrepreneurial pursuits and founded a music business in Ashland, Oregon called Rum Tum Music Company. In addition to teaching, performing, composing, and recording music, she writes lyrical stories for children and enjoys camping in the backcountry with her grown sons and big, gentle dogs. Tom Foley was born and reared on a small farm in the west of Ireland, but has spent much of his life traveling and working in other parts of the globe. He now lives with his son, Nino, in Ashland, Oregon, where he works as—among other things—a father, writer, photographer, and storyteller.

Read an Excerpt

1 Hamma Hamma Cabin

YOUR BEARINGS

50 miles northwest of Olympia

70 miles west of Seattle, approximately (via ferry)

75 miles northwest of Tacoma

170 miles north of Portland

AVAILABILITY: Year-round, weather permitting.

CAPACITY: Six people. No pets.

DESCRIPTION: Single-story cabin with gabled and hipped roof lines. Living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, full bath. A delightful and very popular lodge in a beautiful setting.

COST: $40 per night plus reservation fee. $25 refundable deposit is required.

RESERVATIONS: Call the toll-free National Recreation Reservation Service at 1-877-444-6777 or make reservations online at www.ReserveUSA.com.

HOW TO GET THERE: The road is paved all the way. During the winter months access may be limited to cross-country skis and snowshoes for the final four miles, though Hood River Ranger District tells us this happens only rarely. Consult them regarding current road and snow conditions prior to your departure. From Hoodsport, travel 14 miles north on US Highway 101 to Forest Road 25. Turn left. The sign reads hamma hamma recreation area. Continue on the Hamma Hamma Road six miles to a driveway on the right. Watch for the sign on the right: HAMMA HAMMA CABIN: OCCUPIED RESIDENCE. The cabin is about 100 yards up this driveway. The access road is gated; please respect the renter’s privacy. To view the cabin, walk the Living Legacy Nature Trail.

ELEVATION: 560 feet

WHAT IS PROVIDED: Living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, one bathroom with flush toilet. The only water available is to the toilet. Bring your own water for drinking, cooking and household uses. Potable water is available from a hand pump well at Lena Creek Campground two miles west on Forest Service Road 25 during the recreation use season (June-September). Propane heater, cook range, refrigerator, and lights. Propane is furnished. Inquire at Hoodsport office for accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

WHAT TO BRING: Drinking water, or the means to treat the local water. Bring camping supplies as well as garbage bags (pack it in, pack it out), candles or a lantern for emergencies, first aid kit, sleeping bag/bedding, toiletries, washcloths and towels, dish soap, and bar soap.

THE SETTING: If a contest were held to decide the most sought-after rental cabin in this book, Hamma Hamma would be the certain winner, and the runner up would surely be its sister cabin on the Olympic Peninsula, Interrorem. There are compelling reasons for this popularity, beyond the proximity to Seattle. Hamma Hamma is a rare and delightful place where one easily feels at home and at peace. It is more akin to a lodge than a cabin; its lovely living room is embraced by a semicircle of bay windows overlooking the Hamma Hamma River drainage.

HISTORY: The skill and craftsmanship of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which constructed this fine Guard Station during 1936 and 1937, have earned Hamma Hamma Cabin a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. We were intrigued by the origin and meaning of the name “Hamma Hamma.” Having dismissed our suggestion that it was of porcine origin, possibly the name of a Native pork pie, the ever-resourceful Susie Graham of the Hood Canal Ranger District told us that, originally, it was thought to be the Twana Indian name for “Stinky Stinky,” but that further research indicates that it may be the Twana Indian name of the root of a rush that grows in the area. Local Girl Scouts have undertaken the maintenance of the cabin since March 1992. Please help them by keeping the site as you found it—or, at least, as you would like to have found it.

AROUND YOU: The Olympic Peninsula and Hood Canal. To the west is Mt. Skokomish Wilderness; to the northwest, Brothers Wilderness; to the east, Hood Canal. Two miles west on Road 25 is the trailhead for Lena Lake, Trail 810. There is parking, a vault toilet and well water at Lena Creek Campground. It is less than three miles to the lake—and the junction with Trail 811, which takes you to Upper Lena Lake—and 3.5 miles to the junction with Brother Trail 821, which takes you several miles into Brothers Wilderness. To reach Skokomish Wilderness, continue west from Hamma Hamma Cabin on Road 25 for about six miles to access Putvin Trail 813, classed as “most difficult.” Or travel eight miles west to Trail 822, also classed as “most difficult,” which leads to Mildred Lakes, 4.5 miles from Hoodsport.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Hood Canal Ranger District—Hoodsport Office P.O. Box 68, Hoodsport, WA 98548 [phone]

Table of Contents

PREFACE

QUICK REFERENCE CHART

ENJOYING YOUR ADVENTURE

WHAT TO BRING

The Rentals

Seattle/Olympia—Olympic National Forest

1. Hamma Hamma Cabin
2. Interrorem Ranger Cabin
3. Louella Cabin

Seattle/Bellingham—Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

4. Evergreen Mountain Lookout

Portland/Tacoma—Gifford Pinchot National Forest

5. Peterson Prairie Guard Station
6. Government Mineral Springs Guard Station

Portland/The Dalles—Mt. Hood National Forest

7. Fivemile Butte Lookout
8. Flag Point Lookout
9. Clear Lake Lookout
10. Lost Lake Cabins

Bend/Sisters—Deschutes National Forest

11. Green Ridge Lookout

Prineville/Paulina—Ochoco National Forest

12. Cold Springs Guard Station
13. Lookout Mountain Bunkhouses

Eugene/Bend—Willamette National Forest

14. Warner Mountain Lookout
15. Timpanogas Shelter
16. Indian Ridge Lookout
17. Fish Lake Remount Depot Commissary Cabin
18. Fish Lake Remount Depot Hall House
19. Box Canyon Guard Station

Roseburg/Medford—Umpqua National Forest

20. Acker Rock Lookout
21. Pickett Butte Lookout
22. Whisky Camp
23. Butler Butte Cabin
24. Fairview Peak Lookout Tower
25. Musick Guard Station

Grants Pass/Crescent City—Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest

26. Snow Camp Lookout
27. Packers Cabin
28. Ludlum House
29. Quail Prairie Lookout
30. Lake of the Woods Lookout
31. Rainbow Creek Tent
32. Pearsoll Peak Lookout
33. Bolan Mountain Lookout
34. Bald Knob Lookout
35. Onion Mountain Lookout
36. Imnaha Cabin
37. Willow Prairie Cabin

Walla Walla/Pendleton—Umatilla National Forest

38. Ditch Creek Guard Station
39. Tamarack Lookout Cabin
40. Clearwater Lookout Cabin
41. Clearwater Big House Cabin
42. Godman Guard Station
43. Wenatchee Guard Station
44. Fry Meadow Guard Station
45. Summit Guard Station Bunkhouse
46. Miner’s Retreat
47. Congo Gulch Cabin
48. Hilltop Hideaway

Baker City/La Grande—Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

49. Two Color Guard Station
50. Moss Springs Guard Station
51. Antlers Guard Station
52. Peavy Cabin
53. Anthony Lakes Guard Station
54. Boundary Guard Station

John Day/Burns—Malheur National Forest

55. Murderer’s Creek Work Center
56. Fall Mountain Lookout
57. Deer Creek Guard Station

Bend/Klamath Falls—Fremont National Forest

58. Hager Mountain Lookout
59. Aspen Cabin
60. Drake Peak Lookout
61. Currier Guard Station
62. Bald Butte Lookout

Pendleton/La Grande—Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area

63. Totem Bunkhouse—Emigrant Springs
64. One-Room Rustic Cabins—Emigrant Springs
65. Two-Room Rustic Cabins—Emigrant Springs

Index