4A ܂ WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 ܂ APPEAL TRIBUNE
Life in the Valley
Still standing
strong, sturdy
Hike to Bull of the Woods Lookout
to experience its incredible views
Bull of the Woods Lookout, which has been around since the early 1940s, offers spectacular views of Mount Hood. ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
It takes a measure of courage to
step foot onto Bull of the Woods Look-
out.
Originally built in 1942, the struc-
ture appears worn down and tattered,
as though a stiff breeze might blow it
from this wildflower-covered moun-
tain deep in the Mount Hood National
Forest.
But hike a little closer to “The Bull”
— its nickname during the golden age
of fire lookouts — and you’ll see
strong legs and sturdy bones.
The stairs might be wobbly, the
catwalk missing a few boards, but
bold visitors can climb up for the
same sweeping view a generation of
fire lookouts surveyed.
Every major Cascade Range peak,
from Washington’s Mount Rainer to
Oregon’s Three Sisters, can be seen
here on a clear day.
The only way to reach this antique
lookout is via a hike into the remote
wilderness between Detroit and Esta-
cada.
The easiest route is 6.8 miles
round-trip with about 900 feet of
climb. A more challenging loop of 7.4
miles and 2,000 feet of climb in-
cludes two mountain lakes before
reaching the top.
Either way, you’ll eventually reach
the lookout standing 10-feet high
above a wide-open summit, sur-
rounded by wildflowers in July.
It’s a fascinating moment, because
The Bull is one of the last of its kind —
a lookout located in an Oregon wil-
derness area.
Oregon’s different lookouts
For the first half of the 20th Centu-
ry, fire lookouts were the tool of
choice for spotting wildfires.
Oregon was once home to more
than 800 lookouts, scattered across
every region of the state. Today,
somewhere around 170 remain, ac-
cording to Cheryl Hill, author of the
book “Fire Lookouts of Oregon.”
Among lookouts left standing,
about 100 remain staffed during the
summer for spotting fires. Coffin
Mountain Lookout, outside Detroit, is
a great example of a lookout still in
operation.
Another class of lookouts are de-
commissioned but remain open for
rental by the public. These are kept in
good shape and offer one of Oregon’s
best overnight experiences.
The Bull falls into a different cate-
gory — lookouts located in federally-
designated wilderness areas. Very
few remain standing in Oregon.
The Wilderness Act, the highest
form of environmental protection, fo-
cuses on providing an experience un-
trammeled by man. It generally dis-
courages human structures and
doesn’t allow commercial activity like
renting fire lookouts, Forest Service
officials said.
It’s also a delicate political issue. In
2005, the environmental group Wil-
derness Watch sued the Forest Ser-
vice for rebuilding Green Mountain
Lookout in Washington’s Glacier Peak
Wilderness.
The lookout went ahead, but the
effect was chilling on restoring wil-
derness lookouts. Many were allowed
to simply deteriorate.
That could have been the fate of
The Bull, located within the 27,000-
acre Bull of the Woods Wilderness.
Bull of the Woods Lookout looks fairly worn down, but remains stable. ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Two things stopped that from hap-
pening. First, the lookout was listed
on the National Historic Lookout Reg-
ister.
“Our long-term plan is to manage
and protect the lookout as a cultural
resource,” said Stephen Baker,
spokesman for the Pacific Northwest
region of the Forest Service. “Bull of
the Woods Lookout has historical val-
ue which adds to the wilderness qual-
ities.”
Second is the work of Don Allen
and the Sand Mountain Society. The
nonprofit uses volunteers to restore
lookouts across Oregon, and in 2005,
they did work on The Bull, carrying all
the material in and out on foot and by
mule.
The group is hoping to continue
their work they started there soon.
“My personal connection goes
very deep at ‘The Bull,’ as my father
staffed that lookout in 1958 and 1959,”
said Allen, present of the Sand Moun-
tain Society.
Life at The Bull
The Bull was built in 1928, and then
rebuilt into the current iteration in
1942. It was staffed every year until
1964, then staffed by volunteers inter-
mittently until the 1980s, according to
Allen.
The job of fire lookout is one
stitched into the fabric of American
lore, one of those romanticized posi-
tions everyone who loves the moun-
tains has fantasized about holding.
The reality is more hard-boiled.
“If you were assigned to ‘The Bull,’
you hiked 16 miles from the end of the
road to the lookout,” wrote Bud Un-
ruh, who staffed the lookout in the
1940s. “After the packer unloaded
your personal items and a month’s
supply of grub, he was gone and there
you were, alone for at least two
months of the fire season.
“You would probably see one more
person, the packer about August 1st
with more grub supplies, and then
again in early September to move you
out.”
Don Allen — the Sand Mountain
A historic photo of Bull of the Woods Lookout from days when it was an
operating fire lookout. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE
president — said his father staffed the
lookout after his junior and senior
years in high school (1958 and 1959).
The Bull was so remote, he said, that
his father singlehandedly attacked a
lightning-caused fire.
“There is a fire scar still visible
along the trail where he was initial at-
tack with an axe, Pulaski, shovel, and
crosscut saw. It was pretty good-
sized, but he was able to singlehand-
edly line it and contain the lightning
fire which ran a few hundred yards
and stopped at the ridge.
"As I recall, there were a number of
lightning fires going on in the forest
from that storm and Bull of the Woods
was so far back that he never got rein-
forcement. But he was able to report
the fire as 'contained' by dusk,” Allen
wrote.
Hiking routes to The Bull
There are two main hiking routes
to The Bull, each offering something
unique.
Bull of the Woods route (6.8
miles, 900 feet of climb, moderately
difficult)
The easiest hike to The Bull begins
at Bull of the Woods Trailhead.
The hike travels through a primari-
ly forested ridgeline, rich with wild-
flowers in July. The final mile and a
half showcases some nice views of
Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson,
but mostly a green tunnel of a hike.
That’s why arriving at the lookout
is so striking. You come out of the for-
est at The Bull and all of a sudden you
can see every major Cascade Peak.
The route does require a decent
climb, but it’s very gradual. This is
your best choice if your goal is fo-
cused on reaching the lookout.
Trailhead coordinates:44.92262,
-122.10261
Good link to mile by mile direc-
tions:http://www.oregonhikers.org/
field_guide/
Bull_of_the_Woods_Trailhead
Pansy Lake route (7.5 miles,
2,050 feet of climb)
A more scenic but challenging
route to The Bull highlights two
mountain lakes, wildflowers and a
lush forestland.
The trail begins at Pansy Basin
Trailhead — not far from the Bull of
the Woods Trailhead. It follows four
trails with junctions you’ll want to
make sure to keep an eye out for.
The main destination is Pansy
Lake, just one mile into the hike. From
there, you’ll follow a network of path-
ways to reach The Bull and, toward
the end, Dicky Lake.
Trailhead coordinates:44.89991,
-122.11636
Hike
description:
http://
www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/
Bull_of_the_Woods_via_Pansy_Lake-
_Loop_Hike
Zach Urness has been an outdoors
writer, photographer and videogra-
pher in Oregon for 10 years. He is the
author of the book “Best Hikes with
Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern
Oregon.” He can be reached at zur-
ness@StatesmanJournal.com
or
(503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter
at @ZachsORoutdoors.