Climbing McLoughiin Is
Natural Physical Fitness
Features
Sports
Medford&jTribune
SECTION B MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY. APRIL 7. 196a
PAGES 1 to ft
BY EVA HAMILTON
Mail Tribune Sldff Wriler
Ernest W Smith, ol Bulle Falls doesn t talk about
physical fitness.
He alks about rocks and trees, wild flowers and
itorms.
He doesn't need to talk about it He doesn't even
think about it. He just has it and has had it for a lone
time
When Smith was the age of many valley youths,
who are row prepping for 50-milc hikes In ileu of
physcial fitness, he was walking three miles to teach
school or climbing a mountain with a 30-pound pack
on his back.
He made his first trip up Ml. McLoughiin. knowr to
old timers land he is one of them) as Mt. Pitt or Snowv
Butte, in 19(19. In 1917 he constructed the first lookuu't
on the mountain, and again in 1930 he helped construct
the second and last one. It was abandoned when the
forest service decided that the same fog which chilled
the bones of the lookout man also obscured fires, which
were always on the lower levels.
Native of Central Point
A native of Central Point, where his grandfather,
Dr. R. L Parker, took up a homestead, Smith has spent
his life in Jackson county. In so doing he has followed
many lines of work school leaching, fire fighting, sur
veying, fire finding, carpentering and engineering Po
litical history of the valley he has known well, but
geologieial history of mountains he has always found
more interesting.
Under the former heading he recalls that his father's
pupil was his teacher. Smith's father. Edgar E. Smith,
taught the Central Point school in 1888. The laic Gus
Samuels, former Medford city treasurer, was one of
Smith's pupils. Later Samuels, who taught school for a
while before going into other public work, was Ernest
Smith's teacher.
Ernest's father was Jackson county's deputy clerk
under Nate Jacobs and deputy sheriff under A. S.
Barnes He shared his school scat at Jacksonville with
Don Colvig, son of the late Judge William Colvig.
Ernest's grandfather doctored Jefferson Grigsby, Agate
postmaster, in 1902, and received his fee in potatoes.
The review of old time names and incidents could go
on and on. But it is of the mountain, not the valley,
11
that Smith speaks and his description of many trips up
and down the steeps of AH. McLoughiin is a lesson in
survival.
Comes Into View
The mountain probably came into his intimate view
firM when he taught thr Patton school north of Ran
cheria in 1906. Rancheria la not far from Snow Shoe
camp from which many people start the trek into Blur
Canyon and up Mt, McLoughiin. It offers reserved
seats, so to speak, when nature puts on an electric
show with Mt. McLoughiin as the stage.
Smith taught the school for S35 a month, paid $15
a month board and walked three miles to the school
house. He had obtained his certificate by examination
from Pat Daily, county school superintendent.
He took a correspondence course In engineering and
qot a job with the Butte Falls Sugar Pine company
before Owen-Oregon took over the holdings. Later he
was surveyor for 20 "years for Medford Corporation,
successor to Owen-Oregon.
Surveying for Railroad
He was surveying on the old Pacific and Eastern
railroad, which penetrated the area, when the catas
trophic 1910 fire blazed over Cat Hill.
In July, 1910, Smith made his second trip up Mt.
McLoughiin. It was a hard trip for the members of the
railroad survey crew. They tramped through six miles
of forest, blazing their own trail and not lost in the
darkness. In June. 1911. Smith decided to make the
trip again before the smoke of late summer obstructed
the view.
The group started out on foot with blankets, frying
pan and enough provisions for three days, traveling by
way of Four Mile lake. There the men found the
mound half covered with snow and old drifts several
feet deep. The next day rain prolonged their plans and
after taking refuge in a cabin they decided "more
grub': would be needed before they made the climb.
Four of the group started out for Odessa or Pelican
Bay 12 miles cast. They bought supplies in a logging
camp. The following day it rained again but by morning
the clouds were breaking away after an inch of fresh
snow fell.
Four Hours of Climbing
After four hours of steady climbing over new and
old snow, which was frozen hard, the men reached the
top. The sun was shining but the wind blowing "cold
and hard." They dug into the snow for the box placed
there by the Mazama club, registered their names, took
a few pictures and started the return trek. When they
got out of snow they entered lava rock and thick brush
for several miles but finally reached Mosquito Ranger
station at the fool of the mountain.
The next morning Smith realized that his face had
become blistered from the sun on the snow and his
eyelids were so badly swollen that he could hardly see.
One companion stayed with him while the others con
tinued home and sent his brother-in-law in to get him.
His eyes have never completely recovered from the
damage.
In 1917, Smith was transferred by the forest service
to Mt. Pitt to prepare to construct a lookout house. This
time he made the trip to the Mosquito Ranger station
wih a mule team and wagon. The next day with Dee
Wright, he packed his outfit on to horses and started
around the mountain from the west side by Fish lake to
the southwest side where the trail begins. A distance of
16 miles.
Wright had had much experience packing in the
mountains of Oregon. He had packed the material for
a similar house on Mt. Hood and other lookouts. The
Ml. Pitt house was to be 12 feel square and the lumber
was all cut to fit. There was one door and 19 double
windows lo be packed in.
At the time horses had never packed to the top of
the mountain. Smith wrote in his report of the project,
Offers No Difficulties
The first part of the trail was through open timber
and offered no difficulties other than blazing out a
definite course and cutting out an occasional pole or
log. but as it ascended the way became more rough and
obstructed by boulders and loose shale. The builders
finally opened a fair trail lo beyond the timber line.
Then it became steeper and steeper and the loose
shale more difficult to cross. Wright rode up to the
end of the trail and then ventured on beyond and aross
the loose shale and up and back and forth by many
switchbacks until he reached the top. He came back
down and took his whole pack train with a light load
back up, and soon had a trail broken.
Smith said he was told lo go along ahead as a
man couldn't keep up with the horses." With 10 pounds
on his back he reached the top in 1 hours and waited
half an hour for the pack train to reach the top.
The top of the mountain was composed of piles of
boulders, of broken lava rack of all shapes and sizes,
from pebbles to same several tons in weight, Smith re
called. With a crowbar and a peevy he "pried and rolled
what rocks he could handle from the lop to the edge
of the foundation site. Occasionally he yielded lo
temptation and sent one down the north side where it
would roll and leap and bound sometimes for a mile
or more until it came to rest amid millions of others.
The larger rocks he broke up with dynamite and in
a few days had space large enough for the house.
In addition to building the house, it was Smith's
job to watch for and report forest fires. He had a map
and constructed his own alidade (fire finder) as he had
previously done on Devil's peak. By taking a reading
from two or more lookout stations he could locate a
fire very accurately with this "crude makeshift con
traption" and did.
Far from Completion
The lookout was far from completion when Smith
realized that an electric storm was brewing. He didn't
anticipate being in one as he had noticed queer glassy
places on many of the rocks on the summit, caused, he
was sure, by lightning strikes.
He covered up the supplies as best he could and
started for Mosquito Ranger station. All the ridges
looked alike to him in the fog. He had always prided
himself on his ability to find his way anyplace in the
woods but when he emerged from the fog he found he
was on the northwest instead of the southeast side of
the mountain. He reversed his course and arrived at the
ranger station.
Convinced that the storm was over, he left his Butte
Falls home again and started his fifth ascent of the
mountain. He climbed more slowly and stopped often
to rest and to drink from the large depressions in the
rocks which had been filled with water by the storm.
He carried a three-inch mirror with him and flashed
messages to his wife.
On Sept 17, a forest officer brought him Mr. Jenss as
a helper. The work moved more rapidly and was near
ing completion when another storm blew up. The two
men got the windows in, propped up the door and de
cided to sleep in the house, although they were not
sure it would stay on the mountain top. The guy wires
had not yet been attached.
Could Feel It Tremble
They could feel it tremble when an extra heavy
gust of wind moved through. In the morning they found
their bed and the lookout floor covered with a thin
coating of snow. They went lo their tent to get break
fast. They had closed it tightly but the wind had driven
in the snow. Even the chimney of the oil stove was
filled with snow. They despaired of trying to cook and
went back to bed to keep warm.
About noon they started for the ranger station. And
it was then found that men can get lost even with a
compass it wasn't standard).
After arguing over the directions of the compass for
some time, the two men proceeded down the mountain.
When they got out of the snow they suddenly found
themselves in a stretch of lava potholes sometimes SO
to 100 feet wicie and 10 to 20 feet deep with ridges of
lava rock between them. Potholes were followed by
brush, which became taller and thicker and every leaf
was loaded with water from the storm.
See Scattered Pine
They were ready to despair when the fog lifted and
the two hikers saw the scattering pine trees beyond and
knew they were traveling toward the northwest. They
changed their courses and were soon out of the lava
rock. Two miles down the mountain they struck the
wagon trail to the station and home.
Once again after the storm. Smith started up the
mountain. Ranger Bert Peachey brought in kerosene
for the stove and groceries. Jenss was moved to Rustler
peak to help build a smilar lookout and Smith continued
alone. Before he left, however, the wires were establish
ed for lightning protection.
The project moved forward rapidly in good weather.
When the snowbank from which he got his water sup
play was almost gone, Smith decided it was time to
leave the mountain.
Packing up his remaining belongings, about 30
pounds, he took the trail. Far below he saw a piece of
board and recognized it as part of the shutters he heard
depart with such a clatter during the storm.
Reaching Mosquito Ranger station. Smith wrote he
was tired but once on his trusty bicycle and headed for
home, down grade, fatigue practically left him. That was
physical fitness, 1917 style.
mil i hi r'TTMiifl WtSCif :
I I " ...HKSSf V, M&m&i
ajkW . JPjSj EL a (HlS QJk
Bfli 1 rx : I IhNVKl.'
wEKffflMB Br V.I
On Devil's Peak in wis. Ernest Smith made his own fire finder, which he WM
using in this photo. Forest officials said it contributed to the design of the Osborn tin
finder, which was adopted. The most destructive fire in his experience was the Cat
Hill burn in 1910.
' ' A
l . ! HSMJP'. ''vifl , I
tic with
This is the lookout house constructed on Mt. Pitt in 191V.
The guy wires had been attached and secured against the
itorm when this photo was taken Oct. 12.
Kvnn on the summit of Mt. McLoughiin. Smith has always maintained hl
home. In 1017, he communicated with his wife when both flashed messages with mir
rors. Mrs. Smith, sewing in her easy chair, doesn't enjoy mountain climbing.
V tku f. the .pot on the .summit of lit. Put. where the Urtbau constructed Dee Wr.s ; tr...n Inn Thi photo how the tone found m, i - , second looko.1 e which w built on Ml. Pitt
Just completed the first trip up the mountain with supplies when this picture was taken In 1930. Smith also worked on this project abandoned many years ago.