Watch the film: Can You Actually See the Ocean from a Fire Lookout?
The video tells the story straight: two nights in the Lake of the Woods tower, seventy miles into the mountains, to find out if you can really see the Pacific from 20 miles away. This post is everything around it.
How we ended up there
I didn't pick this lookout. It picked me. It came up as "available" on my fire lookout vacancy watch, the same one that pings me when a rentable fire lookout opens up. Daniella had mentioned it previously as a place she wanted to check out. So, when the opening appeared, I scooped it up.
That's how most of my trips start. Not with a plan, with an opening.
The drive in
Bear Camp Road was busy Friday morning on the way in. Lots of logging activity, and one logging truck nearly ran us off the road. They acted as if they owned the forest and gave very little time to get out of the way. There was no effort made to avoid me. (Just a day prior, a report of a turned over log truck threatened to block the road in. It had been cleared by the time we made our journey.)
This is the part of a road trip that nobody films. You're not the biggest thing out there. The trucks are working and you are a visitor. The road belongs to whomever is heavier. Give them room early, because they won't give it to you.
We made a quick stop at the Bear Camp Viewpoint on the way in. Not a scenic pause, but more of a bladder stop. Zadok found a downed tree to climb. Five minutes later we were back in the truck. The longer pause came just down the road at Shasta Costa, where I made coffee and lunch.
The bet I lost
I brought an Ignik FireCan, a propane fire pit, knowing that fire restrictions were in place. I'd anticipated cold nights that high up in October. The cold never came. Sixty-seven degrees at 9AM, at nearly 3500 feet. The FireCan never made it out of the truck. I don't think there was anything else I wish I'd brought though. We had enough. But I packed for the October I expected, not the October we got.
The Tower
We knew the stove in the cabin was dead before we went. The reviews on the rental page said so, and most of these lookouts don't offer much, so we're used to bringing our own anyway. It wasn't an issue.
What surprised me was the solar lighting. That's more than you usually get in a fire lookout. It didn't light up everything, but it chased away enough of the dark that you could find things you needed in the middle of the night. It was a small luxury that was very much appreciated.
The steel grating was another story. It covers the stairs up the tower and runs completely around the entire outside. Murphy did not appreciate it. He navigated it as best as he could, having no other choice, but every step was a negotiation for him. He was a good boy the entire trip, aside from the part where he helped himself to Zadok's dinner plate when it was left unsupervised. Some rules only apply when someone's watching, I guess.
The uninvited visitor
Saturday morning, a truck came up to the lookout, completely uninvited. It may have been partially my fault because I hadn't fully locked the gate below, upon entering. I only closed it and make it to appear as if it were shut, but I never clasped the lock shut because we were expecting Daniella to show up later and I didn't want her to be held up at the bottom of the mountain when she arrived.
The sign entering the location clearly reads, "PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB OCCUPANTS." I had counted on that to dissuade any would be visitors. Whoever it was decided to ignore the sign, get out of their truck to open the gate, and drive one mile to the top. They were clearly unbothered by the sign. Once they were within eyesight, they stopped. I threw up my arms, as if to say, "what are you doing here?" They immediately backed out of sight around the corner. They didn't even turn around, and it would be hard to back all the way down the mountain. I don't know who it was or what they wanted, but I clasped the lock afterwards.
The lake
When we hiked down to see the lake the place is named for, there was a bit of climbing over rocks and logs that was necessary to get there. And here's what the video doesn't tell you: the photo shoot you see in the film was preceded by Zadok falling into blackberry bushes and getting a little scratched up. Just before those photos, he was crying. I did my best to help him laugh it off, and the pictures came out fine. But that's the real order of events. Tears, then the shot. As for the lake itself: any unknown location is worth the effort, but we were a bit disappointed to see it was empty. When a lookout tower is named after a lake, your expectation is that the lake must be something special. Even if it were full, it looked more like a large pond than anything else. I imagine it's more interesting with water in it. But it was still worth it to say we saw it. It wouldn't make sense to visit a location named after a lake and not go to see the lake.
The way home
On the way out we stopped at Cougar Lane Lodge in Agness for a quick breakfast. The restaurant we wanted to visit wouldn't be open for another couple of hours, so we grabbed breakfast burritos out of the small store that was adjacent to the restaurant. Afterward, we let the dogs use the patch of grass in the front of the lodge to relieve themselves before the long trip home. That was the real end of the trip: food, then parting ways with Daniella who was off to Denver for a week. Every trip needs a last meal before everyone scatters.
Would I go back?
Yes, but next time I'd like to go in late winter after it re-opens and the roads are clear of snow. I'd like to experience it in a colder, wetter climate. The ocean might stay hidden behind clouds and grey skies. But the lake might be full, and I enjoy cold weather and a fire. A different season, a different trip, probably a different experience altogether.
If you want to go
The lookout rents through Recreation.gov, May through October. Read the reviews before you go, because they'll tell you what's actually working up there. Be sure to bring your own cook setup. You can get the gate combination from the district office before you drive seventy miles in. Learn from my mistake and clasp the lock on the gate, unless you want visitors. A closed-but-unlocked gate reads as an invitation, whatever the sign says. And watch for logging trucks on Bear Camp Road. They are not watching for you.
