ITA – Total Immersion – Rest Day! Frank Church Wilderness, Idaho

After about 4 work days, it was time for the crew to take the day off! So what to do on a rest day! Anyone up for a 16 mile out and mile hike to the Arctic Point Lookout???? Pam, Mary and I took off relatively early to check it out. So what is the significance of the Arctic Point Lookout? It is supposedly the most remote lookout in the lower 48 or at least the internet indicates this fact so it must be true!

Much of the 8 miles out to the lookout was along the top of a ridge which was pretty exposed.

Not far off are the breaks to the Salmon River which is several thousand feet below.

This is the intersection of the Queen Creek Trail.

What a magnificent day!

After about 3 hours, boom! Notice the caretakers cabin on the right.

Pam and Mary let themselves in to check it out. Pam had asked to get the key to the lookout cabin but the forest service said that was not possible…… Well, when we got there the door was wide open and the screen door had be clawed by a bear. This is a decommissioned lookout but is being preserved.

My friend Art had been part of a crew that restored the cabin over the last couple of years. These dried flowers were still right where that crew had left them almost 1 year ago.

Cabin and Tower.

This historic lookout was manufactured by the Aermotor company which also manufactured many of the historic and iconic windmills of the west.

There was a tag on the entrance to the stairs that indicated the lookout tower had been inspected last year and it passed.

These images are for Art. His restoration job is holding up nicely. (Just a quick note that several days after our visit here a nearby fire threatened this area and the forest service wrapped it for fire protection. I pulled this image off the internet.