Pearsoll Peak Lookout
The SMS Heritage Preservation Team will be continuing work at Pearsoll Peak Lookout during the summer of 2011. Located just outside the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in the beautiful Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon, Pearsoll Peak has a view that extends from the snow-capped Cascades to the Pacific Ocean.
The focus of our work this season will be replacing a window sill that was damaged during a windstorm. We will also be thoroughly scraping and painting the exterior of the building. Work is expected to be completed during June and July of 2011.
Pearsoll Peak was the second major project taken-on by the SMS. It was actually begun as soon as Sand Mountain Lookout was completed (1991). At one time under consideration for relocation to Sand Mountain, the SMS opted to relocate the more historically appropriate lookout from Whisky Peak on the neighboring Forest. The Heritage Program Manager of the time on the Siskiyou National Forest, Janet Joyer, offered to "provide helicopter support for removal of whichever lookout you take, even if it's not ours." In return for her generosity, the SMS followed-up by restoring Pearsoll Peak in place.
SMS volunteer Greg Keil at Pearsoll Peak during the first restoration phase in 1991
The focus of our work this season will be replacing a window sill that was damaged during a windstorm. We will also be thoroughly scraping and painting the exterior of the building. Work is expected to be completed during June and July of 2011.
At left, Don Allen Jr. levels replacement "outriggers" in 2001
Don Allen Jr. was working at Pearsoll Peak on September 11, 2001. "I was listening to Jefferson Public Radio, the local NPR affiliate, when Bob Edwards first delivered the report. At first I thought it was a mistake, but pretty soon my cell phone started to ring with friends calling to make sure I knew about it."
Since 2001, the SMS has taken responsibility for all maintenance on Pearsoll Peak Lookout.
In 2002, the freshly painted lookout with its new outriggers and freshly sealed roof survived the infamous Biscuit Fire Complex of 2002. Had the dried-out roof and frayed outriggers been exposed during the fire, it's hard to believe the building would have survived. Had we not had to defer the original outrigger repair until 2001 (due to lack of funds in 1991), the fresh finishes probably might not have been on the building.
It should be noted that Michael Keown (the District Archaeology Technician at the time) made the significant effort to drop the shutters in advance of the fire. In combination, the recent application of exterior finishes and Mr. Keown's heroic effort to lower the shutters certainly saved the building. Burned conifers and brush were completely torched within 50 feet of the lookout, but the building -- remarkably -- survived Oregon's biggest blaze in recorded history (nearly 500,000 acres).
The view from Pearsoll Peak was substatially altered in the aftermath of the fire.
PROJECT LEADERS FOR 2011: The project leader for sill repairs will be Don Allen Jr., and Tim Nidever will lead the painting crew. We recommend you read more about Pearsoll Peak before you contact us about helping with work there. Pearsoll has very difficult access, and many other potential hazards you should be aware of.
At right, SMS volunteer, Blake Driver works to prepare Pearsoll Peak Lookout for another winter. Our crew opens and closes several lookouts for the season each year.
HAZARDS TO BE AWARE OF AT PEARSOLL PEAK include but are not necessarily limited to: rattlesnakes, black widows, janta virus, and tetanus. The lookout is accessible by extreme 4-wheel drive access road, capped by a moderately difficult trail about 1.5 miles in length. The terrain is cliffy, steep, and rocky in places. Some of the more common mishaps observed are car break-down/flat tire on the road, difficulty getting around other vehicles on the road, and sprained ankles. It is quite easy to lose the trail in places in even a small amount of snow. Poison oak is also abundant along sections of the road in lower drainages. Given Pearsoll Peak's remoteness and difficulty of access, visitors to the area should exercise great care: medical attention is a LONG ways away. Cell phone reception is poor to non-existent. Local water can contain heavy metals, so purification is recommended if drawing water from local sources. The weather can change in a matter of minutes from hot and dry to cold and wet: be prepared accordingly.
SMS POLICIES for Heritage Preservation Team members at Pearsoll Peak:
- Keep SMS sattelite phone at work site
- Be sure someone knows when and where you are going, and have a prearranged check-in time beyond which help will be dispatched if you have not called
- Never work alone if it can be helped
- Be sure your tetanus booster is current (good for 10 years, normally)
- Use FRS radios when separated by more than a few hundred feet on the mountain
- Be prepared for extreme weather (sunscreen and attire)
- Wear boots with at least 8" leather tops
- Read and sign complete Job Hazard Analysis before commencing work
- Observe precautions to prevent spread of Port Orford Cedar Root fungus
|
