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One fine fall evening this
past October, a friend drove up to our mountain home bearing an unusual
gift. As he crossed our brown lawn scorched from the long hot summer,
he held forth a blackened object for my wife and I to see. In the dim
light, it took a moment to recognize it was something that had been
exposed to the intense heat of a fire. Seeing the perplexed looks on
our faces and still not offering any explanation, he opened what we
now realized was a charred metal box. Inside were a few warped metal
shapes, some lumps of melted glass and something else. Slowly it came
to me I had seen this box before, attached to the south wall above the
glass windows of Snow Camp Lookout. It was a standard issue first aid
box for potential emergencies at this "view with a room."
The summer of 2002 in southern Oregon spawned a series of devastating
fires including the Biscuit Complex, which was the largest fire in this
state's recorded history. Originally the Biscuit and the Florence fires
were miles apart but they eventually merged and grew to a half million
acres. Thousands of people and hundreds of structures were threatened
during the extremely hot months of July and August. Among the causalities
of this fire was our beloved recreational lookout.
Like so many other lookouts, Snow Camp fell into serious ruin after
it was last manned in 1972 before the efforts of many volunteers and
the US Forest Service brought it new life in 1990. This lookout's grandeur
as a sentinel guarding the forests of the Chetco Ranger district along
the Oregon coast was renewed by the summer visits of newcomers to the
lookout experience. For $30 a night, Snow Camp was now being manned
by people from all walks of life of every age as a recreational destination
of the most unusual kind. During Snow Camp's age of revitalization the
glass walls contained a new kind of energy. Instead of a single diligent
observer of the forest intent on spotting those first wisps of smoke
it now more likely held two or more people still awestruck by the incredible
views of mountains, valleys and the Pacific Ocean. Now couples had honeymoons,
renewed relationships, celebrated anniversaries and created life. Families
and friends played games, viewed natures' splendor, found peace from
our frenzied world, paused a moment and reflected on life. At times,
the walls echoed the peals of laughter of children racing around the
catwalk and heard the cry when a little head hit the open window. Snow
Camp Lookout was very much alive again. In the first years as a rental,
it wasn't too difficult to be a repeat customer. Yearly sojourns to
this quiet retreat were made primarily by people from the surrounding
area of Southern Oregon. But, as Snow Camp's fame spread, the competition
to secure a place on the short summer calendar became fierce. Snow Camp
and other recreational lookouts became the subject of many news articles
and books. The first working day of each year was the time to secure
your booking and the Chetco Ranger District's telephone lines were extremely
busy throughout the day by people calling from all over the US. Diligence
and redial increased the chances of getting your desired time. The Forest
Service soon learned that recreational rentals were extremely popular
and this program became a good public relations vehicle to upgrade this
agency's somewhat tarnished image.
The blank pages in the large three-ring binder left under the firefinder
by the Forest Service became an ongoing journal with entries of every
variety left by anyone who cared to write. The journal came alive with
visitors' comments, poems, drawings, observations and feelings. Ordinary
people became writers, poets, artists and storytellers who were granted
free rein to express themselves. As one read the numerous journal entries,
a slice of the marvelous human drama that unfolds on Snow Camp Mountain
was revealed. After a few years, the binder overflowed with entries
and another was needed to hold the visitor's impressions. Journals such
as these have become a part of most recreational rentals and are a joy
to peruse by regular rental "junkies."
In the twelve years since Snow Camp was revived, a number of fortunate
people were able to spend time there and many such as myself returned
year after year to renew themselves. I think the unique adventure of
staying in a "glass house on top of the world" has a profound effect
on most of the guests. It certainly had a huge impact on my life. The
experience of writing Snow Camp Lookout, View With a Room
(see Store) was one of
the most meaningful things I have ever done. So, as I ponder the charred
metal first aid box, it evokes a flood of fond memories of my times
at Snow Camp. I see it contains something of the past, but it also contains
something of the future. A call to the Chetco Ranger District office
in Brookings, Oregon informs me that there has been a large outpouring
of support to see Snow Camp Lookout rebuilt. Numerous offers of time,
money, labor and materials keep coming in and their office is optimistic
Snow Camp Lookout will be rebuilt. So, the other thing I discover in
the box is "hope." Hope that Snow Camp Lookout will again grace that
mountain. Hope that more lookouts will be saved. Hope that visitors
will be able to continue discovering the mountain top paradises, that
special place to become "humans being instead of humans doing."
If you would like to help in the efforts to have Snow Camp Lookout
rebuilt, contact the Chetco Ranger District at 541-412-6000.
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