CURRY COUNTY
PACKSADDLE MOUNTAIN
Siskiyou National Forest
41S-11W-5
41S-11W-5
August 1914: "Louis Yarbrough failed to come on as lookout and after much scouting around I finally secured Ralph Keizer whom is at present located on the extreme top of Pack Saddle and keeps a good lookout from daylight to dark, we had considerable difficulty with the telephone and could not get it to ring and finally had to put in the new ringer coils, it was quite a job to connect them, we used some lead and a short piece of copper wire a spoon and a paper funnel, and done a good job as long as it lasted and the bell would ring fine and we went to sleep confident that we had it in good shape but the next morning there was nothing doing so far as the telephone was concerned so I have had to send for another set of ringer coils. W.J. Jones, District Ranger" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
October 1914: "Sept. 14 came in with a light rain and the 15th with a fair shower and the night of the 15th with a gale and shower that is seldom equaled, the morning of the 16th at 4 a.m. our fly carried away at the Pack Saddle lookout and for a time it looked as we would be carried away also, one side of the tent carried away twice before daylight and we were drenched to the hide and then some, as soon as daylight came we secured the horses and beat it for the West-Moore R.S. Barely getting across the river before it was above fording, breakfast and dry clothes tasted very good, the wind storm surely played havoc with the telephone lines along the coast but the Pack Saddle and Snow Camp lines being #9 wire stood the test okay." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
1914: "Ranger W.J. Jones rode 28 hours from Packsaddle Lookout to a fire near McKinley Mines, with only a stop to eat and rest a few minutes along the way. Typical of Jones, he stated that 'the saddle was tires' when he arrived." (A History of the Siskiyou National Forest - 1939)
1914: "Ranger W.J. Jones rode 28 hours from Packsaddle Lookout to a fire near McKinley Mines, with only a stop to eat and rest a few minutes along the way. Typical of Jones, he stated that 'the saddle was tires' when he arrived." (A History of the Siskiyou National Forest - 1939)
May 1915: "I expect to build a lookout house at Pack Saddle lookout station during June with Guard labor and if things go well I will start the Snow Camp Lookout house, the lookout points are always windy, bleak and miserable and I believe that the cabins should be made as comfortable as possible. Ranger Jones" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
June 1915: "We have been engaged for several days in getting out material for the Pack Saddle cabin and getting it on the ground and we hope in a few more days to have the house completed. Ranger Jones" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
June 1915: "We have been engaged for several days in getting out material for the Pack Saddle cabin and getting it on the ground and we hope in a few more days to have the house completed. Ranger Jones" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
August 1915: "Costs etc on Pack Saddle lookout cabin:
Cost of materials $31.80
Cost of packing 18.00
Labor 164.28
Total $214.o8
Dimensions - 11'6" with 8 foot walls, requiring:
4 pieces 6"x8"x11'6" sills
8 pieces 4"x4"x10'10" above and below windows
4 pieces 4"x4"X11'6" top plates
3 pieces 6"x6"x11'6" floor joists
7 pair pole rafters 5" diameter by 11'7"
220 linear feet 1"x6" sheeting
1200 shakes
130 feet split flooring
Gravel and sand was packed from Bear Creek, 5 miles.
Shakes, sheeting and flooring was packed about 3/4 mile up the hill and most of the poles for sills etc were snaked about 600 yards, considerable experience has been gained and similar cabins under similar conditions can be built for about $170.00. Guard Keiser has laid a very good floor out of material at hand, I have seen floors of sawn lumber that looked worse.
The lookout man can now take some comfort at night and does not have to sleep hanging out onto a tent rope and he can see everything in all directions without standing out in the gale, there is nothing to mar vision but a post in each corner, the stove pipe is arranged so as to be in line with one of the posts." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
September 1915: "The rim lock sent out for the Pack Saddle cabin will not respond to any of the service keys in my possession so I am obliged to return it as I want all locks operated by the same key. Ranger Jones" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
1915: "Improvement work consisted of constructing a lookout house on Packsaddle Mountain, a shake type with ceiled interior, which cost $31.80 for material, $18.00 for packing, and $164.28 for labor, a total of $214.08." (A History of the Siskiyou National Forest - 1939)
June 1917: "Guard Gruver and myself made an up to date fire finder by using a soft pine board with cardboard tacked over it, then a protractor pasted on top and a hole bored into the board and a 38 caliber cartridge set into the hole with the rim filed down so that one of the F.S. standard compasses will set over the cartridge with the bottom of the compass resting lightly on the protractor so it will revolve freely, then a short piece of stiff paper was put under the sight and operates as a pointer, this will be used at the Pack Saddle lookout and the one that is there will be used transferred to Mt. Emily where there us no shelter. Ranger Jones" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
June 1917: "Guard Gruver and myself made an up to date fire finder by using a soft pine board with cardboard tacked over it, then a protractor pasted on top and a hole bored into the board and a 38 caliber cartridge set into the hole with the rim filed down so that one of the F.S. standard compasses will set over the cartridge with the bottom of the compass resting lightly on the protractor so it will revolve freely, then a short piece of stiff paper was put under the sight and operates as a pointer, this will be used at the Pack Saddle lookout and the one that is there will be used transferred to Mt. Emily where there us no shelter. Ranger Jones" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
1917: "Ranger W.J. Jones and former Ranger Costellos and wife had a narrow escape on Packsaddle Lookout. The men fought the fire outside, and Mrs. Costellos fought it inside. Sparks blowing through the shakes set fire to their beds several times. They had a hard time saving their horses, which were badly singed. This was in October." (A History of the Siskiyou National Forest - 1939)
1917: "Ranger W.J. Jones and former Ranger Costellos and wife had a narrow escape on Packsaddle Lookout. The men fought the fire outside, and Mrs. Costellos fought it inside. Sparks blowing through the shakes set fire to their beds several times. They had a hard time saving their horses, which were badly singed. This was in October." (A History of the Siskiyou National Forest - 1939)
June 1919: "The Pack Saddle Lookout cabin was relieved of its door and part of its roof during the winter and it will require considerable fixing up before being habitable again." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
August 1925: "Lewis Kamberg Lookout on Packsaddle Mountain says he wakes up every morning away above the clouds, the fog being so thick that he feels the influence of the great void, which he says sets him to thinking of the uncertainty of a future existence." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
July 1926: "And speaking of protection, the Chetco District illustrates it pretty well. Packsaddle has an old makeshift cabin just big enough for the lookout man's bed and table and supplies. His stove and part of his equipment are outside and the fire finder on the roof sheltered by a canvas. The tent which the lookout had been using proved inadequate to stand against the 65-mile breeze that blew a few days before my visit. There is a standard D-6 building on Mt. Emily with complete lightning protection. Snow Camp has a D-5 type of building." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
July 1929: "Our one piece of bad luck came in the form of appendicitis. Milton Foster our Packsaddle Lookout-Fireman came out to the doctor on the 1st of August. We are sorry to loose Milt for he was a good head and his place will be hard to fill." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
July 1930: "Snakes? Lots of them. The boys are turning in the accounts of their killings but King has the distinction of killing one of his big ones under the stove in the packsaddle Lookout. P.N. Stephenson" (Six Twenty-Six)
July 1930: "This district drawed two new lookout cabins this year, one for Packsaddle, these cabins are simple, cheap and just as good as the more elaborate types used in the past." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
August 1930: "The boys assigned to Packsaddle next year will have no cause to complain of the cold nights and hot days, as the new lookout house at this site is about completed." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
1930: A new R1 type lookout cabin was constructed on Packsaddle Mountain. (A History of the Siskiyou National Forest - 1939)
July/August 1933: "While writing these notes, I was interrupted by a phone call from Paul Weller, the lookout on Packsaddle Mountain. He wanted to tell me that he had just fished a 30" rattlesnake out from under his lookout house and performed a successful death ceremony over him. Paul wanted to know if I wouldn't send a gallon of 'Rattlesnake remedy' right up as a preventative in case he might get bitten later. I reminded him of what the first aid man told at Fire School, and suggested that he cook him up and can him for the coming winter. (I have noticed in the Portland paper that canned rattlesnake can now be bought on the market.)" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
May 1940: "Serves the higher country. Principally a lightning position in inaccessible country. Probably has indirect visibility down Winchuck River where several man-caused fires have occurred in the past." (Plans, Guard Placement, Siskiyou National Forestry)
1941: The lookout staffed 84 days and reported to the Gold Beach station via West Coast Telephone Company.
Removed