Numa Ridge Lookout Assessment
Built in 1934, Numa Ridge Lookout is located on the ridge west of Numa Peak, just north of Bowman Lake. Numa overlooks the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage. Numa is a standard wood frame, 14×14-ft house set on a 10-ft tower with catwalk. It is the most northern lookout in the park, being only nine miles south of the Canadian border. It is reached by trail from Lake Bowman, and is still staffed for fire detection.
This summer’s condition assessment found the lookout’s exterior in need of some work, with structural repairs and replacement needed on the foundation, catwalk/railings, stairs/railings and some of the siding. The entire exterior is in need of scraping and painting while the interior is in overall good shape. The door is also in need of some repair. work. Thanks to our assessment crew of Rick Murphy and Barb Hvizdak for their thorough inspection.
Swiftcurrent Lookout Assessment
Swiftcurrent Lookout, built in 1936, is perched along the Continental Divide above Granite Park Chalet at an elevation of 8436’. The lookout is the highest point accessible by trail in the park. A popular hiking destination, it is the only lookout in the park without a catwalk. This summer volunteers Kyle Stelter and Greg Evans, completed a repeat condition assessment. The Swiftcurrent lookout is in generally good condition with no major defects or rehabilitation issues noted. Ongoing maintenance needs, particularly scraping and painting, were identified.
Apgar Lookout Assessment
Apgar Lookout overlooks Lake McDonald. It is a two-story wooden structure with an enclosed 10-ft tower and 14- by 14-ft cab. This is one of two basic designs found in the park. The first lookout was constructed on the site in 1929 and was destroyed by fire two weeks after completion. This identical structure was built in 1930. Located a mile high, it is the lowest elevation lookout in the park and is a popular hiking destination for many park visitors. This summer’s condition assessment found the lookout to be in good shape with primarily minor cosmetic repairs needed. Areas of potential rodent intrusion, graffiti and some window gaps were noted. Thanks to volunteers Molly Tingley, Greg Evans, Emily Crawford for braving the elements to get the job done.
Mount Wam Project
Mount Wam Lookout, located on the Ksanka Ranger District, is in the Ten Lakes Scenic Area and along the Pacific Northwest Trail. Built in 1931, it is one of the last gabled L-4 lookouts. that sits atop a 7,121′ peak in the Whitefish Range and was staffed as a fire lookout into the 1950s. This lookout is open to the public and often used as a shelter. This summer’s project focused on reroofing the lookout which took place in mid-August. The new cedar shingle roof was funded through the Great American Outdoors Act and installed by NMLA members: Mark Miller, Barb Hvizdak, Rory Trimbo, Steve Glow, and Chuck Manning. Several Forest Service employees also helped tackle this project and a huge thank you must go out to the Northwest Montana Back Country Horsemen who transported supplies and scaffolding back and forth to the jobsite.
Northwest Peak Lookout Project
Northwest Peak Lookout is located in the Yaak on the Three Rivers Ranger District. It is perched on a mountain of broken talus overlooking the Northwest Peak Scenic Area. Northwest Peak was first used as a patrol camp in 1921. Then in 1929 a prototype gable L-4 ground house was constructed, the forerunner of the classic L-4 model built throughout the west. Abandoned for fire detection in 1955, it survived the elements and was restored in the 1980s as a historic site. Few of these gable roof L-4s remain.
This major project started last year with the removal of all windows which were flown off by helicopter and refurbished over the winter by Edd Kuropat and Peter Kitts. The windows and other materials were flown back up to the lookout in June in advance of this summer’s project. This year our volunteers stabilized all four walls to address major structural deficiencies. Installation began on the ceiling which was removed and reinforced in 2017. Additional hardware and material needs were identified to complete window and shutter installation next year.
This year’s onsite NMLA volunteers were Peter Kitts, Mark Gunther, John Zardis, Chuck Stearns, Randy Beacham, and Chuck Manning. Special thanks go to the Cabinet Back Country Horsemen for their support in helping transport tools and supplies to a base camp located just off the talus slope. Also, a huge thank you must go out to the Three Rivers Ranger District and the Kootenai National Forest Helitack Team for their ongoing support.
Spotted Bear Lookout Project
Spotted Bear Lookout started as a two-story log structure, built in 1916. It was replaced with the current treated timber R-6 tower in 1963. The lookout is reached by a 7-mile hike with 4100’ elevation gain. It’s a moderate hike till you reach the false summit. From there you can see the lookout, but you still have a bit of a trudge to reach the lookout site.
Spotted Bear lookout has been wrapped a few times for wildfire protection. These efforts are greatly appreciated so that the lookout has not been harmed by fires. NMLA volunteers identified many needs including window glazing, painting, some flooring, and potentially a new outhouse or stabilizing the existing outhouse. Two windowpanes need immediate replacement. Measurements were taken and new panes and glaze compound were delivered to Spotted Bear to be packed up and installed to better winterize the lookout.
Thanks to Greg Evans, Barb Hvizdak and Traute Parrie for completing this assessment.
Mud Lake Lookout Project
The Mud Lake Lookout, on the Spotted Bear Ranger District, is in the Bob Marshall Wilderness east of Big Salmon Lake in the South Fork of the Flathead River drainage. The L-4 lookout was built in 1932, and was the site of a major NMLA restoration project from 2015 – 2018.
Our volunteer crew hiked into the Bob Marshall Wilderness, leaving from the Meadow Creek Trailhead. The first day they hiked 12 miles to the Black Bear Cabin. The second day they hiked 8 miles and stayed at the Salmon Forks Cabin. On the third day, they made it to Mud Lake – a 2.5-mile hike one way with lots of blowdown to navigate. This required a ford across the South Fork of the Flathead River in both directions. The team did the same route on the way back to the trailhead.
Thank you to Joe Schmidt, Katie Marsonette, and Kira Powell for committing five days to complete this assessment. This trip was done with backpacks as there was no stock support available.
In addition to completing the assessment, the crew also had packed in the needed paint/stain to put on the window glazing that was an outstanding need. The painting was completed!
The crew enjoyed the wilderness experience, worked well together, had an enjoyable time overall and especially when some FWP folks joined in at Black Bear on night one with their engaging banter, and Kira shared her guitar and singing talents.
Little Napa Lookout Project
On June 13, volunteers Cathy Calloway, Doug Berglund, Barb Penner, Steve Penner and Beth Hodder joined forces with Montana Department of Natural Resources staff to do an assessment of Little Napa Lookout on the Swan Unit of DNRC.
Doug and Steve returned to visit this lookout where they volunteered on a major project in 2017, reconstructing the stairs and catwalk. This visit found the stairs, catwalk, cab and outhouse in good condition, and identified some areas for follow-up on the tower. A few maintenance items such as tightening hardware and some possible small additions were also identified.
Northwest Montana Lookout Association 