Deschutes Lookout

Located at the furthest southern extent of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the former Deschutes Lookout was said to be a fun place for an afternoon lunch break. The tower stood atop a hill at just 650 feet elevation but it was enough with the extra height of the tower to have a commanding view throughout much of Thurston County. The Deschutes Lookout was a 100 foot wooden tower with an 8x8 cab, built in the 1930's, replaced by a 50 foot wooden tower with 9x9 AWS cab in 1942. It was followed by a 112 foot all steel tower in 1968. Some report the final lookout was destroyed in an Army practice bombing in 1994 but a reliable source at the base forestry office has records showing use of the lookout well past 1994. Also, bombings would never take place outside the impact areas, especially so close to private residences that are located a half mile to the south. Today, nothing remains up there but a nice flat top for turning vehicles around.

The tower was steel with grates on each step, so I made a practice of never looking down. About 10 years later, I became a private pilot, so I must have conquered my fear of heights at Deschutes Tower

A number of friends visited me at the tower, including one friend who liked to sunbathe topless on the deck. One time, a helicopter flew by, and after that, helicopters flew by every day… I was 19 years old and NOT a topless sunbather, but I always waved to the helicopter crews!

One time another friend was visiting, and we had settled down for the night in the cabin at the base of the tower. The cabin had a propane refrigerator and stove, a toilet and a water tank of cold water for the shower, but no electricity. On that night, a group of Army fellows out on survival training started to climb the tall fence around the cabin. They tried to get into the cabin and I was frantically trying to call someone on the wind-up military telephone because the soldiers were trying to break in. No one answered, of course. The soldiers were yelling that they wanted to heat up their cans of food, so after a while, I decided to open the door and help them heat up their food. My friend was absolutely terrified, but I took control of the situation, helped them heat up their food, and sent them on their way. For some reason, they had alcohol with them, so it was almost unmanageable, but after they got their food heated, they exited pretty quickly.

Another fire lookout was on duty two days per week and her parents insisted that she return home each night. I finally understood why that made sense. The thing about safety nets is that you don’t realize you need one until you are falling...

WillhiteWeb.com