A TALE OF TWO PEAKS

When it comes to Priscilla Peak lookout, a change of scenery could do everyone, including the historic building itself, a lot of good.

With a project designed to rescue and restore the time-worn Priscilla Peak lookout cabin that currently sits atop its relatively inaccessible perch in a state of disrepair, the U.S. Forest Service is considering plans to remove, refurbish and relocate the building to Driveway Peak, another prominent, historically significant, former fire lookout point in Sanders County that has been without a building of its own for many years now.

A decided bonus to forest visitors would be the adding the new, yet pleasingly old lookout building to the popular cabin rental program, meaning anyone could have the opportunity of visiting and staying at the unique structure, one of only three of its type that remains standing in the Northern Region of the national forest system. The real not-so-hidden beauty of the Driveway Peak location is that it is road accessible and site maintenance would be far less difficult and less expensive.

It may sound like a wild idea at first, but preserving Priscilla's history may require just such wild thinking. Outside-the-box thinking that could be the solution for both local historic sites. Lolo National Forest archaeologist Erika Karuzas put together the plan for the project after carefully considering all the alternatives, as well as the past history of both structures.

If all goes according to the proposed plan, Priscilla Peak lookout will have the tales of two lookouts to tell on its new home atop Driveway Peak and the history of both places could be better preserved; with a functional, historically correct building that would possibly be available to rent out for a night or two. Like Cougar Peak lookout some 13 miles northeast of Driveway, Priscilla lookout on its new peak could become another popular destination point for Lolo National Forest visitors and could start to help paying for its own upkeep with the rental fees gathered.

"It's a beautiful building with a rich history," said Karuzas, adding that the lookout building would still qualify as a historical structure under National Register of Historic Places guidelines after the rebuild and move to Driveway. "A lot more people would be able to appreciate it if it were in a more accessible location."

The U.S. Forest Service released a scoping letter last week to help gauge interest on the Priscilla Lookout to Driveway Peak proposed project. Public input on the project is encouraged, with comments being accepted until June 5, 2020. Contact information is available at the conclusion of this article.

"We would like to restore this structure and move it to a location where it can continue to be used and enjoyed by the public," said Erin Carey, Plains/Thompson Falls District Ranger. "In its current location at Priscilla, it is difficult to access and at risk of falling into disrepair. By moving it, we can ensure routine upkeep, restoration and long-term access for the public."

The proposed plan is to take down Priscilla Peak lookout in sections, deliver the building parts via helicopter to a nearby landing, and transport those parts to the Thompson Falls Work Center for careful reconstruction there before putting it all back together again on Driveway Peak, it's new mountain view home. A vault toilet would also be installed on Driveway as part of the project proposal. The hope is that the facility could be fully restored, in place on Driveway and available for public visitation and rental by 2025.

For more details on the Priscilla Lookout to Driveway Peak project proposals, please visit the Lolo National Forest web page and go to News and Events, which leads to a press release describing the project in detail.

Some area forest users will undoubtedly not like the idea of Priscilla's romantic building being removed from its rightful, regal place at 7,005 feet elevation anchoring the southern end of the majestic and appropriately named Sundance Ridge, one of the visual mountain gems of western Montana, and that is totally understandable; but Driveway Peak's views of the surrounding forest in its alpine locale at 6,407 feet are every bit as impressive in their own right.

The Priscilla building's fate could be at the move it or lose it point, according to Karuzas, who also spearheaded the recent project refurbishing the Big Hole lookout, about 25 miles to the west. After several years, a few of which were interrupted by wildfire activity, the Big Hole lookout project has been completed and that building is nearly ready to be placed into the cabin rental program.

Karuzas is developing a genuine affection for the lookout buildings of the Plains/Thompson Falls area, in particular due to all her work in this area, and wants to help preserve those building and their history as a result.

"I love the Priscilla building, and it has been in a special place on the landscape for a long time," Karuzas said. "But it is going to be gone. It will eventually collapse if something isn't done soon."

Not that preserving Priscilla Peak lookout in place hasn't been tried several times before.

After a fairly earnest attempt at refurbishing the lookout building and a nearby outhouse structure in the 1990s (and several other such touchup projects over the years), Priscilla was placed in the rental program but was only rented twice in 10 years before being removed from the program. Since then, it has fallen into disrepair to be expected at such a harsh, high elevation, besides being vandalized a few times. Shutters protecting the door and some of the windows are no longer in place, and portions of the siding have been removed or have been lost to the gale-force winds which often whip around the high mountain peak.

Maintaining the lookout, which requires a challenging six-mile hike up a rugged, very steep trail with over 4,200 feet of elevation gain just to reach the storied place, has proven to be a constant challenge over the years.

The Priscilla lookout cabin is an L2 design, Karuza said, a 14-foot square structure with a gable roof and cupola. Built in 1929, the rugged location and challenge of reaching the summit required modifications to the blueprints for that particular model of lookout building.

The unique distinguishing characteristic of the Priscilla building, the one that sets it apart from all other lookouts of its design, is the cedar shingles used to side the building. "They decided to use shingles because it was so difficult to get materials up there," she said. "Shingles were easier to transport than the boards they usually used on this model of lookout."

Karuzas feels the change of location would do the fragile Priscilla lookout structure a lot of good. More people would get to know the old building and its history, while maybe learning and appreciating a thing or two about the stunning new location where it will placed at the same time. In fact, Driveway Peak also has a pretty impressive USFS firefighting history, complete with old bygone structures of its own (see other story).

"Where it (Priscilla) stands now there are some people that enjoy it, but there would be a lot more if it were easier to visit," she added. "With the extensive damage, I am not sure how much longer Priscilla would remain standing in its current condition. It might not be this year or next, but in our near future, I see Priscilla crumbling down and being lost forever."

Folks have largely forgotten how important and prevalent fire lookout stations once were in the Pacific Northwest, particularly before many of the roads were built and the use of aircraft was so widespread. Karuzas wants to help change that perception and is walking the archaeological talk by spearheading the Priscilla to Driveway Peak project, just like she led the Big Hole restoration effort.

There was a time when Priscilla Peak lookout was an integral cog, an important station in the Lolo National Forest firefighting system, as all lookouts were at the time.

Built in 1929, Priscilla Peak became part of an intricate web of 87 such high-elevation stations in Sanders County alone. Imagine that if you will, looking around the surrounding mountains and being able to see several active lookouts all on duty at the same time, from virtually any point in the county.

Lookouts did not just scan the horizon for fires in the early days of forest firefighting; they were expected to go fight and put out the ones they found (at least until relief arrived), as well as remain largely self-sufficient at all other times, packing their own water and gathering their own firewood. Although pack trains brought in supplies regularly, the lookout person was also responsible for maintaining the phone line along the mountain trail during much of the early era, which ended with the introduction of radios.

Then came roads and more extensive of use of aircraft for fire detection. Those lookouts, some of which were not buildings at all (they often stayed in tents and used observation trees of platforms to spot fires) have been slowly phased out over the years to the point that there are hardly any left. The lookout station era of modern firefighting is barely hanging on, with only Eddy Mountain now staffed regularly by the USFS during wildland fire season in the Plains/Thompson Falls area.

Records are unclear, but it is thought that the Priscilla lookout station went out of service in the late 1960s or early 1970s, although after that it was staffed occasionally depending on fire danger and the severity of lightning storms that passed Priscilla's way. That practice continued into the early 2000s.

In its recent history, Priscilla Peak lookout has had two brushes with almost getting burned up by wildfires, first being wrapped in fire resistant material ahead of the Big Spruce fire in 2014 and again because of the Copper King blaze in 2016.

The rebirth of the aged Priscilla lookout building on Driveway Peak could be rejuvenating to the structure and to the people lucky enough to visit upon completion. It could be like lightning hitting the same place twice, shedding the light of day on both beloved local mountain peaks which have been largely forgotten by time, and passed over by modern firefighting methods.

If the Priscilla lookout had eyes, the old building will be swapping its expansive views of Thompson River, Big Hole Creek and the West Fork of Thompson River for those of Prospect Creek, Crow Creek and Clear Creek from Driveway, but it will be a great trade for the structure itself and for forest visitors.

People will be able to finally fully appreciate the unique building made, staffed and maintained on remote Priscilla Peak with so much difficulty so long ago, and help fund the upkeep of what will be one of the most beautiful places to see from in Sanders County, once it is re-erected on Driveway. Although only the mostly native rock foundation will be left in place at the summit of Priscilla, all other parts of the lookout building would be removed. A permanent placard citing the historical significance of the craggy mountain peak will be placed where the building stood. The one-of-a-kind view from Priscilla will always be there, building or no.

Once the Priscilla lookout is delivered to the Thompson Falls work station, it becomes more of a community-oriented project where many people will have the opportunity to join in the effort. The Passport in Time (PIT) program and their dedicated volunteers will play a critical role in the rebuilding of the lookout to historical and cultural standards of the period.

PIT is a volunteer cultural heritage resources program sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, and made up of mostly retirees. Often organized into crews and sent to historic places to do their work, PIT volunteers "work with professional archaeologists and historians on public lands," the organization's website says, "on diverse activities... (including) historic structure restoration."

Karuzas, Lolo National Forest historic preservation specialists and PIT personnel, some of whom have become master restoration craftsmen, will combine their efforts in rebuilding the Priscilla lookout at the Thompson Falls Work Center. Not used to the luxury of such a setup (PIT restoration crews are usually at remote locations), the PIT workers will have niceties like running water and electricity during their stays in Thompson Falls working on the Priscilla structure.

The expert in lining up this type of project, organizing and seeing them through to completion, Karuzas doesn't pretend to know as much about historic preservation as the PIT experts who do the work. The organization helped with at the Big Hole lookout.

"These people are the experts, they have done a lot of this kind of work," she said. "I have learned a lot from them and try to help as best as I can, but we really rely on their expertise."

Indeed, when the PIT crews were done repairing the Big Hole lookout building in the past few years, it looked better than brand new. For visual proof of this claim, and to see more fully how this amazing reclamation of an abandoned lookout building was accomplished, visit the PIT web site, navigate to Montana projects and check out the Big Hole project updates.

Karuzas said she has contacted the Thompson Falls High School about having their shop classes also help out with the reconstruction of Priscilla.

The Priscilla Lookout to Driveway Peak project is about transplanting history, combining the past of both magical mountain-top places. And this seems to be a makes-sense solution for two key points of interest in western Montana, which could help retell and further enhance the history of both.

One thing is for certain, it would sure be nice to see Prissy pretty on top once more, even if that means it is on Driveway Peak instead of its original Sundance Ridge home.

Public comments regarding the project are welcome and can be mailed to: Project Leader; Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District; P.O. Box 429, Plains, MT, 59859.