Administrative agency:
the lookout resides on the Ochoco NF although is staffed by the
Prineville BLM
Staffing status: contract position
Elevation: 6086ft
Structure: 1955 20ft wooden tower with L-4 cab
containing external shutter props, also containing nice large
single pane windows
Access: access to this tower is rather
easy, when driving on highway 380 the lookout is signed, the road
turns to gravel, the road does fork sometimes as you drive by
ranches, but the main road is usually obvious, after a few miles FS land is entered, several other roads
are necessary to access the lookout but signs pointing to the
lookout are present at every major junction, some even giving the
miles necessary until the lookout is reached, distance to the
lookout from the highway is around 10-15 all on gravel roads, no
gates are present
Road conditions: the road is in pretty good condition
initially and does decrease somewhat when closer to the lookout,
but should be usable with most vehicles
Interior: the interior contains a bed, table,
shelves, propane
heater, refrigerator, lights, and stove
Other structures on summit: a larger permanently
mounted propane tank sits near the lookout, a building housing the
generator, water heater, and possibly other items sits near
it, an outhouse style building sits nearby, a flagpole and a
second unknown pole are also on the summit
Electric energy source: the electrical system of Tower
Point is somewhat unusual, a rather small single solar panel
charges a battery through a charge controller which is connected
to the cell phone and radio, a propane generator (apparently an
Onan 3-4KW) is housed in a separate building, this provides 120V
AC energy to the cab for outlets and lighting including outlets
and a light under the cab
Other: Tower Point is one of the fewer Oregon lookout
with a decent shower system, a engine brings clean water from
town to the summit and drains it into a 200-300gal tank, a 12V
DC pump pumps the water to a propane RV style water heater, it
then goes through a garden hose to an outhouse type building
where a garden nozzle acts as the showerhead, although not the
most luxurious it is better then many lookouts, the view takes
in some forest although the lookout resides on a detached
portion of forest from the main body of the Ochoco, much of
the land is rangeland with some trees, largely BLM land, even
buildings in Prineville are rather easily visible, the well
signed access and no gates make this lookout nice place to
visit |
|
Mark presently holds the contract for Tower
Point. He has been working on lookouts for years and has
also worked Illahee Rock, and enjoys the lookout life. |
| Visited: Dominic Luebbers September 2002 |
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