Fire outlook towers

[jrider]

We have some around here in the Pine Barrens of south Jersey. The most popular one is called Apple Pie Hill - the hill is 205' above sea level making it one of the highest points in south Jersey and the tower is 60' tall. On a clear day, you can see Philadelphia to the west and Atlantic City to the southeast. Really cool spot but due to vandalism, it's now closed unless a guy working in the tower is bored and wants company.

 

[svk]

There are a few around. Nearest one is about ten miles south of my hunting cabin.

Highschoolers used to sneak up there to do unmentioned deeds, apparently to some there is some allure to doing it high up in the air. I guess I never understood that part lol

 

[Guswhit]

There are a few around. Nearest one is about ten miles south of my hunting cabin.

Highschoolers used to sneak up there to do unmentioned deeds, apparently to some there is some allure to doing it high up in the air. I guess I never understood that part lol

You apparently have no inclination to join the "Mile High" club then?

 

[svk]

Well that's different lol. The 200' club isn't of interest lol.

 

[northwest saws]

I'm up in North idaho, there are still several lookout towers up here. I've got Corral Hill lookout about 7 miles from my house. Another one we still staff in the summer is Walde lookout and Hemlock lookout. Walde is at around 5,220 ft elevation and the tower itself is around 110ft tall, it's one of the taller ones. You have quite the view from the cabin on top!

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[Jere39]

Well that's different lol. The 200' club isn't of interest lol.

Apparently you don't remember being a teen?

 

[svk]

Apparently you don't remember being a teen?

Yeah. Repeatedly joining a club was greatly more important than the altitude.

 

[northwest saws]

View from Black Mountain lookout tower. Or maybe it was Osier ridge, I took that photo a few years back. Both towers are still staffed though.

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[sirbuildalot]

I think this is as close as I'll ever get to building a fire tower or owning one!!!

 

[WiscWoody]

There’s quite a few of them up here in the forests of NW Wisconsin. Years ago you could climb the stairs and sit just under the penthouse but they fenced them in some time ago. Issues with liability I’m sure.

 

[norm97]

Here in Western Australia, we have lookout trees in the south west. Just big f*%k off tress with steel pegs in them. Some are open to the public

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/gloucester-tree

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[DFK]

There is one about a mile North of where we live.
It was staffed when I was a kid of about 10 years old.
We used to take " Dates " up there after we got old enough to drive.

It is in a state of total disrepair now.
The lower sections of stares have been removed and a Cell Phone station has been installed on it.

David

 

[alleyyooper]

One in the state forest near my folks farm. I believe they stopped staffing it in the 1950's. Rideing dirt bikes in the summer it is one place to go at least once a summer climb to the top walk around up there and look at the surrounding country. In the mid 1970's the state came in and removed the first flight of stairs to stop people from climbing up there. worked for the older people who didn't harm the place but didn't stop the younger vandles bent of destroying every thing they touched. I was told that in the late 1970's they just took it down and is no more.

I never under stood why there was a disire to vandlize things. Place we used to fish in canada a 2.5 hour crawl down a two track (remember to take a little cahin saw or axe to clear dead falls from storms.) to this lake with and primitive camping area on one side and huge straight side rocks many different layers and colors. We found the place in 1976 and by 1980 so had the vandles and brought spray paint with them and spray painted all over those rocks. Some they must have went around to the top and roped down to deface the rocks.

OOOP's sorry got off subject.


Al

 

[svk]

I never understood the need to vandalize either. Lots of good old stuff that stood for decades just destroyed for no reason.

My first house was a farm house we fixed up. One of the children of the original owners was the last person to live there but his grandson who lived down the road apparently lived there off and on after his grandfather passed as well. He was a strange dude from what I’ve heard. Several buildings in the area including a church and a historic log home were burned over a few years prior to when this fellow took his own life. Can’t say for sure it was him but there were no more arson occurrences after he passed.

 

[rarefish383]

Yeah. Repeatedly joining a club was greatly more important than the altitude.

Especially that club!

 

[rarefish383]

Those look out towers were one of the main reasons I switched my major from Forestry to Botony. I talked to a couple foresters and they made less money with a Forestry degree than I did dragging brush for my Dad's tree service. And I wasn't one of those poor little rich kids. I made the same as the rest of the groundies. I think the only benefit they had was a ,so many days on, so many days off, schedule.

 

[svk]

Those look out towers were one of the main reasons I switched my major from Forestry to Botony. I talked to a couple foresters and they made less money with a Forestry degree than I did dragging brush for my Dad's tree service. And I wasn't one of those poor little rich kids. I made the same as the rest of the groundies. I think the only benefit they had was a ,so many days on, so many days off, schedule.

Funny, same here. I looked at going into forestry when I decided engineering wasn't for me. Then I found out foresters in my area made $12 an hour after completing their four year degree.

 

[allstihl]

Stillwater ny looking down

 

[svk]

Stillwater ny looking downView attachment 636810

Been to Stillwater many times, never knew there was a tower.

 

[jwilly]

There were a lot of them here in the Adirondacks but with the advent of the Adirondack Park Agency and the classification of many areas as Primitive or Wilderness they have been torn down so only a few remain. There was one near Pharoah Lake that we would visit as kids. Love talking to the Ranger that manned the tower.