Devil's Peak Lookout

Oregon

By Yes Mom I'm Alive

COOL CREEK TRAIL

Somewhere, tucked into the hills of the Mount Hood Wilderness, lies a magical place: a decommissioned fire lookout tower with a view of Mount Hood and Mount Adams, two beds, a wood stove, and sometimes, if you're lucky, some left behind liquor.

But like all magical places, there's no easy way to get there.

Prospective visitors have two choices: Drive 7 miles up a white-knuckling rocky forest road and hike a relatively flat 1.5 miles in, or park at the Cool Creek Trailhead and hike a hard 4 miles and 3200 feet straight up.

We - me, my boyfriend Jeff, and two of our favorite friends to adventure with Joel and Nick - opted for the latter, naturally.

It was a hard hike. The steep inclines begin right away and the trail was covered with fallen trees from the windy winter. We reached the top in 2 hours and 45 minutes, which I think is impressive given the distance, elevation gain, and amount of weight we were carrying on our backs.

(Well, I should say the weight Jeff and I were carrying. Joel and Nick decided to take their chances and did not pack a tent. A risky decision should the lookout already be claimed for the night, as they would have to sleep outside on a night with forecasted rain.)

We made it to the top of Devil's Peak around 1 pm and were greeted by this sight:

We excitedly climbed up the stairs of the lookout to find it was unclaimed for the night. It was ours for the weekend! We threw off our packs and had a look around.

Inside there are two cots, a wood stove with cut wood, a medicine cabinet stocked with bandaids, ibuprofen and condoms, a few tattered books (including a copy of Lord of the Flies with the first 64 pages torn out, to Nick's disappointment), cooking utensils, half-empty fuel canisters, tools, and a left behind 5th of vodka.

There were also a few guestbooks for visitors to sign.

The view from the lookout was nothing short of exceptional. On this clear late spring day, we had a perfect view of Mount Hood's southwestern face.

We spent a majority of the afternoon reading and napping in the sun. The boys went down to find a spring to refill our water supply for the evening but I was content to stay put.

At sunset, we hiked a short ways to a viewpoint overlooking the Salmon River Valley and Mount Jefferson.

(I can confirm that Joel didn't stare at his phone the whole time.)

We returned to the lookout at dusk and saw the alpenglow on Mount Hood.

As it became dark, we strung our three Luci Lights on the ceiling of the cabin. We put the lights on strobe mode and had a brief rave party in the middle of the woods before getting ready for bed.

We went to bed at 9:30 pm. The cots and floor was not as comfortable as we had hoped, but when it started to rain in the middle of the night we were so grateful to be inside and dry.

FOGGY MORNING

By the morning the clouds rolled in and covered the valley beneath us. I woke for sunrise and felt disoriented, as the huge mountain outside the front window appeared to have completely disappeared overnight. I woke up and read for a little bit until the boys woke up.

We made coffee and oatmeal for breakfast in the cabin. We packed and did our best to tidy up the place. Joel went out into the mist to put down the window shutters before we left (and creeped everyone out).

When the lookout was cleaned and secured, we headed out into the rain.

THE RETURN

We hiked in the drizzly rain and fog all the way back to the car. The forest looked completely different than it did the day before.

We got back to the car in a little over 1.5 hours. Nick drove his motorcycle down the forest road for a bit of fun before we turned around and headed back west on the OR-26. And, as it is tradition, we stopped for a burger at our favorite post-hiking joint, Calamity Jane's.

ADVICE

Go on a weekday if you can, and head up early. While we lucked out and got the cabin on a weekend, it was probably just that - luck!

Getting There

Visitors have two ways to get to the Devil's Peak Lookout: Drive 7 miles up a white-knuckling rocky forest road and hike a relatively flat 1.5 miles in from Kinzel Lake, or park at the Cool Creek Trailhead and hike a hard 4 miles and 3200 feet straight up.

Accommodations

The lookout is first-come, first-serve, so bring a tent just in case. If the lookout is claimed before you get there, you can camp out around the lookout. There are some flat spaces set up under the trees to the west of the lookout.

If you get there first and have a small party, make room for others. Four people can easily sleep in the lookout. Sharing is caring!

Activities

You can spend all day reading, writing, playing games (there is currently Jenga, a cribbage set, and a mysterious puzzle that is surely missing at least 2 pieces up in the lookout), staring at Mount Hood, and exploring the area.

Kinzel Lake is about 1.5 miles away from the lookout if you want to take a longer walk around and go see a small somewhat uninteresting lake.

Food and Water

There is a water spring about .2 miles from the lookout. There is a map with easy directions in the tower. It's a bit of a climb down to get there but it's the only fresh water source around.

Watch for mice! We didn't encounter any during our stay but apparently they are notorious for getting in and getting into your food supply. Bring mice-proof containers for your food.

SAFETY

There are some fire pits around the lookout - but there is a "No Fire" sign posted at the trailhead. If it's dry in Oregon, please don't chance it. Use the wood stove in the lookout instead.

Final Advice

Follow the Code of the Lookout: Clean up after yourself, never leave with the wood stove going, take only what you need, leave whatever you don't, and pack out your trash. Be a good guest so that the lookout remains open and free to use for all!