Painting the walls
On Friday morning I masked and painted two coats of light green on the walls of the upstairs bathroom. We're on the home stretch finishing the bathroom project.
Trail across Striped Peak
By 10am we were heading out on ATV's on a long route to visit the ruins of two fire lookouts. I left a handwritten note with our plans taped to our neighbor's door in case we weren't back by the evening. We rode up Placer Creek and up to Slate Creek Saddle. From there we took Trail 16 along the spine of several peaks and crossed Striped Peak in this picture. It was a cold, clear fall day.
Looking down into Elbow Gulch
The ATV-wide trail must have been blasted out of the mountain at this point. Of the 70 trails listed in Forest Service's booklet, Ultimate Motorcycle Loops of the St. Joe River Country, Trail 16 is the only one marked "easy". It's all relative.
Elsie Lake
Riding along the ridge we had a good view down to Elsie Lake. Later in the day, our return route would take us by the lake.
Carolyn capturing a view
Cemetery Ridge in the distance
Our first destination was the old lookout site on Cemetery Ridge.
Cemetery Ridge
We rode to the base of the open area on the slope, parked our machines, and started climbing the mountain.
Carolyn enjoying the view
Carolyn is nursing a sore knee so about a quarter way up the 500' climb, she decided it'd be best if she waited while I climbed to the top.
Remains of the Cemetery Ridge lookout
A lookout on a 10' tower was built here in 1930 and unfortunately destroyed in 1964. Perched high on a ridge, the lookout had clear views down into East Fork on this side and Bronsen Meadows on the other side.
View on the Bronsen Meadows side
June 17, 1931
I found this reference to the Cemetery Ridge lookout in an old newspaper.
December 22, 1936
The lookout made the news again in 1936.
Point 5652 on Dam Ridge
I hiked back down and we rode our machines over to Dam Ridge, a ridge that projects out into the Slate Creek area, separating Slate Creek from Dam Creek.
Remains of the Dam Ridge lookout
We followed a trail a couple of miles down the ridge until we came across the rusting and rotting remains of the old lookout. It looked very similar to the other lookout, including the rusting bed frame. A lookout tower was built here in 1934 and destroyed in 1954. This area is very remote and a long way from the closest town of Avery. Those rangers must have been tough muchachos to hike so far to a place like this.
Carolyn on the foundation
Nothing but splinters, concrete, and rusty nails
Heading back up the ridge past the lookout site
Steeper than it looks
Climbing back up the ridge the trail gets incredibly steep, though it doesn't look like it in this picture. It's so steep that I can't believe it's possible for our ATVs to climb up this trail. The tires only have 4 lbs of air pressure and they have an amazing grip on the rocky trail surface.
Back on Point 5389
I'm really pleased that we easily found both lookouts. Now we're at the halfway point and turning back for home, but I figure we can visit one more lookout without much of a detour.
Trail 226 up to Point 5953
Here's a section of Trail 226 that steeply climbs the ridge. After climbing up there, we dropped down the other side into the basin with Lake Elsie.
Lake Elsie
Carolyn and her pony tail
As usual, Carolyn does not want to get cold. She wore about every layer she could find, including ski pants and jacket. We climbed out of the basin from here on Trail 106 back up to the shoulder of Striped Peak.
Polaris Peak lookout site
From Striped Peak we followed a trail to the Forest Service Road 330 and rode along the ridge of mountains bordering the Silver Valley until we turned up to Polaris Peak.
Polaris Peak lookout in 1950
The Polaris Peak lookout sat on a 30' tower and was built in 1931. It was destroyed in 1968.
View down into Big Creek and Kellogg Peak across the valley
From Polaris Peak we took a trail down the front of the mountains bordering the Silver Valley down into Osburn and from there, the road back to Wallace.
GPS track of the ride
The 54 mile ride took us about five and a half hours. We climbed 12.5k' on our machines. This was one of our all-time best rides. That evening we drove to Kellogg for Mexican food.
Working on the bathroom
On Saturday morning I masked the bathroom ceiling and rolled on two coats of white. Then Carolyn helped me install the toilet. We made our first trip to the hardware store for a new supply line. Next I replaced the old light switch with a new one and the outlet with a GFCI outlet. Then we installed the vanity, sink, faucet, and all the associated plumbing. This took another trip to the hardware store for hoses, parts, and silicone adhesive. After that I installed the new tub spout. The short pipe coming out of the tiled wall was too long. I had to use a propane torch to heat it to the point where I could loosen it. Another trip to the hardware store for a shorter pipe and that job was done. Then I drilled holes in the tile wall for the shower curtain rod. Carolyn decided where all the accessories should go and I installed two towel racks, a toilet paper holder, and a couple of towel hooks. The heat vent was faux wood grain so I sprayed it with a couple coats of white paint. I mounted the mirror above the sink and Carolyn setup the shower curtain. Finally, I hung the door back on its hinges. That is how we spent the whole day Saturday.
Before photo
Here's a shot of the bathroom last July, right before we started tearing everything out.
After photo
We still have to apply the final touches and install a shower wand.
Fall in Wallace
On Sunday we attended the Wallace Branch and left for home at 4:30pm. It was a fun trip to Wallace. I can't wait to go again.
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