SISKIYOU COUNTY
LOWER DEVILS PEAK
Klamath National Forest
January 8, 1934: "(Fox Diary) Went to Seiad and met Scott River District Ranger and looked over the Lower Devil's Lookout, the trail route for packing Lookout material." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. IV, 1931-1940)
1934: The Lookout construction was completed by CCC crew. (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. IV, 1931-1940)
1934: The Lookout construction was completed by CCC crew. (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. IV, 1931-1940)
1934: "John Buck's Experiences as a Ranger on the Siskiyou District" "One of the large parts of the new Siskiyou District came from the Scott River Ranger District where John Williams, a very conscientious man, and a man who made a career of helping others. He went out of his way to help me to help me get started on the new District. This particular morning two of the Forest Service packers, with their horses and mules, were to take materials to Lower Devil Lookout from Seiad Valley. The carpenters had previously removed the old lookout house from the short tower, which would be used again with some modification. Along with the 2" x 12" floor joists, some of the animals were loaded with hardware, short boards, window frames, etc. But the reason John and I were there was to help with those 20 foot long floor joists. There must have been about 20 pieces. Ordinarily, this would be a rather simple operation for packers with mules experienced in the mountains on a trail without switchbacks.
The Lookout point was some 2,000 feet above the valley floor and the trail could be seen winding up the steep mountain face in a series of many sharp switchbacks. The lead packer has some of his pack string tied in conventional manner and the other packer was behind, leading his string of animals. In the middle were 5 mules packed with two of the floor joists on each side and then bent and tied both in front and behind. The lumber stuck out beyond their heads about 6 feet and an equal distance behind their tails. These mules were not tied into either pack string, but were in single file and loose. John and my responsibilities were to help them get around the switchbacks. We were on foot. I had visions of serious problems getting those 20 foot long boards through a switchback where change in direction of about 250 degrees had to be made in a very short radius. The trail was narrow, with a steep bank on one side and a steep drop off on the other side. A misstep would be disaster.
Soon my fears came to an end. Those jenny mules knew more about negotiating the switchbacks than I did. All John and I had to do was keep the animals spaced out to give each enough room. They would come to the turn, nearly stop and start the load slowly turning by moving their feet in short, dainty steps, both sideways and forward at the same time until they were clear and then move on up the next leg. There could have been as many as 25 switchbacks on that trail of some 3 miles in total distance. Since that day I have had a great respect for a pack mule. A mule can be a stubborn critter at times, but they are smart." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. IV, 1931-1940)
1934: "John Buck's Experiences as a Ranger on the Siskiyou District" "One of the large parts of the new Siskiyou District came from the Scott River Ranger District where John Williams, a very conscientious man, and a man who made a career of helping others. He went out of his way to help me to help me get started on the new District. This particular morning two of the Forest Service packers, with their horses and mules, were to take materials to Lower Devil Lookout from Seiad Valley. The carpenters had previously removed the old lookout house from the short tower, which would be used again with some modification. Along with the 2" x 12" floor joists, some of the animals were loaded with hardware, short boards, window frames, etc. But the reason John and I were there was to help with those 20 foot long floor joists. There must have been about 20 pieces. Ordinarily, this would be a rather simple operation for packers with mules experienced in the mountains on a trail without switchbacks.
The Lookout point was some 2,000 feet above the valley floor and the trail could be seen winding up the steep mountain face in a series of many sharp switchbacks. The lead packer has some of his pack string tied in conventional manner and the other packer was behind, leading his string of animals. In the middle were 5 mules packed with two of the floor joists on each side and then bent and tied both in front and behind. The lumber stuck out beyond their heads about 6 feet and an equal distance behind their tails. These mules were not tied into either pack string, but were in single file and loose. John and my responsibilities were to help them get around the switchbacks. We were on foot. I had visions of serious problems getting those 20 foot long boards through a switchback where change in direction of about 250 degrees had to be made in a very short radius. The trail was narrow, with a steep bank on one side and a steep drop off on the other side. A misstep would be disaster.
Soon my fears came to an end. Those jenny mules knew more about negotiating the switchbacks than I did. All John and I had to do was keep the animals spaced out to give each enough room. They would come to the turn, nearly stop and start the load slowly turning by moving their feet in short, dainty steps, both sideways and forward at the same time until they were clear and then move on up the next leg. There could have been as many as 25 switchbacks on that trail of some 3 miles in total distance. Since that day I have had a great respect for a pack mule. A mule can be a stubborn critter at times, but they are smart." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. IV, 1931-1940)
1951: "Louis Meiss was run off Lower Devils Lookout by the Devils Fire, which burned within 100 feet of the Lookout building. He refused to return after the fire." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. VI, 1951-1955)
1951: "Louis Meiss was run off Lower Devils Lookout by the Devils Fire, which burned within 100 feet of the Lookout building. He refused to return after the fire." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. VI, 1951-1955)
The cab from the Lower Devils lookout was transported to Ukonom Mountain and installed on a new base.
