PACKERS PEAK
Siskiyou County - Klamath National Forest
July 24, 1913: "Supervisor Hammatt of the Shasta national forest, has just engaged the services of a regular pack train to place 15,000 pounds of lumber on top of three widely separated mountains in northern California. The material is for construction of three new lookout houses. one on Packers' Peak, about 8,000 feet elevation, which is on the divide between the Trinity and Salmon rivers.
The main house, in each case, is to be 12 x 12, and on top of it is an eight-foot octagonal glass tower. In the towers are stationed the lookout men, with telephone, binoculars, and map all within reach, so that fires may be reported to Sisson the minute they are discovered.
It is expected that these buildings will be ready for occupancy by August 1." (Siskiyou Daily News)
The main house, in each case, is to be 12 x 12, and on top of it is an eight-foot octagonal glass tower. In the towers are stationed the lookout men, with telephone, binoculars, and map all within reach, so that fires may be reported to Sisson the minute they are discovered.
It is expected that these buildings will be ready for occupancy by August 1." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 23, 1914: "The District Forester has approved the following improvements on the Klamath Forest: Telephone line from Cecilville to Packer's Peak." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. II, 1911-1920)
October 1, 1914: "The telephone line between Cecilville and Packers Peak lookout is completed. W. H. Landon of Hornbrook had charge of the construction of the line." (Siskiyou Daily News)
October 14, 1915: "A big fire is reported on Coffee creek by Packers' Peak lookout and Ranger Box of Trinity Center, which handled the fire. This fire burned over about three hundred acres." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 8, 1920: "George Broderick will be the lookout at Packers' peak this season in place of Mr. Cady, who is now living in one of the Eastern states. Monroe Jones took Mr. Broderick and his baggage up to the peak on June 27." (Siskiyou Daily News)
June 23, 1921: "Mr. Kenline and Dave Robinson of Sawyers Bar have since put the telephone line to Packer's Peak lookout in repair." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 16, 1921: "Samuel McClemens and Judel Samon went up to the Packers Peak Lookout Station on Saturday. Mr. McClemens will be the Lookout up there for this season. Once a Lookout, always a Lookout---otherwise Mr. McClemens would not want to serve after his experience near Sisson last season when his station was struck by lightning and he nearly lost his life in the fire that followed the bolt. It was his second experience of that kind." (Blue Lake Advocate)
October 6, 1921: "W. McClemmons, lookout at Packer's peak this season, has returned to his home at Callahan. The lookout is only kept at this station during the months when the air is smoky, as nearly all the country seen from Packer's peak can be watched from the Shasta or Eddy's gulch lookout stations." (Siskiyou Daily News)
October 15, 1921: "W. McClemmons, Lookout at Packers Peak this season, has returned to his home at Callahan. The Lookout is only kept at this station during the months when the air is smoky, as nearly all the country seen from Packers Peak can be watched from the Shasta or Eddys Gulch lookout stations." (Blue Lake Advocate)
June 22, 1922: "Jacob Lechinski, formerly of Etna, is to be stationed at the Packer's peak lookout station during the season beginning July 1." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 6, 1922: "Ranger V. V. McReynolds accompanied by Jacob Leschinski arrived at Cecilville Saturday enroute for Packers' Peak, where Mr. Leschinski will be stationed as lookout for the season." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 7, 1922: "Jacob Leschinski passed through Cecilville the last day of June on his way to the Packer's Peak lookout, where he will be stationed during the season.
The position of lookout at Packer's Peak is difficult to fill, as the station is one of the most isolated in the forest, and it is seldom a lookout returns to this lonely spot for the second year." (Santa Cruz Evening News)
September 2, 1922: "A severe hailstorm, followed by an extreme drop in temperature at the Packers Peak Lookout Station on the Trinity-Siskiyou county line last week, proves that the weather man has his dates somewhat mixed. The storm was accompanied by lightning and heavy thunder. Four inches of hail fell and thick ice formed on the water during the night. During the storm all the surrounding peaks were whitened with snow." (Blue Lake Advocate)
October 19, 1922: "Jacob Leschinski, lookout at Packers peak this summer, left for Scott valley via Crawford creek a few days ago." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 26, 1923: "Jacob Leschinski used the last of his private snow bank on July 19 and now has to carry water from a spring a long distance from the lookout. Up hill, too." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 26, 1923: "Miss Hallie Daggett, forest lookout stationed at the head of Eddy's gulch, and Mrs. H. A. Ball visited the Packer's Peak lookout the first of the week, the trip being partly in the nature of a vacation and partly for the purpose of acquainting the Eddy's gulch lookout with the country to be seen from her station.
Although the two lookout stations are but 17 miles apart in an airline, it takes three long days to make the round trip from one to the other on horseback, but in spite of the difficulties and fatigue every moment of the journey was enjoyable, for the trail between the two peaks passes through a well watered and beautiful part of the Klamath forest.
The Eddy's Gulch lookout station, at an elevation of over 6000 feet overlooks considerable territory and the view from it is beautiful, but the nearby mountain ranges on three sides of it obstruct the more distant view. Packer's Peak, with its additional 2000 feet of altitude, rises above the rims of these ranges and in consequence the views from it are magnificent.
From the glass cupola of the Packer's peak station, which is perched on a rocky pinnacle two or three feet from the edge of a sheer precipice, Mt. Shasta is visible down to its foothills. Towards the west the Coast Range mountains are dimly outlined with row on row of mountain ranges between it and the peak. Toward the north the Eddy's Gulch station can be seen with Tanner's peak and several mountain ranges on past it. But while the view of Mt. Shasta is magnificent, it is really surpassed by the Sawtoothed mountains and Thompson's peak lying toward the south, partly because they are near to Packer's peak and their fantastic outlines are distinct against the sky and partly because their wonderful coloring is not destroyed by distance.
Jacob Leschinsky is stationed at Packer's Peak and, being a nature lover, finds compensation for the loneliness of his post, which, being in a remote part of the forest and accessible only by a precipitous trail, does not tempt many travelers to go this way. The hours Miss Daggett and Mrs. Ball spent at Packer's Peak proved very interesting, but perhaps the reviving cup of hot tea and a delectable mince pie will be remembered when some of the other things are forgotten." (Siskiyou Daily News)
September 15, 1923: "Asst. Ranger Bernard Sullivan paid this district an official visit last week. He went up to the Packer's Peak lookout while here." (Blue Lake Advocate)
October 6, 1923: "An electric storm passed over Packer's Peak, Siskiyou county, with an accompaniment of thunder and lightning. A heavy shower ended with a precipitation of hail that whitened the mountains like snow.
The electric storms in this district usually center around Packer's Peak, and while they last Jacob Leschinsky, forest service lookout, is treated to some awe-inspiring displays of lightning.
The tiny lookout building is anchored to the solid rock of the peak by steel cables, to keep it from blowing off of the cliff, which rises sheer for several hundred feet on the Rush creek side.
When the lightning conductor on the building distributes the bolts that otherwise would demolish the structure, the electricity runs down these cables in shining bead-like drops. A beautiful thing to see, but at the same time nerve-racking." (Stockton Daily Evening Record)
July 5, 1924: "Charles Talcott has gone to Big Flat and will brush out the trail between the flat and the lookout station on Packers Peak. He will also do fire patrol and ride to the station once each day in order to look over the country visible from the lookout cupola." (Blue Lake Advocate)
July 12, 1924: "Talcott at Big Flat has to go to the Lookout at 6 A.M. each day and it takes two hours to make the trip." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. III, 1921-1930)
October 2, 1924: "Miles Neilon returned from Sawyers Bar early this week and went to Big flat to move the Packer's Peak lookout to Crawford creek." (Siskiyou Daily News)
October 9, 1924: "Charles Talcott, lookout at Packer's Peak this summer, is at the Crawford creek ranger station." (Siskiyou Daily News)
August 21, 1926: "Last week Willie Gray carried supplies up to Jas. E. Olsen on the Ironside Lookout station. Gray is an old hand at that sort of thing as he used to carry the mail to Hoopa years ago." (Blue Lake Advocate)
September 11, 1926: "Samuel R. Wallace of the forest service left Thursday for Packer's peak, where they are building a lookout house." (Blue Lake Advocate)
September 23, 1926: "Left Crawford Creek with pack train of sand and cement for foundation of Packers Peak cabin for the Lookout. (The cabin was actually at Big Bend Meadow.) Built the cabin and moved in on the night of the 25th of September. Closed it for the winter on September 27th." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. III, 1921-1930)
October 5, 1929: "Louis Roff, lookout stationed at Packer's Peak, shot a fat buck last week, his brother, Harlan Roff, packed the meat down to Lakeview." (Blue Lake Advocate)
June 19, 1930: "Louis Roff was stationed on Packer's Peak last summer. Henry Duvol is to be the lookout on the peak this season." (Siskiyou Daily News)
August 7, 1930: "Henry Duvol, lookout at Packers peak, was in Cecilville after mail and supplies Wednesday. Duvol is recovering from severe bruises received when a horse he was leading down the mountain stumbled and fell on him." (Siskiyou daily News)
June 11, 1931: "Henry Duval has moved to Black gulch. He is working on the trails in that vicinity, but will move up to the Packer's Peak lookout station the first of July." (Siskiyou Daily News)
July 17, 1931: "On the 17th went to Packers Peak Lookout 6:30 A.M. Made visibility map. Helped Duvall put in new window glass and repair ceiling." (Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest, Vol. IV, 1931-1940)