The Sourdough Mountain Lookout is a fire lookout that was built by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

in 1933. Constructed atop Sourdough Mountain in North Cascades National Park, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, the lookout was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1989. An earlier lookout was erected at the site in 1917 but was torn down when the current lookout was constructed. The current structure was built atop a rock foundation and is by square. The walls are composed of shiplap siding and the structure is covered with a wood-shingled hip roof. Diagonally-braced plywood shutters could be swung open for observation in each direction. The structure is no longer used on a regular basis but is visited with some frequency by hikers and it is a hike to the cabin from the trailhead. During the summer of 1953, poet Gary Snyder worked at the location as a fire lookout while his friend and fellow poet

Philip Whalen Philip Glenn Whalen (October 20, 1923 – June 26, 2002) was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance and close to the Beat generation. Biography Born in Portland, Oregon, Whalen grew up in The Dalles fr ...

worked at Sauk Mountain Lookout.''Beat Culture Lifestyles, Icons, and Impact'' edited by William Lawlor, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005 page 241. Snyder's poem "Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout" is based on his time there as is his poem "August on Sourdough, A Visit from Dick Brewer." Snyder's time at Sourdough Mountain Lookout is said to have provided the "seed experience for the poetry he is best known for: language full of the raw, playful wit that reflects the granite ridges where he worked and watched and wrote." Two years later Snyder was blacklisted by the Forest Service from working another season at Sourdough Mountain so Whalen took his place as the lookout. While there Whalen wrote "Sourdough Mountain Lookout," one of his "most enduring poems." The poem references Whalen's work as a lookout along with "musings on rocks, insects, animals, and weather." In August 2023, the lookout was wrapped in fire-proof material to mitigate potential damage caused by the nearby Sourdough Fire.

References

External links

"Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout" by Gary Snyder

"August on Sourdough, A Visit from Dick Brewer" by Gary Snyder

"Sourdough Mountain Lookout" by Philip Whalen
{{National Register of Historic Places Fire lookout towers on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Towers completed in 1933 Buildings and structures in Whatcom County, Washington Aircraft Warning Service National Register of Historic Places in North Cascades National Park Civilian Conservation Corps in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Whatcom County, Washington 1933 establishments in Washington (state)