Page 120 - Flathead Living Fall 2014

48o north
Erecting the frame of the Heaven's Peak Lookout on its rock foundation in 1945.
still, the stabilization project took place in proposed wilderness and required an environmental analysis and review process, due in part to its need for helicopter sup- port not permitted by the Wilderness act.
Former glacier national park superin- tendent Chas Cartwright disagreed with opponents of the project who complained that it did not fall within the mission of the national park service and was inferior to the spirit of a wilderness designation.
“The heaven’s peak lookout is not only an integral part of glacier’s cultural legacy, but also contributes to the unique character of the park’s wilderness landscape,” Cart- wright said in response.
albert h. good, editor of the national park service’s 1938 book “park struc- tures and Facilities,” was the architect for the structure. good’s design for heav- en’s peak put into practice his suggestion
to use native rock for lookouts on promi- nent points, “especially if, when located on a rocky summit, the structure is blended to it and made to appear to grow out of it.”
“Designed and constructed to merge with the rugged backcountry terrain, the lookout has become part of the heaven’s peak wilderness setting and contributes historical value to the overall wilderness character of the park,” according to the park service.
under the guidance of project manager Jack polzin, whose backcountry carpentry chops Cartwright characterized as hav- ing “done more for historic preservation in glacier national park than anyone else,” the stabilization began in July 2011 and wrapped up over the labor Day weekend.
The project did not include blazing a new trail, and visitation to the lookout will likely not see an uptick, polzin said.
accessing the lookout requires a chal- lenging climb and treacherous bushwhack from the east side of the mountain from packer’s roost. The west side approach is mostly by trail to Camas lake, but the trail is overgrown and tenuous. From Camas lake, a hiker then has to scramble up 1,500 feet of rock and scree to the lookout site. still other routes require difficult climbs and route finding.
nonetheless, descendants of those origi- nal Cps crewmembers have visited the site in droves, and reunions were frequent until Daniel headings, one of the last original crewmembers, passed away two years ago.
“it was a life-changing event for some of these family members to come up here. Family and friends continue to come up over the ensuing decades, helping finan- cially and with labor to stabilize the site,” Cartwright said.
118 FLATHEAD LIVING | FALL 2014
PHoTo coUrTESy of THE naTionaL Park SErvicE