Try a night in a fire lookout tower

Summer in Big Bear Lake, Calif., always offers cool mountain air and perfect temperatures for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and water sports. But this area also offers one of the most unusual outdoor experiences in the West -- a night in a fire lookout tower with an unsurpassed view of the San Bernardino Mountains and every star in the Southern California sky.

My daughter Charlotte and I drove up to Big Bear for a couple of days to meet some friends, including old pal Bryan Scofield, meteorologist from KTNV-TV, Channel 13. He had invited us and a couple of others to join him up at the Morton Peak Fire Lookout for a story he was doing for the station.

This lookout tower is unique, the only one in the area where a member of the general public can arrange an overnight stay. It sounded like a great weekend getaway from Southern Nevada, even a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yet I was too nervous about camping at the top of a high tower with no back door should something bigger, hungrier or meaner than me or my daughter come up the front steps. So we arranged to make a daytime visit only.

We found the turn-off for the lookout, and it was all uphill from there. Thanks to our high-clearance vehicle with its good off-road tires, we never had to shift into four-wheel drive, but it was comforting to have in case the weather turned.

The nonprofit San Bernardino National Forest Association operates seven fire lookouts in the San Bernardino National Forest, staffed by a crew of about 280 volunteers. After about 20 hours of training in interpretation, natural history, operations and a hands-on "in-tower" instruction day, volunteers can pick which lookout they want to work at. They need to make a commitment of at least eight hours a month.

"Volunteers become very passionate about their fire lookout," said George Morey, fire lookout host program coordinator. The fire lookout hosts, as the volunteers are all called, educate visitors on the history of the lookouts and forest ecology. They also make necessary repairs and upgrades and keep an eye out for fires.

When we arrived at the peak, we found several volunteers busy at work. A few of them were installing a water guzzler for area wildlife. Set into the ground between two pine trees, the heavy black plastic tub was about the size of a small baby pool in width, but deeper. This guzzler would supply some additional water for area wildlife, which in this area includes bobcats, mule deer, mountain lions and bears. Volunteers carry the water up the mountain to refill the guzzler.

The lookout building itself is about 14 feet square with glass windows surrounding each side, and rises about 30 feet off the ground, accessed by sturdy stairs and railings. There is a single bed that Charlotte assured me was comfortable, and a trundle bed that pulls out from beneath the single, but there is also plenty of room for an extra guest or two on the floor.

"It's more like a steel tree house than Trump Tower, but the views are captivating," Scofield said.

Jeff Palmquist, leader of Morton Peak's 15 volunteers, was on site that day and said besides taking care of his volunteer duties, he comes up here with his wife and children to stay overnight a couple times of year.

"My family likes it because it's so peaceful, and sometimes when the moon is out, it's so bright you don't even need a flashlight," he said.

The lookout was built in 1934. A fire destroyed the building in 1959, but it was quickly replaced in 1960. There was a time during the '70s when it was thought new spotting techniques had made the lookout obsolete, so the cab fell into disrepair and was repeatedly vandalized. But later, for historical value and a way to educate visitors on the forest service and fire lookout program, plans were made to fix up the old tower. Thanks to a $5,000 grant and plenty of elbow grease from the volunteers, it was totally refurbished, opening again in 2001. It once again stands well-maintained and stately atop the peak.

You will find some interesting and useful items in the lookout. One of the most important is the Osborne Firefinder, which sits front and center in the cab, used to pinpoint fires using vertical and horizontal readings. There is also a wonderful scrapbook of old photos documenting the refurbishing, a high-powered telescope and plenty of reference books on wildlife. But it's the view that will take your breath away.

At 4,624 feet, the lookout's perch is not as high as some others, but it has the advantage of standing on its own peak, offering panoramic views. To the east lie Mill Creek Canyon, San Bernardino Peak and Galena Peak. To the west are the San Gabriel Mountains. With binoculars and a detailed map you can find the three other fire lookouts in this area -- Strawberry, Keller and Butler Peak.

We weren't staying over, but we did hang around until sunset. As we waited, Charlotte played chess with one of our friends at the picnic table. The rest of us checked out a tarantula that had been hanging around all afternoon and talked to a man who had biked up the steep hill to see the sunset.

That sunset was worth his effort, a colorful mix of reds, pinks and orange, bringing out an even better color spectrum in the mountains that lay below, blending the colored sky light with the earth tones until every shade of green imaginable was there at once. Then, like all the best sunsets, it hastened away too soon.

We headed back to Big Bear Lake, more than satisfied with our day at the fire tower. Charlotte and I went to bed in a small yet cozy cabin. And as we lay there warm and safe, I no longer thought about how nervous I might have been had we stayed in that fire cabin at the top of the long stairs. I drifted to sleep wishing I were doing so under the stars at Morton Peak.