LEWIS & CLARK COUNTY
SENTINEL MOUNTAIN
Flathead National Forest
19N-11W-11
19N-11W-11
September 24, 1937: "After an interesting and instructive summer spent on a forest lookout in western Montana, Frank Bailey, returned Wednesday, Sept. 15, to resume his studies in the Carter county high school.
The lookout which was in the Flathead forest required a 70-mile journey into the forest by airplane from Kalispell. Ten other forest employees made the plane trip with young Bailey to the Big Prairie ranger station. From there they each went to their respective lookouts. Frank had a further trip of 10 miles by pack train to reach his cabin which was known as the Sentinel lookout. Here in a cabin 14x14 he watched for fires day after day with only two visits from human beings in the full 12 weeks period.
A pack train took in his food for the full summer. Everything in the way of eatables was in cans, except bacon and eggs. The latter kept in a very good state of preservation, although there was no storage cellar. Cold nights and mountain air kept all eatables in good condition. For water, he went 2 1/4 miles down the mountain and there secured it from a stream. This he carried in a canvas sack on his back, 40 pounds in weight, back to his mountain home.
He had plenty of wildlife for company for he saw bears, deer, and elk from his window. The blue grouse grew so tame they came into his cabin whenever the door was left open.
The summer was an unusually good one for the forest service for there were very few fires. Frank sighted only two and those occurred on the day that he left the lookout while making the journey from the mountain. This was the second summer for Frank on the lookout and he plans to return to the same work next year." (The Ekalaka Eagle)
The lookout which was in the Flathead forest required a 70-mile journey into the forest by airplane from Kalispell. Ten other forest employees made the plane trip with young Bailey to the Big Prairie ranger station. From there they each went to their respective lookouts. Frank had a further trip of 10 miles by pack train to reach his cabin which was known as the Sentinel lookout. Here in a cabin 14x14 he watched for fires day after day with only two visits from human beings in the full 12 weeks period.
A pack train took in his food for the full summer. Everything in the way of eatables was in cans, except bacon and eggs. The latter kept in a very good state of preservation, although there was no storage cellar. Cold nights and mountain air kept all eatables in good condition. For water, he went 2 1/4 miles down the mountain and there secured it from a stream. This he carried in a canvas sack on his back, 40 pounds in weight, back to his mountain home.
He had plenty of wildlife for company for he saw bears, deer, and elk from his window. The blue grouse grew so tame they came into his cabin whenever the door was left open.
The summer was an unusually good one for the forest service for there were very few fires. Frank sighted only two and those occurred on the day that he left the lookout while making the journey from the mountain. This was the second summer for Frank on the lookout and he plans to return to the same work next year." (The Ekalaka Eagle)