Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published June 2019

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Sagebrush Mountain is located northeast of the central Bighorn Crags. It has a fire lookout on its summit. USGS Bighorn Crags

Bing Young summarized the lookout’s history as follows:

Sagebrush lookout, at 7,147 feet, has long since been an important lookout in the Forest. On the 1918 map, Sagebrush was indicated as a lookout and it has been such ever since.

The residence was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest  lookout building still standing in the Forest. It was condemned in the rarest inventory of 1975 which claimed that the building “has deteriorated beyond the point of rehabilitation . . .  It is a pitiable place in which to house an employee.” The report concludes, saying, “This building is an eyesore and a safety hazard. If we are going to continue to man it, we should get it replaced as quickly as possible.”

In its inventory of the new River of No Return Wilderness Area, the Wilderness Planning Team has decided that the Sagebrush lookout building is a historic landmark both in construction and age, and they indicated that the current plan is to rebuild Sagebrush and continue to man it.

Part of the reason that Sagebrush was never rebuilt would seem to stem from the fact that Sagebrush has long since been just a marginal lookout. At times it has been a primary lookout; at others, simply a third line line or emergency lookout (when Gant Mountain and Hot Springs were going). But somehow Sagebrush has managed to defy the odds against it  and keep going, despite the many indications throughout the years that it would be discontinued.

Sagebrush does cover an extremely important area in the lower Panther Creek, Clear Creek, and Salmon River Canyon around Cove Creek; and always manages to pick up “just enough” fires to still remain a lookout. Sagebrush is located in the Bighorn Crags and can easily be three trails from Panther Creek. Dry Gulch Trail is the most recommended one, unless a person desires the more strenuous Garden Creek Trail. —Salmon National Forest Fire Lookouts by Bing Young 1982, Pages 33-34