Skiing in Oregon's Outback: Hager Mountain Fire Lookout
South, to dry sagebrush and dusty ponderosa pines. South, to basalt outcroppings and brilliant blue skies. South, following the Oregon Outback Scenic Byway from La Pine through the Deschutes National Forest, tracing U.S. Route 97 then southeast along Oregon Route 31. Here, far removed from the verdant lushness of the Pacific Northwest coast, Hager Mountain stands 7195 feet tall, a stone arrowhead rising from the wide open country of the Great Basin. Created by dome-building volcanic eruptions about 8 million years ago, the lone peak is ringed by its volcanic cousins: Mount Shasta to the south, the Sisters, Mount Bachelor, and Broken Top to the northwest, Mount Hood to the north.
Through sheer persistence and some luck, I was finally able to obtain a reservation at the fire lookout perched atop Hager Mountain-- which, unusually for USFS recreational fire lookout rentals, is open for reservations only in the wintertime. I had previously scouted the terrain through Caltopo.com, trip reports, and YouTube videos, and the area surrounding the fire lookout seemed to offer some fun backcountry skiing options. Although our reservation was for late March 2021, I was optimistic that given the elevation of 7195 feet, we'd still find enough snow to ski.
The one-horse town of Silver Lake -- "no silver, no lake, just good people"-- has a single motel, the Silver Lake Mercantile & Motel, where we stayed the night before starting our lookout adventure. The lake itself is a dry basin that can fill with water in the wetter seasons, but rarely does. Silver Lake is about 9 miles, or a half hour drive, from the Hager Mountain trailhead (the city of Bend, Oregon, is about 90 minutes away.)
The roads - East Bay Road aka County Road 4-12, which turns into Forest Road 28-- were paved and snow-free all the way to the trailhead, which is a pullout on your left as you head south on Forest Road 28. The pullout is at milepost 9. As we drove towards the trailhead, Hager Mountain loomed impressively before us-- it was so impressive that we pulled over and took pictures. Hard to believe we would be on top of it!
The trail (#160 or Fremont National Recreation Trail) was clearly signed and extremely well-marked with blue blazes (some with helpfully pointing arrows), white Fremont National Recreation Trail blazes, and the occasional orange pole. There are also 2 wooden signs en route to mark junctions and each sign clearly states the direction of travel and the mileage. We began our trek to the fire lookout with overnight packs fully loaded with the necessities plus a few small luxuries. The first 2.5 miles or so of the trail were snow-free or with only small patches of snow, so we also carried our skis and ski boots on our packs. I estimate that my pack weighed over 40 lbs.- but the sunshine, cloudless blue sky, and cool temperatures however made the slow trudge much more pleasant than I anticipated!
The path begins by winding gently uphill through large widely spaced pines, a cushy carpet of pine needles underfoot. The trail approaches Hager Mountain's summit somewhat circuitously, passing through forest and gradually if steadily gaining elevation. Somewhere in miles 2-3 (after the first wooden sign) there was a long continuous stretch of shaded, snow-covered trail - but we gambled that the trail would soon break out of the trees and become snow-free.
Our gamble paid off since as we began the final mile to the lookout, we encountered bare dirt and open slopes. Once the trail reentered the woods below the bare rock of the summit, it once again was thoroughly snow-covered. A well-beaten path in the snow was firm enough to support our weight in trail runners, without much if any post-holing. Tempted as we were to transition to skinning, we opted to continue carrying our loads as we pushed onwards. The final stretch of trail traverses a slope below the lookout before wrapping around past a rocky hillock almost directly north of the lookout and then finally ascending to the plateau area where the lookout, the woodshed, the propane storage shed and the outhouse are located. We skipped this section and opted to don our ski boots to climb straight up the slope to the lookout, kicking steps into the snow, excited to arrive. A final sweaty heave and we were at the fire lookout, enjoying the expansive 360 degree views.
For ski tours we explored in different directions each day. Fortunately at the top of Hager Mountain there was still an estimated 4-6 feet of snow in the trees and enough snow on the open slopes to ski them. (The lookout was blasted by ferocious winds each evening and the snow surrounding it on its summit plateau was not only windswept but also melted out in spots by the sun.)
For our first ski tour on the day of our arrival (Friday) we reconnoitered along the forest service road that goes to the lookout, since it provided a nice downhill ramp, then bushwhacked to a small rocky knob we had seen on our right just before we ascended the sharp switchbacks of the trail, just before that final slope below the lookout. We skied from this knob down through the trees then hiked back up to the trail and worked our way back to the lookout.
The next day's tour began at a leisurely hour in order to give the sun time to soften the snow: daytime temperatures were in the 30s and it was much colder and very windy overnight. We descended from the summit of Hager Mountain heading northeasterly, then more easterly through the trees which were initially nicely spaced and quite large. The slope angle steepened and the forest eventually became dense enough that we decided to transition-- 1200 feet later we were back at the lookout for lunch after a hard slog uphill.
The second tour on Saturday we wandered due north, past the rocky hillock, which turned out to connect to another lower rocky outcropping before finally dropping down to a saddle which connected to a ridgeline we could see in the distance from the lookout. The ridgeline was completely snow-free on its west-facing side but intriguingly snowy on its northeast-facing side. This zone was dotted with trees and had mellow slope angles. The glades here and the soft, deep snow made for a really fun tour - possibly my favorite of our trip. With the approach of twilight we skinned back to the lookout.
To exit on Sunday we had to contend with very hard snow since we didn't have time to wait for the blazing high desert sun to soften it for us. We decided that the best ski route out was not along the hiking trail with its long traverse on the west slope below the lookout but to first descend along the forest service road, then at its lower switchback enter the woods, bushwhack along our first ski tour's tracks and regain the hiking trail just before its sharp series of switchbacks, near the small knob we had skied off of previously. This worked out well especially with heavy packs although it did require some side stepping and bushwhacking. We then skied near the trail until the snow petered out, covering about a mile on skis. The final hike out was surprisingly fast with the aid of gravity and the weather was extremely pleasant. I can't wait to return to Hager Mountain lookout, perhaps in midwinter, and experience it again!
Video showing the fire lookout
Photo album
What's in the Lookout
- 3 bunks
- Propane stove with working oven
- wood-burning stove for heat with a large pot for melting snow
- center table for the Osborne fire finder (the device itself is gone)
- Cabinets containing tools, supplies, some kitchenware and utensils, matches, cleaning supplies like bleach wipes, candles
- 2 propane-powered lights attached to the walls
- 2 battery-powered lanterns
- 2 "stools" made out of tree stumps
- shelf of books and games
- artwork and notes from previous guests
- clothesline with clothes pins
- Pretty good cell phone service with Verizon- we were able to call, Facetime, and surf the internet, even streamed Sirius XM to a portable speaker
- there was a small amount of toilet paper when we visited but it seemed to have been left by previous guests rather than supplied by the US Forest Service
- woodshed has tools for splitting wood into kindling - their edges were pitted and dull though, so Jim filed them with the file he brought. Very well-stocked with split firewood.
Resources
- Recreation.gov's Hager Mountain fire lookout listing
- Fremont-Winema National Forest's Hager Mountain fire lookout page
- Oregon State road conditions
- Weather forecast.
- My Strava tracking for the ski out:
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