Joeytier Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) Curiosity finally got the best of me. Every once in a while fishing one of a couple local lakes i would catch a glimpse of a monster fire tower on a huge plateau in the terrain. I spoke with a couple older guys that have lived there for years and were unable to find the trail. Apparently it hadn't been used in over 30 years, which made me reallly interested. The mapping software on my GPS had a point labelled 'fire' approximately where I figured the tower would be, so that would be my first hunch. I got as close as I could on the machine through some barely visible long forgotten logging roads and bushwhacked my way to the waypoint, only to find a beautiful bluff rock with a pretty great view and a very old foundation of some sort of old cedar lookout structure. Lo and behold, I see the tower...not quite as close as I thought it'd be... With such a great view I was easily able to determine which plateau the structure was on, and roughly which trail would get me the closest, so off we went.After another hour or so of slogging through some brutal trails I get an eyeball on it and know I'm actually heading towards it this time. We finally find the swamp at the base of the hill, park the big bear and make our way up the nearly vertical hill to reach the tower...not sure exactly how tall this monster is but it was tall enough to spook me who has never had a fear of heights, and my girlfriend never considered it even for a second... I finally made it to the top, and was welcomed with an extremely rickety, worn out structure complete with holes in the rotten wood and an old abandoned osprey nest. I could only imagine popping your head up and finding an angry momma osprey ready to protect her young... On top of that, there was about a 70 k sustained wind and thunderclouds all around me. But it really didn't matter, because the view was absolutely flabbergasting and 100% worth the journey. I enjoyed a Grolsch and my moment of zen then swiftly returned to the safety of hard ground. Anyone else have some fire tower hunting stories? Edited July 14, 2014 by Joeytier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Great story Joey but I can't see the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted July 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Me neither, not sure where I went wrong with the hyperlinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey buoy Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Me neither, not sure where I went wrong with the hyperlinking? Please try again,you now have my interest lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted July 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Working now, sorry folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Field Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Great pictures I've never gone fire tower hunting, only bar hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spincast Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 wow, cool reward for a great effort. Fantastic view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky or Specks Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 I wish they would do this with ONtario's old fire towers http://www.firelookout.org/lookout-rentals.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikeslayer Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Tenacious comes to mind. Pretty impressive hike Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushart Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Uhhh Ch'ya....the world...sheeza flat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carp Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Wonderful adventure. Great read. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 I went up the fire tower in the ganareska forest to see a girl!. My buddy was dating her and her summer job was the fire tower. Wasn't to windy but you could feel it sway. Don't think it's there anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Ya, did you ever slog to find 'er. That four wheeler is paying itself off quickly! Years ago me and my Dad visited a couple in the Boulter/Chisolm area. I was less than 10 years old, can't believe my Dad let me climb them. That cedar foundation is interesting. Any other relics near it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelheadphycho Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Wow what an awesome adventure! Wish there were fire towers in NE Ohio............ That would be fun! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pidge Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 That's pretty damm neat. Cudos to you for havin the guts to climb it. Neat story and pics. Pidge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I went up the fire tower in the ganareska forest to see a girl!. My buddy was dating her and her summer job was the fire tower. Wasn't to windy but you could feel it sway. Don't think it's there anymore. I guess that was the only way to be alone with your buddy's girlfriend?? Haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 In my 20's girls-dirt bikes,girls-fishing,girls-beer,girls-truck seem pretty normal to climb a fire tower to see a girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenboater Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 almost make you wanna haul up a bunch of 2 x's to rebuild the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave524 Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I spent a few weeks at the old Forest Ranger School south of Dorset for a spring camp while I was in school. It was still the Dept. of Lands and Forest back in the early 70's. Did the tower a few times that stood on the hill overlooking Lake St. Nora. I don't do heights well, surprising what a few drinks and peer pressure will get you to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I went up the fire tower in the ganareska forest to see a girl!. My buddy was dating her and her summer job was the fire tower. Wasn't to windy but you could feel it sway. Don't think it's there anymore. No, the tower is down, but the foundation is still there. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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