EISPIRATEN

MOUNT ISLIP

Los Angeles County Forestry Department

September 17, 1927: "A gigantic steel lookout tower will be installed on Mount Islip in Angeles National Forest, County Forester S.D. Turner announced here today.
The tower, located at an elevation of 8,000 feet, will command a view of the Angeles forest and the reaches of the San Gabriel river, and will augment the present outpost station on Mount Gleason.
Steel for the tower will be hauled ten miles by mule pack train from the end of the nearest road, it was said." (Bakersfield Californian)

September 23, 1927: "Work has begun on two fire prevention projects in the Sierra Madre range by the Los Angeles county forestry department, under the direction of Spence D. Turner. These are the erection of a steel lookout tower on the peak of Mt. Islip at an elevation of 8,240 feet, and the construction of a 100-foot wide baseline firebreak from the mouth of the San Antonio canyon west to San Dimas canyon.
The Mount Islip lookout will command a view of nearly all of the Angeles forest reserve in the eastern portion of the county, including all forks of the San Gabriel canyon. It is almost due north of Coldbrook camp. It also has an uninterupted view of the north slope into the Antelope valley. The lookout will be connected by telephone lines, both from the San Gabriel canyon and from Antelope valley points." (Covina Argus)

June 29, 1928: "Affording direct observations of portions of the Angeles forest formerly covered only by direct vision from the Baldy, San Dimas, Mt. Wilson, Sister Elsie and Mt. Gleason lookouts, the new tower on Mt. Islip is a big asset to Los Angeles county forestry department, according to P.K. Carter, warden in charge of the San Jose division of the department. From this new tower, which is at an elevation of 240 feet, direct vision is obtained over the entire Big Creek drainage and over the upper portion of the Little Rock drainage on the north side of Mt. Waterman. Direct vision is obtained over the lower end of Pinyon ridge where the automobile road starts up the long grade to Big Pines park. A view is also obtained of a limited area on the west slope of Baldy.
A clear and uninterrupted view may be had of the north fork of the San Gabriel from Pine Flats and Crystal Lake clear through to the junction of the east and west forks, and on down the main San Gabriel as far as Browns Flats. Bear canyon, one of the heaviest brush fields of the Angeles forest and heretofore not in the vision of any tower, is looked into directly into from the new Islip station. The entire west fork from Camp Rincon to the Strudevant trail is also covered direct.
Long distance shots may be had of portions of the Leonis valley and the top and upper sides of Liebre and Sawmill mountains." (Covina Argus)

January 1929: 'An exceptionally difficult task performed during the year was the erection of a lookout tower and cabin on the summit of Mount Islip, at an elevation of 8,240 feet. All the steel and other material used in this job had to be packed on muleback or by man power over a distance of 9 miles, up a grade of more than 7,000 feet." (The Forest Worker)

Slowest_Hiker wrote: ↑A couple years ago, we popped up on the Islip summit and were surprised to see several mules and horses. The group of people sitting on the lookout footings introduced themselves as USFS and ANF Fire Lookout Association representatives and told us they had just decided that the next lookout to be built would be on Islip. They asked us to take their photo to commemorate the government having made a decision

Haven't heard or seen anything about it since then.

Knew I had seen these before...

Slowest_Hiker wrote: ↑The photos of me with the equines date the event at 18 July 2010, so post Station Fire.

HikeUp wrote: ↑Like I've always have said, it's what Taco pays us for!

Question, how about pictures of the long gone fire lookout tower?