Sand Mountain is the highest point (5460’) in the Sand Mountain
Volcanic Alignment near Santiam Pass in the Oregon Cascades. The
Volcanic Alignment, which consists of more than 20 cinder cones and
¾ cubic mile of lava, represents some of Oregon’s most recent
volcanic activity. Sand Mountain lavas dammed the headwaters of the
McKenzie River to form Clear Lake, drowning a forest well preserved
by the icy cold waters of the lake.
Sand Mountain pyroclastics act as a giant filter for rain and
snowmelt, which slowly moves underground until it emerges in a
giant, cold spring in Clear Lake. The McKenzie River, known for its
cool temperatures, issues from this spring.
The drowned forest in Clear Lake provides ideal material from
which to determine the age of the Alignment through carbon dating.
Sand Mountain volcanoes date back to roughly 2,500 years—very
fresh stuff in geologic time!
|
Volcanic activity began at the north end of the Alignment
and spread south along a fissure. Saywer’s Ice Cave is
located in a Sand Mountain lava flow at the north end of the
Alignment, and Sahalie Falls tumbles over one of the
southernmost flows (newest lavas). This south-moving trend
continued in the subsequent Belknap volcanism.
While these landmarks of the Alignment are well-known due
to there proximity to Highway 126, the cinder cones that cap
the Alignment are less well-known, and yet they offer
beautiful volcanic slopes with a remarkable array of
wildflowers and stunning views of the Central Oregon Cascades
from Mt. Hood to Diamond Peak.
The Sand Mountain area is also rich in pioneer and Forest
Service history. The area is still accessed by traveling the
historic Santiam Wagon Road west from Big Lake. Sand Mountain
was a landmark for pioneers traveling along this road,
representing a notoriously difficult stretch of the Wagon Road
characterized by alternating soft volcanic soils and rugged
lava. |
Colorful, varying, and delicate cinder
fields characterize the scenic crater rims of the 22 cinder
cones in the Sand Mountain Volcanic Alignment (Three Sisters
in the background). SMS photo. |
At one time, segments that traveled over lava were ribbed with
wooden sections known as "corduroy" for their bumpy ride.
The Santiam Wagon Road passes through the heart of the Sand Mountain
Volcanic Alignment west to historic Fish Lake Remount Depot. At one
time a major way station for pioneer travelers, Fish Lake became the
field headquarters of the Santiam National Forest. C.C. Hall spent
summers at Fish Lake in log cabin that bears his name. As early as
1921, the Forest Service began staffing Sand Mountain as a fire
lookout. It’s sweeping view and strategic position along the
Cascade crest made it a valuable fire-spotting outpost.
At first a fire-plotting instrument was posted atop a wooden
pole, exposed to the elements. In 1932, a "grange hall"
style "L-4 model" lookout was erected on the summit of
South Sand Mountain. Ironically, this cabin survived the enormous
Airstrip Fire of 1967 only to burn down accidentally a year later
while the occupant was running errands in the town of Sisters on a
foggy evening. A road was punched to the top of the crater in 1968,
and a trailer placed there acted as a lookout for two seasons.
For the next 20 years Forest Service prevention guards used the
site as a "mobile" lookout point during lightning storms
and periods of high fire danger.
The fire of 1967 burned all the way to the crest of the Alignment
before the winds changed, blowing it back the other way. In the
aftermath, the flats to the east of the Alignment were opened-up by
salvage logging and then firewood cutters. It was about this time
that dirt bikes first started using the area. As woodcutters opened
the ground, and the technology of dirt bikes "improved,"
use of these early ATVs spread up to Sand Mountain. The soft
volcanic slopes of the cinder cones (as well as the numerous ash
deposits which characterize the Alignment) were hammered hard and
virtually unchecked for 20 years.
|
|
|
Sand Mountain Lookout was restored to the
summit of South Sand Mountain in 1989 after a 20-year absence.
The model partnership between the Sand Mountain Society and
the Willamette National Forest is still protecting the area
today while offering interpretive services to the public. SMS
photo. |
The Sand Mountain Society (SMS) was formed in 1987 by a
group of concerned citizens who felt that this off-road
recreation was inappropriate for and destructive to the
terrain of the Sand Mountain Volcanic Alignment.
Forest Service officials agreed, and they designated Sand
Mountain a Geologic Special Interest Area with attendant
protections. In 1989 a partnership between the SMS and the
McKenzie Ranger District was formed to restore a fire lookout
to the summit of South Sand Mountain to be staffed by
volunteers to help enforce administrative protections and
provide interpretive services to the public.
Together the SMS and the Forest Service relocated an
abandoned fire lookout from Whisky Peak in southern Oregon,
which was kindly donated by the Rogue River National Forest.
The venerable old building was carefully dismantled and
bundled by SMS volunteers, airlifted by helicopter to a nearby
landing courtesy of the Siskiyou National Forest helitack
crew, and conveyed in a U-Haul to and the summit of South Sand
Mountain where the SMS and McKenzie Ranger District employees
painstakingly restored it.
|
In the end, windows that had been stored in the back of a
warehouse were donated by the Deschutes National Forest (an employee
who had been told to "get rid of them" had stashed them
away for some future use!). The SMS and USFS shared funding for the
project.
The Umpqua National Forest also chipped-in with some furniture.
This was a group effort in the truest sense of the term.
The Sand Mountain effort was well-documented in the media, and
the work of the Sand Mountain Society has been featured among other
places in: Sunset Magazine; the Oregonian; Eugene Register-Guard;
Bend Bulletin; Albany Democrat-Herald; Grants Pass Daily-Courier,
and many more.
|
In the spirit of partnership and preservation, the SMS
continues in the area of historic rehabilitation on NRHP-eligible
structures. As an organization we have logged thousands of
hours assisting or leading projects at: Pearsoll Peak Lookout
(Siskiyou N.F.); Pechuck Lookout (Oregon Department of
Forestry); Sisi Lookout (salvage on Mt. Hood N.F.);
Huckleberry Lookout (Willamette N.F.); Carpenter Mountain
Lookout (Willamette N.F.); Fish Lake Guard Station (Willamette
N.F.); and currently at Gold Butte Lookout (Willamette N.F.);
just to name a few. Along the way, the SMS has donated tens of
thousands of dollars and volumes of salvaged materials to the
restoration of public buildings throughout the state.
|
SMS volunteer Chad Tracy
cleans tape residue from original glass on restored windows at
Gold Butte Lookout. All 76 panes of glass were labeled and
then removed during the "off-season" so that paint
could be stripped from the window frames and damaged
components replaced. Later, each pane of glass was returned to
its original location. SMS photo. |
