[Eric Willhite]

[Snowbrushy]

Thank you Eric. That was a fun story by Helen Rudy, from 1943. I hiked to Surprise Lake once in April with my scout troop. I didn't know about a lookout above. I was just concerned about staying warm and dry in the Spring snow. Helen Rudy wrote, "I hope the Forest Service will call on us. My sincere hope, however, is that such substitutions will not long be necessary and that the men who love the mountains and belong in them will soon be back. Until then, this is - Surprise clearing." During WWII the lookouts were used as enemy aircraft warning posts. The Japanese were also floating balloons across the ocean to burn down our woods. The men were fighting overseas.

[Snowbrushy]

A neighboring mountain, Evergreen, was manned even in the winter. The volunteer later wrote that he was mostly only listening for enemy aircraft because the lookout was fogged in for many months. He was living in a cloud and couldn't see anything. http://www.recreation.gov/camping/evergreen-mountain-lookout/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=75017

[Quark]

A delightful writeup! She has a great sense of humor and fun writing style! The mention of large cans of food was also in Doug Neumann's lookout logbook from Green Mtn in 1969 - he was very tired of canned peaches, and because it was so incredibly hot that summer, they weren't very appetizing by Day 3. And her feeling of loneliness was also described by Martha Hardy in her book about the Tatoosh lookout. This is a wonderful read - can't wait for more!

[Magellan]

Outstanding rediscovery and write up, Eric!