Preservation with a Purpose: A Volunteer’s Tale


March 23, 2017

By Kelly Sanderbeck, WNPF Donor Development Manager

Chris Scranton first came to Olympic National Park in 1972 after participating in a Student Conservation Association program in the North Cascades. During the summers of 1973 through 1977, he worked as a fire guard at Lake Crescent and then as a backcountry ranger in Seven Lakes Basin. The first summer at Lake Crescent he asked a ranger where he would recommend he take his first hike and, without hesitation, the ranger said to go up the Long Ridge Trail to Dodger Point. Since that first hike Chris has headed up every summer for 44 years in a row!

Historic photo of the lookoutThe Dodger Point Lookout is the last remaining fire lookout on the Olympic Peninsula and is on the National Historic Register. To get to it, you start in the Elwha Valley and climb the Long Ridge Trail 5,000 vertical feet over 13 miles. Constructed by the US Forest Service Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, the Lookout predates the creation of the park in 1938 and has all the fire-finding equipment intact from a bygone era, including an Osborne Fire Finder (a type of alidade — a device that allows one to sight a distant object and use the line of sight to perform a task — used by fire lookouts to find a directional bearing to smoke to alert fire crews to a wildland fire.) And the old phone still rings when you crank it!

“I have never missed a year visiting this special place. In the late 70s the roof of the Lookout started to leak and I organized a work party and packed shingles, nails, tar paper, etc. up to put on a new roof. I have packed gallons of paint to the Lookout and painted it on at least three occasions. Over the years I have made too many repairs to list. For the past six years, I have combined my annual trip with a marmot survey under the supervision of the Olympic National Park’s biologist. In 1998 (partly due to urging by me) Olympic National Park sent a work crew to renovate the cabin. That made a huge difference.”

In the past few summers, Chris has noted that one of the comers of the Lookout is starting to buckle. Without needed repairs the cabin will be lost, along with its historic significance.

At the recommendation of the park superintendent, the Dodger Point Lookout has been chosen to be part of this year’s Fund-A-Need at our annual Spring Dinner & Auction on April 22. 

While Olympic National Park has received some funds from the National Park Service to rehabilitate the Lookout, additional funding is sorely needed to complete the project. Park staff hope to begin the work this summer. Due to the park’s wilderness designation, work must be completed with minimal tools which are brought onto the site by stock only, no helicopters. Some trail work will be needed to complete the process.  An estimated $20,000 is needed to complete the upgrades.

The Lookout provides excellent vistas of the entire Elwha Valley and the high peaks in the eastern part of the park. “If you have not been to Dodger Point I would encourage you to go. The view is spectacular with the Bailey Range and Mount Olympus looming to the west,” says Chris. “I am very excited about the renovation, and look forward to continuing to volunteer to restore the Lookout to its original state as one of our country’s historic landmarks.”

This summer, Chris will be making his 45th annual trip to Dodger Point to conduct marmot surveys for the Olympic National Park biologist. Although they live in Oregon, he and his wife of 35 years, Pam, spend several months each year camping and at their Olympic retreat. (They met 37 years ago, working in Olympic National Park as seasonal back country rangers.)

“As you can see my life has centered around the Olympics.  Both my boys worked for the park, and it is the place more than any other that I would call my home.”

THANK YOU, CHRIS!  May you have many, many more years at Dodger Point Lookout.