Hornet (Peak) Lookout

[toddnick]

After staying in a wonderful fire lookout a few months ago near Sula, Montana, I started investigating the possibility of finding one I could reserve for a night near GNP for my upcoming trip this September. The best possibility seems to be Hornet Lookout....

http://www.recreation.gov/camping/Horne ... ampingSpot

It appears to be about 10 miles west of GNP (Kintla Lake appears to be almost directly east) in the Flathead Forest. Has anyone visited the peak or the lookout?? If so, what were your impressions??

Note: Edited by moderator to correct east/west error.

[Ear Mountain]

I haven't been to the Hornet Lookout but I have been up past that way. It's quite a few miles up the North Fork Road (gravel and rough) past Pole Bridge. The lookout should provide a fantastic view of the NW corner of Glacier.

[mattB]

Not sure how close you're wanting to be to the park, but Mt Wam over in the Ten Lakes Basin area is rentable.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/kootenai/recrea ... twam.shtml
I've never been to the lookout itself, but I've driven over the road from Ten Lakes to Polebridge. I've been to Stahl Peak lookout which is in the same general area, I thought it was also a rental but I don't see it on the Kootenai NF list. Weasel Cabin is an old border patrol cabin that might be a rental, again its in the Ten Lakes Basin area, but its near Weasel lake so the access would be easier but the views not so much. Wolverine Cabin is another border patrol cabin, that the Forest Service rebuilt a few years ago, I think its about a 3 mile hike into the cabin, I've stayed there, I don't think its a rental, just first come first served.

From Polebridge, you;d need to go north and take the Trail Creek road west, past Tuchuck campground to get over to the Ten Lakes Basin area., or go north from Fortine on the Graves Creek road.

I have friends and relatives who have stayed at some lookouts in the Yaak, (north of Libby, west of Eureka), but thats getting quite a distance from Glacier, Webb Mtn Lookout is where they've stayed.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/kootenai/recrea ... uide.shtml

[toddnick]

Thanks for your input guys.....I think that the Hornet Lookout seems to be the most convenient and accessible at only 10-15 miles from Polebridge and only a 1 mile hike-in. I found another website with a photo album of someone's stay at the Lookout.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/5606 ... NX?start=0

It has some nice views and I'm thinking that in addition to the two nights I'm planning on spending at Bowman Lake, I may just have to reserve one night at the Lookout. Heck, it's only $20, the same price as a campsite in GNP.

View from the road before the hike-in....looking East to Glacier....



Kintla area from Lookout....



Lookout and view.....




Lookout....

[idapaul]

this is a bump to move this to the top as i just made reservations there for a night on july 9. would be interested in finding out difficulty of the hike in. thanks in advance for any info. paul

[toddnick]

I look forward to getting your impressions before I make a decision about booking in September.....hope you enjoy it!!!!

[idapaul]

found out there is 486 ft of elevation over a mile the hike is listed as easy in the moon guide book. for the price if i just make it a day trip i won't complain. hope to have an access pass by then and make it cheaper by 10 bucks. i will let you know when we get back .

[idapaul]

here is a report on my recent trip to hornet peak; leave polebridge and drive approx 10 miles to whale creek road, go about 3 miles to hornet peak road.go 6 miles on hornet peak road. big parking area at the end. the trail has 13 switchbacks and approx 1800 steps. it is 11/2 miles and rise is 600 feet, tedious, forest is burned so it is very open. wife was freakin out. cabin is very nice. views were excelent. had a storm come thru about dark, again wife scared. cabin has a wood stove, coleman stove, 2 lanterns,cooking utensils,tools for cutting wood, some cups and dishes. there was a good sleeping bag there and we left 2 light weight bags there also. there was plenty of fuel so only need one bottle. walk down was unevent full. all in all a good trip. wife will never go back she was too scared of hieghts. if more info is needed pm me here or at idapaul at yahoo

[B2Randolph]

Pictures, please!

Sounds wonderful to me too! Must see your pictures to understand why she freaked out!

Hope the rest of your trip goes wonderful too!

Becky

[idapaul]

pics will take a while have about 600 to sort. she is afraid of heights and everything was very open. didn't bother me in the least. very little tree cover on the trail as it was burnt a few years back.

[Tara]

I don't like heights either but the pics above don't look too alarming, and when we visited the Huckleberry Mtn Lookout it wasn't too bad either. Why did the open, burned areas scare her? Just curious...maybe photos will help us understand. I'd actually read about this lookout before and have wanted to stay there so I'm very anxious to see your pictures!

[peakcrawler]

I spent one day and evening at Hornet Peak Lookout in July 2009. It's a great place to get away and clear your head from everything happening down below. The lookout itself is in need of some TLC. The window shutter hinges are in poor condition. If you are awaken by noise outside, it's probably just some blacktailed deer. If you have a fear of hornets or are allergic to bee stings, you should probably avoid the lookout. The small hornets will land on you, but I never got stung once. They will also go inside once you open the windows. Once the sun goes down they will quiet down and not bother you. If you want to see a 5 minute video of the blacktailed deer, the lookout and surroundings follow this link to my video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKg_2VQ3kpU

Road to Lookout
http://s539.photobucket.com/user/h2Oice ... rt=6&o=107

Trail to Lookout
http://s539.photobucket.com/user/h2Oice ... rt=6&o=111

Interior of Lookout
http://s539.photobucket.com/user/h2Oice ... rt=6&o=110

Beargrass and flowers
http://s539.photobucket.com/user/h2Oice ... rt=6&o=112

Hornet on beargrass
http://s539.photobucket.com/user/h2Oice ... rt=6&o=109

Bear track on trail to lookout
http://s539.photobucket.com/user/h2Oice ... rt=6&o=108

[cody23]

I've stayed at Hornet and though the views are amazing, I agree that the lookout is in rough shape. It's been a few years, but there was a bit of a rat problem when I overnighted. Weasel cabin on the Kootenai is a first come/first serve cabin and because of that is in pretty rough shape. I would definately suggest the Wurtz Cabin or Schnauss Cabin, both available by permit. They don't have the views of Hornet but the North Fork River is close by and Wurtz airstrip and Sondresson Meadows, respectively, have great views into Glacier. I have yet to ask, but I'm sort of curious what the park's policy on camping at unmanned lookouts is. I'm sure it would require an undesignated permit if they allowed it. I'm thinking like Loneman Lookout or Porcupine Ridge, etc.

[cody23]

These are from September at Loneman Lookout in the Middle Fork. Not many people visit this lookout, though the park did have a lookout working here during this past summer.

loneman1.jpg (25.85 KiB) Viewed 1793 times

loneman2.jpg (42.44 KiB) Viewed 1791 times

loneman3.jpg (33.37 KiB) Viewed 1787 times

[balou44]

Weasel Cabin is an old border patrol cabin that might be a rental, again its in the Ten Lakes Basin area, but its near Weasel lake so the access would be easier but the views not so much.

I am not sure this is Weasel Cabin but it was on a dirt road on the way to Weasel Lake. It is in heavy timber and not by the lake at all. I stumbled upon it last September on my way to Yaak Country. It was free and there was food (canned goods) inside and a note said "if you take some leave some". If I recall correctly a snowmobile/ATV club had spruced it up and were somewhat responsible for it's upkeep. Least that's what the "note" said stapled to the door.

I ate my supper that I had purchased at The Merc.







And farther down the trail was Weasel Lake. It was very secluded back there. Not a soul to be found.