Scurvy Mountain Lookout
The place
Scurvy Mountain Lookout in the Clearwater National Forest, Kooskia/Lolo Pass area (Nez Perce-Clearwater NF, Idaho panhandle, USA), at 2,014 m elevation, on the Bitterroot Range slope. Continuous USA Rocky Mountains cluster (batches 240-357). Fire lookout tower (named "Scurvy", a rustic Bitterroot Range place name recalling the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06 and miners crossing the range + the Fire Lookout Program, USDA Forest Service, 8,000 towers, 1930s New Deal, Civilian Conservation Corps, 2,000,000 men during the Great Depression, 40% still active in 2020), an area of Pinus contorta lodgepole pine + Larix occidentalis western larch + bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax), with white flower spikes in spring + heritage of the Nez Perce (Sahaptian people, 3,500 members, a 1,200 km² reservation, the Nez Perce language endangered + the historic flight of Chief Joseph in 1877, 2,400 km over 4 months pursued by the US Army, a campaign with 1,200 dead + 400 killed + 300 military losses, ending in capture near the Bear Paw Mountains, 40 miles from the Canadian border).
The setting
Clearwater NF Kooskia/Lolo Pass Nez Perce-Clearwater Idaho USA 2,014 m Bitterroot Range, continuous cluster batches 240-357, fire lookout tower Scurvy Bitterroot Lewis-Clark 1804-06 miners + USDA FS 8,000 towers 1930s New Deal CCC 2 million men 40% active 2020, Pinus contorta/Larix occidentalis western larch + Xerophyllum tenax bear grass, Nez Perce Sahaptian 3,500 1,200 km² Chief Joseph 1877 2,400 km 4 months 1,200 dead capture Bear Paw 40 miles from Canada.
