Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather
- Thread starter Tour 931
- Start date
Sweeney
Administrator
Do they actively use those towers - I'm surprised they are still up for risk mitigation...or maybe they are just so far out no one bothers to find them...One more day and the sun will rise behind the towers.
Tour 931
Ranger
The lower ladder section of the higher metal tower has been removed so unless you bring your own 20 foot ladder you can’t climb it. The newer lower wooden tower is an easy climb and in the summer dozens of people climb it daily. I can walk to it and often do in the summer. It’s a 3 mile loop from my house to the tower and around the lake. Timms Hill is a county park. The Timms Hill Trail connects to the Ice Age Trail.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail | | Wisconsin DNR
dnr.wisconsin.gov
Sweeney
Administrator
The lower ladder section of the higher metal tower has been removed so unless you bring your own 20 foot ladder you can’t climb it. The newer lower wooden tower is an easy climb and in the summer dozens of people climb it daily. I can walk to it and often do in the summer. It’s a 3 mile loop from my house to the tower and around the lake. Timms Hill is a county park. The Timms Hill Trail connects to the Ice Age Trail.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail | | Wisconsin DNR
We've got a few fire watch towers in our state forest, I've climed several of them. Its a thrill that never gets old!
I seen to remember a news story within the last few years that mentioned that many of the human observers who manned the towers have been replaced by electronic sensors that are better at spotting the fires than the human eye....and cost less to maintain.
Tour 931
Ranger
I believe they use satellites now.
My 100 year old neighbor knew the guy that maintained the tower. He lived less than a mile away and only went to it during storms. In Washington State I’ve hiked to many of them as there they are very remote. Most of them were college students and manned them in the summer. Most were resupplied by helicopter as most had no roads to them.
Van_and_Terri
Ranger
A friend of mine bought a watch tower from the state of NC. It cost him much more to have it dismantled and moved than the price of the watch tower. I think his winning bid was $100.