Tilly Jane Guard Station

A couple of weeks ago, we went up to Tilly Jane with the Nordic Club folks for a work day. Our club is responsible for maintaining the cabin for the Forest Service, and collecting rental fees for use by other groups. The Cloud Cap/Tilly Jane area is designated a historic district, and escaped total destruction by this summer/fall's Gnarl Ridge Fire. The Oregonian did an excellent piece on the fire today which reminded me to download my pictures and WRITE!

The Cloud Cap Inn was built in 1889 for summer use, but it immediately became a destination for hardy winter adventurers. It's on the National Register as the oldest alpine lodge and for its architecture. Thanks to fire retardant drops during the Gnarl Ridge fire, it's still standing. The fire surrounded the area, but left the buildings unharmed except for maybe a few ember burns in the siding. The Tilly Jane Guard Station was built in 1934 for back country access and fire protection.

The road was officially closed on our work day, but the forest service gave us special day permits to go up. The fire devastation was startling. A greater power was looking out for the Tilly Jane, as that area was 'in the green' after driving through acres of burned timber.

Also part of the historic area are the amphitheater and Cook Shed, built in the 1920's and used by American Legion climbing groups, and the Tilly Jane Ski Cabin, or A-frame, built by the CCC in 1939. They are the oldest structures on Mt. Hood. These pictures show us hiking over to the Aframe with logs in hand, and hiking by the amphitheater on the way back to the Guard House.

We had something like 8 or 9 cords of wood delivered and it had to be stacked and stored. The club stays a year ahead with their wood needs. The groups that maintain the Aframe and the Cook Shed were also there storing their portion of the wood. They needed carts to haul the wood to their buildings, but we were able to form 'fire brigade' style lines to pass the wood along to its storage area.

First we filled the available space in the Guard Station back room/latrine. An avalanche of wood trapped stackers Lloyd and Randy for a while, but by passing wood back out to me and Jude through a window, they were able to reopen the door and restack the wood safely. They would have had a long winter in that latrine if the 'woodslide' had happened during the ski season!

After a wonderful lunch of Tilly Chili by Jan, we restocked the storage shed with the rest of the wood, then helped the poor folks who had to cart their wood some distance. We had about three times the number of volunteers, so our work was done more quickly. They paid us in brownies. Yum.

Brindle had a blast running with a few other club dogs, despite her 'Queen Brinnie' collar and her healing leg (from a benign tumor removal).

A little historical trivia: Tilly Jane was the name of the wife of William Ladd of Portland. He and CES Wood bought the Mt. Hood Trail and Wagon Company in 1889, renamed it the Mt. Hood Stage Company, and began improving what would become Wagon Rd, the thrilling stagecoach route to Cloud Cap. This is the road we drove up, and one of two main ski trails to Tilly Jane in winter.

Besides the Wagon Rd, there is a Tilly Jane Trail that winter back country skiers use to get to the cabins. The high door on the side of the Guard Station, at the top of the ladder, is where the winter access is! Yep, the snow is that deep. We haven't been there in winter before. Maybe this year, when we have the proper equipment. Check out the ONC website link above to see some pictures of these adventures.

So many things to do here in heaven, so little time!