On Sunday, July 20, members of the Historic Routt County Board met Youth Conservation Crew B from RMYC at the Summit Creek Guard Station for a BBQ. The crew had just finished a project in the Flat Tops and were pleased to fuel up on a big meal ahead of their next project.

HRC Board member, Leslie Lovejoy, gave a talk about the history of Hahns Peak and the Lookout.  The crew met their Field Supervisor, Eric Baker, founder of Harvest Skis, as he provided an overview of the project and discussed safety precautions.

On Monday morning, the crew met me, Eric Baker, and US Forest Service Archaeologist for the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, Jason Strahl, at the Hahns Peak trailhead parking lot. We loaded all the equipment, supplies, and water into the back of Jason’s truck.  Eric and I rode with Jason up to the saddle below the scree field.  The crew hiked up and met us at the saddle. Then everyone grabbed the items from the truck and began to carefully haul them up the scree field to the Lookout.

The Lookout is listed on the Routt County Historic Register, and all preservation treatments were made according to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation

The crew started by sanding off the graffiti and staining all wood elements. At the end of the day, the crew hiked down and camped at the Summit Creek Guard Station. The next morning, the work day repeated with the crew hiking up to the Lookout to stain the remaining wood elements.  Over the next two days, they also repaired the stairs, painted the door and window trim, and addressed a few other maintenance items.  

Unfortunately, one morning, the crew arrived at the Lookout to find freshly carved graffiti into the newly sanded and stained wood. Graffiti on a county historical registered property in Colorado is illegal.  Please help us ensure this treasure stays free of graffiti.

At the end of three days, the Lookout was glowing with a golden patina after a gentle exfoliation and multiple applications of moisturizing linseed oil 

Like any good facial, it didn’t remove all the wrinkles, blemishes, and characteristics earned with age.  But it did reveal a gorgeous patina that can only be created with over 115 years of sun, wind, rain, and snow.

May she stand another 115 years!

Hahn's Peak Lookout before the restoration.