Bald Mountain facility relocated to protect
Lochsa scenery          

Demolition of the old facility at Bald Mountain, which sits (for this summer, anyway) on the edge of the Lochsa River that flows beside US-12 in north-central Idaho, began in mid-March to create room for recreationists to access the river.
  
Jennifer Becar, the public affairs specialist for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, said the Forest Service leases the site to the department and believes that moving the facility will maintain the scenic quality of the Wild and Scenic River Corridor and might encourage more users to access the river.

“In the past, we have received feedback that some groups avoid using the site because they think it is a maintenance area and that public parking isn’t allowed,” Becar said.

The Bald Mountain facility will join other equipment and magnesium chloride tanks located across the highway to continue to serve the public, as it did for more than 50 years as a key location along the rural route.

The facility’s story began in 1961 with two houses and a shed.

In the early days, two workers lived on site (see house, pictured below). To get groceries, they drove at least an hour to Kooskia or to Lolo. Their water came from a well, and their only power came from a generator. Workers used radios to communicate with others, but if they wanted to talk to someone in person, they had to drive nearly 30 miles.  

Because they spent days working together and the evenings on the same block, the Bald Mountain crew had to get along. Because they were so isolated, the crew had to get along with neighbors as well.

Without the summer traffic on US-12, winters at Bald Mountain could feel even more isolated. Given the snowfall and steep slopes along the highway, that feeling could quickly become reality—as it did one winter in the late 1980s, as told by current foreman Mark Schuster (pictured right).

“Although I wasn’t foreman at that time, I’ve been told that one winter avalanches closed the road below and above Bald Mountain, leaving vehicles stranded in the middle,” Schuster said. “If you have ever driven that road in the winter, you can only imagine what those travelers were thinking.”

Fortunately for a few truck drivers caught on the highway that day, the crew at Bald Mountain welcomed them into their own houses. For the days it took to clear the fallen snow, the truckers were offered food in the shelter of the facility.
 
The building, located near milepost 128 along a secluded stretch of highway, ultimately struggled to keep any employees stationed there long, and as the trucks became more efficient, it became simpler to stage operations out of the Fleming shed (milepost 98) and the Powell shed (milepost 162).

In 1993, the department stopped recruiting employees to work at Bald Mountain and housing was no longer needed, signaling the start of the site’s transformation.

The Forest Service requested operations be moved further away from the river to promote the scenic values of the corridor.

The department agreed, and the new facility across the highway will likely be finished by the end of summer.

With the move, Becar said visitors will be better able to enjoy services—which include a boat ramp, vault toilet and trailhead—and experience the river’s natural backdrop.

Published 04-06-18