"That was all clear," he said, pointing to the hill
               behind the lodge. "The rope tow went up the side
               of that peak. And this was a tough run over there.
               That was the ski jump there."

               Eschbach learned to ski up on the hill next to this
               lodge, and made it a regular destination from his
               Yakima home during the 11 weeks it was open
               each year. Thousands of others during the 1930s
               and '40s skied the runs at American River.

               "American River Ski Bowl was the ski bowl
               around here," said Eschbach, who is now 71 and
               no longer skis. Runs are gone, but the lodge
               remains and is being considered for the National
               Register of Historical Places.

               Apple Valley Kiwanis Club and the U.S. Forest
               Service have been working for two years to restore
               the lodge, which was built in 1935 by the Civilian
               Conservation Corps (CCC). Bob Hash of Yakima
               has led the restoration efforts. He visits the site at
               least once a month during the summer to paint,
               restore and replace.

               "We've got most of the woodwork done, except
               for the roof," he said, standing outside the building
               one recent morning. "This is quite a building."

               The rustic wooden structure with an expansive
               main room and a stone wood-burning stove in the
               middle was built to be large enough to
               accommodate a limited number of overnight skiers.
               They would camp in the main room, with sleeping
               bags, next to the wood-burning stove.

               A 20-hole outhouse, with men's and women's
               sides, is still in working order and may be the
               largest outhouse in the world, said Darcy
               Johannsen, archaeological technician with the
               Forest Service.

               Johannsen and fellow archaeologist Jackie Beidl
               are seeking any historical information about the
               lodge or ski bowl, including old photographs.

               The ski bowl and lodge was up the hill from the
               popular American Forks Resort, just off Highway
               410. The CCC drained the swamp at the bottom
               of the bowl and cleared the hillsides for the
               downhill run and ski jump. Years later, a rope tow
               made it easier for skiers, who used to hike to the
               top of the runs.

               American River remained one of the more popular
               resorts during World War II, when most ski areas
               saw a decline in customers. After the war, when
               many ski areas began adding chair lifts, American
               River Ski Bowl started to lose its appeal. The
               death knell sounded when Highway 12 opened
               over White Pass in 1951, and the White Pass Ski
               Co. began operating with 1,200 vertical feet and a
               rope tow in 1952. White Pass had a lift by 1956.

               Trees eventually replaced skiers on the slopes of
               American Ridge, and in 1966 the American Forks
               Resort at the bottom of the hill burned down.

               The lodge on top continued to be used by school
               groups and the Youth Conservation Corps through
               the 1970s. The Forest Service started renting it out
               in the mid-1970s and now it's the most popular of
               the Naches Ranger District's six reserved sites, said
               Bette Cooney with the Forest Service.

               People line up at 6 a.m. each Oct. 1, the first day
               to make reservations.

               Hash, who is leading the restoration effort, was up
               at the lodge last month to do some work on some
               damaged windows and place a plaque next to the
               lodge's door that says the area is being cared for
               by the Forest Service and the Kiwanis Club.
               "Maybe this will discourage people from busting up
               the building," he said.

               Fighting the battle against vandalism is an
               unfortunate, but ongoing problem. "We had to
               replace 20 window panes," he said. The work
               included replacing the wood in the frames.

               "It really bums me out when I see someone has
               come up here and done these things," he said. "It's
               really sad when people don't care about their
               resources."

               Over the past two years, the lodge has been
               painted, windows replaced and locks repaired. It's
               a labor of love for Hash.

               "When you're up here and no one's talking, this
               really is quite an isolated place," he said. "And if
               you stop and think about some of the people who
               built this place, that group really did a lot for
               America. It would be a shame to allow something
               as nice as this to deteriorate. It has to be preserved
               for future generations."

               But the application process to get the building on
               the historical register is lengthy and laborious. The
               Naches Ranger District has about 500 potential
               historical sites, said Johannsen. And the only selling
               point on this one is the large outdoor toilet.