The structure is no longer used on a regular basis but is visited with some frequency by hikers and it is a 5 mi (8.0 km) hike to the cabin from the trailhead.

"[6] Snyder's time at Sourdough Mountain Lookout is said to have provided the "seed experience for the poetry he is best known for: language full of the raw, playful wit that reflects the granite ridges where he worked and watched and wrote.

"[7] Two years later Snyder was blacklisted by the Forest Service from working another season at Sourdough Mountain so Whalen took his place as the lookout.

The poem references Whalen's work as a lookout along with "musings on rocks, insects, animals, and weather.

"[4] In August 2023, the lookout was wrapped in fire-proof material to mitigate potential damage caused by the nearby Sourdough Fire.