A wonderful 3 days spent backpacking the White Pass/Pilot Ridge loop in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. This one has it all: wildflowers, green meadows, alpine lakes, old-growth forests, and mountains for miles.
A beautiful hike to an old lookout site above Bridge Creek near Twisp. Not much history is known about this one.
The Thrapp Mountain fire lookout site may not be the most photogenic summit but lookout footings still remain and it's a worthy objective for peakbaggers and lookout enthusiasts.
A trip report from a few days of fall fire lookout bagging in the beautiful Okanogan County, including a visit to one of my favorite Washington State fire lookouts.
A trip report from a 3 day solo backpack of the Devil's Dome loop in the Pasayten. Devilishly steep? Absolutely, but full of heavenly ridgetop camps, North Cascades vistas, and surprising solitude.
An incredible 30+ mile ultralight overnight to Miner's Ridge Lookout, deep in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. This was lookout #46 for me and I enjoyed not only surprising solitude, but one of the most fantastic mountain sunrises I've ever seen!
A week spent with volunteers painting Lookout Mountain in Twisp, swapping stories, and remembering the beautiful history of fire lookouts.
The Blue Mountains of southeast Washington span 4,000 square miles of land and contain open ridges, big mesas, deep canyons, natural springs, loads of wildlife and surprising solitude. This wilderness is one of Washington’s best surprises!
Doe Mountain in the Okanogan Range is a former fire lookout site that makes for a sublime ridge line cross country outing. Neighboring Ike Mountain is an easy bonus.
A look back at some of my biggest outdoor adventures of 2018, mostly to remote Washington State fire lookouts, and some funny fire lookout bagging stats along the way. What were your big 2018 accomplishments?
Triple digit temps, thunderstorms, fires, and horseflies.... the reason I oftentimes have a Plan E when heading out for a weekend lookout bagging adventure!
Driveway Butte is a fantastic former fire lookout site just west of Mazama. The route is notoriously dry and hot and will test your legs but reward you with gorgeous views of the North Cascades, Pasayten, and spectacular Goat Wall.