Over the Memorial Day holiday I had an unplanned summit of Muckamuck Mountain, the site of a former D-6 cupola lookout. I also had a chance encounter with a fan club of sorts in the middle of nowhere!
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.
This year, the beautifully restored D-6 cupola fire lookout at the summit of North Twentymile is celebrating a centennial and a dedicated group of volunteers is committed to maintaining trail access.
Sometimes the most memorable adventures are the biggest disasters, aren't they? The story of kayak camping in a Mad Max-like apocalypse of wildfire smoke...
A 5-day Altai Hok ski trip to historic guard stations in the gorgeous Blue Mountains of southeast Washington provided solitude, wildlife, and the perfect kind of quiet year-end reflection.
The Chiliwist Butte fire lookout site near Malott is a great early season destination and the Chilowist area also has some really neat history.
Another great ridge line ramble to an old fire lookout site, this time to Setting Sun Mountain (7,253') 5 miles northwest of Goat Peak near Mazama.
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 week spent with volunteers painting Lookout Mountain in Twisp, swapping stories, and remembering the beautiful history of fire lookouts.
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.
Tales of surviving a remote hike in near triple digit temps and finally checking off a summit that has evaded me for four years!
A great ridge traverse of the Golden Stairway trail from Starvation Mountain to the Old Baldy lookout site with some of the most amazing views of the North Cascades I've ever seen!