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.
Okanogan County in Washington State has incredible history and the highest concentration of remaining Washington State Lookouts, which makes it a spectacular destination for geeks like me! Here's a trip report from a recent October larches and lookouts road trip.
Triple digit temps, thunderstorms, fires, and horseflies.... the reason I oftentimes have a Plan E when heading out for a weekend lookout bagging adventure!
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.
A return visit to First Butte to check on the condition of the lookout and see the rapid deterioration of the once photogenic ground house.
A beautiful hike to an old lookout site above Bridge Creek near Twisp. Not much history is known about this one.
A day spent at the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center working on the Badger Mountain fire lookout and learning valuable skills in the art of lookout restoration, especially window glazing!
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.
A week spent with volunteers painting Lookout Mountain in Twisp, swapping stories, and remembering the beautiful history of fire lookouts.
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 visit to the spectacular broad summit of Cooper Mountain high atop Chelan Ridge, the location of several old fire lookout structures.
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.