The old lookout site atop War Creek Ridge west of Twisp River Road is a steep cross country outing through thick brush and ticks but the spectacular views are worth the type 2 fun!
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!
Two dozen or more of our remaining historical lookouts in Washington State are still staffed by during fire season. Here is a list of staffed lookouts as well as some etiquette tips for visiting a lookout on active duty.
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.
A week spent with volunteers painting Lookout Mountain in Twisp, swapping stories, and remembering the beautiful history of fire lookouts.
Recently I was able to visit the Yakama Indian Reservation as part of a fire lookout work party. I met some incredible people and saw a gorgeous land that few are privileged to see.
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...
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 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.
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!
Triple digit temps, thunderstorms, fires, and horseflies.... the reason I oftentimes have a Plan E when heading out for a weekend lookout bagging adventure!
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.