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Tag Archives: lookout

A Few Sights from Harts Pass

Recently, the girls and I spent eight days volunteering at Harts Pass. The weather was pretty good but the bugs were unbearable. Also, there were many visitors so I was busy most of the time. The bugs made it nearly impossible to do photography or to do much birding. We made the best of it and here are a few images from our time up there. The bird in the rocks appears to be the western Arctic subspecies of the Horned Lark. But I could be wrong. As for the grouse, she’s probably a Sooty but maybe a Dusky? The hoary marmots were a long ways away and after sunset so not the best quality images.

A Steep Little Hike

Earlier this week, Willow and I hiked up to a local lookout. It’s a short steep hike. The volunteer lookout wasn’t there yet. She just arrived today. We enjoyed the views from top of the mountain despite smokey skies and wondered if the old outhouse would survive another year. The flowers were wonderful. I especially liked the western clematis (Clematis occidentalis). It’s not a commonly seen wildflower. Willow especially liked a couple small snow patches! They won’t last much longer. And I might have obsessed, just a little, on the newly growing cones on the alpine larches and Douglas firs. There’s worse obsessions.

Another Week in the Mountains

Willow and I spent five days at Harts Pass recently. We had some weather, rain for part of three days, some frosty mornings, fog and lots of sunshine and blue skies. Almost had it all. Lots of people to talk to but we also had some time to get out for walks. Not enough for either of us but sometimes that’s how it goes. Sky stayed home with Ken and had a relaxing time.

Fall colors were just beginning with the huckleberry bushes changed to brilliant red. The berries were still yummy and numerous. I ended most of my walks with stained fingers. Willow helped herself to a few too. The Campanula (bluebells) were still blooming, here and there, and pearly everlasating was living up to its name. The cotton grass clung to its seedheads. The one remaining (not a vernal as I thought earlier in the year) pond still had some tadpoles and tiny frogs too. Some tadpoles had grown legs. I don’t know what kind of frog or toad these might be. Seems like kind of late in the year to be turning into frogs.

Bonaparte Lookout Hike

This is a steep, really steep hike, in my opinion. We started at the trailhead on the north side of Bonaparte Mountain with a trail a little less than three miles long with at least 2000′ of elevation gain. It starts out really steep for the first half mile or so and then is not quite so steep. There were no views til we reached the top as the trail is mostly in dense lodgepole pine forest. It does change to subalpine fir and white bark pine near the top. At the top, storm clouds and fog were rolling in so initially we had no views from the lookout either! But as we visited with the lookout himself, the fog and clouds moved around giving us views here and there til most of the 360 degree view was laid out in front of us. There’s a lot to see. From Tonasket to Oroville and Lake Osoyoos, Havillah and Chesaw and around towards the Wauconda summit and the Kettle Crest range of mountains and Sherman Pass. All well-known locations in Okanogan and Ferry Counties, some of the lowest populated areas of Washington.

As we relaxed more storms were coming in with thunder and lightning so we made a quick descent back to the truck.

This is after the first really, really steep part.
Break for snacks
The perfect Christmas tree
Native rhododendron
Bonaparte Lake is down there beyond that round mountain
Oroville and Osoyoos Lake in the distance
Havillah
Chesaw and Buckhorn Mountain
The lookout uses this fire finder to pinpoint lightning strikes and new fires.
It was his third day on the job.
The small building next to the lookout is the old lookout, dating back to 1914 and now used for storage.

You need to turn up your sound to hear the places I identified on this video

A Short Steep Hike

We joined Lindsey and Little Bear for a hike to Lookout Mountain, the site of a US Forest Service fire lookout. I wonder what came first – the mountain’s name or the fire lookout? The trail is only 1.3 miles but it gains 1100 feet up to a high point of 5518 feet overlooking the Methow Valley. Distant views were hazy with lingering smoke from prescribed burns. One of these days I will get there on a day with bright blue skies and snow-capped mountains but not this time.

I love these lichen covered snags.
Oh look, Sky brought us a stick.
Haven’t you seen enough flowers yet?
What a good group.