Sunday’s destination was Lookout Mountain, a high point 4 miles southwest of Twisp that is home to a forest fire lookout. The trail begins at an elevation of 4,300 feet and climbs to the lookout at an elevation of 5,515 feet over a distance of about 1.3 miles. The beginning section of the trail climbs steadily through ponderosa pine and mistletoe infested Douglas-Fir. There are peek-a-boo shots of the surrounding Twisp River and Methow Valleys as you go up. Eventually the trail begins to switchback up the face of the mountain before reaching the top of the ridge. Just as the trail breaks over the ridge, Lookout Ridge Trail #423 heads off to the west towards Blackpine Lake up the Twisp River Valley. At this point, more impressive views begin to unfold with the Sawtooth Range to the west. From here it’s a short ridge walk up to the historic Lookout Mountain Lookout. The location was first established as a camp lookout; the present 25′ high structure was built in 1937. The lookout is only occupied infrequently during emergencies in the summer so don’t go expecting a tour of the place. 
We planned on picnicking at the helispot below the tower but hundreds of glass shards proved too much of a hazard to our toddling explorer. After enjoying some of the panoramic views, we ambled back down along the ridge in the vicinity of this beautiful snag for lunch and a short break before returning to the trailhead.
If you go: From Twisp take Okanogan County Road 9114 west 0.5 mile, turn left on County Road 1605 (Alder Creek Road). Continue on Forest Service Road 4400-200 to its end, about 4.2 miles. Multiple uses are allowed including hiking, horses, mountain bike and dirt bike. Lookout Mountain USGS Quad
Posted on June 8th, 2008 by aana
Filed under: Hiking and Backpacking, family outings | No Comments »
Located within the 5,600 acre Big Buck Wildlife Area, Aspen Lake makes a perfect quick outting during the spring season. This weekend, being Memorial Weekend, usually means tons of people at all the snow-free trails, but not here. We only met a handful of hikers and four people on horseback. The walk to the lake is a short distance from the Elbow Coulee road; it took our slow and wandering family about 30 minutes to get there. The trail consists of an old road that is open to hikers, mountain bikers, and horses. The lake itself is fenced in from cattle, which were not out and about yet, but their calling cards (cow pies!) are everywhere. The balsamroot is in full bloom and the lupine is just getting started–both are carpeting the hillsides and are simply spectacular.
Here is one of two beautiful white ptarmigans spotted on a snowy hillside on Sunday during a trip up the North Cascades Highway behind the gate. 
Today we chose to push a stroller and carry skis a short distance to take advantage of some snow that is begining to dwindle away along the hillsides of the valley. While we had a few remarks about our interesting combination, it cannot compare with the motorcycle-pulling-a-man-on-a-bicycle combo we saw starting up the same time as us. What people won’t do to get to the snow this time of year…
Winter just doesn’t want to let go. Last weekend the valley received snow here and there. By Monday morning there was up to a few inches of new snow in some places. Three of us decided to test it out with a trip up to Loup Loup. Driving in, we noticed the snow was fairly wet and could make for more challenging skiing than Spring typically yields. We hiked strait up the hill under temperamental skies that showered snow on us one moment then sun the next. We then tentatively began making turns downhill through a couple of inches of thick and wet crud. It took a little work getting down, but we all had a good time laughing at ourselves, each other, and the wonderful conditions Mother Nature provided.
Ahhh, the first day of Spring. The birds are comming back, the highway department is about to start work on clearing the pass, and I’ve seen the first Spring Beauties in bloom. And it snowed overnight, but only a skiff. Spring is coming and with it hopefully more frequent updates on the site. If you are interested in contributing, let us know!
