An Adventureful Life

The real “pro-tip” is to have a friend who obsessively checks fire lookout availability… and I, fortunately, have one of those friends! She found this amazing lookout in Washington, the Steliko Point Lookout. We were there at the perfect time where the wildflowers were popping out everywhere! We were surrounded by a sea of balsomroot and lupines. There are trails here to explore, but keep in mind they are shared use with mountain bikes and motorbikes. Also, because this is a lookout… expect visitors who don’t necessarily know the lookout is “bookable” and they may try to wander right into your accommodations. My same friend also booked this lookout for New Years, and they snowshoed up (and down) the two mile, very steep road with all their supplies. Luckily for our trip, the road was clear of snow and we were able to drive right up to the top. There are four beds (just bring your own bedding), solar lights, refrigerator, gas grill, picnic table, and a rustic port-a-potty for amenities. We brought typical backpacking gear, plus… some more luxurious items since we didn’t have to pack everything in. We enjoyed our morning french pressed coffee with cream, an evening cocktail, charcuterie lunch spread… we even enjoyed some lovely dinners by moonlight on our picnic blanket with dutch oven baked calzones! I took this trip with two friends – it was a simple weekend with simple luxuries… and despite all the sunscreen applied, I still ended up coming back to moody Oregon with a mysterious tan.

https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/steliko-ridge

A few other stray notes…

The Steliko Lookout is located in Chelan County, just north of Wenatchee, WA and can be booked through recreation.gov. It’s a 5.5 hour drive from the Portland area, we took the eastern route – driving through Hood River on I-84 and then north through Yakima to get to the lookout. I love this drive, it’s quite beautiful. There is also an amazing coffee shop / gift shop called The Rock that is every adventure lovers dream… plus, it has an amazing restroom and porch swings to relax on!

Alternately, you can drive north toward Seattle, and then head east on I-90 through North Bend to get to the lookout. I don’t enjoy this drive as much – but we took it on the way home and were rewarded with lunch at the Salish Lodge and a short hike to see Snowqualmie Falls.

I can’t express enough how important it is to get out and explore – I’ve never been to this part of Washington before and it was incredibly beautiful. It was also lovely to experience this place with friends, where we could just hang out and laugh and enjoy the scenery. Before the trip, I was stressed about leaving for the weekend and nearly cancelled… thankfully, I said “yes” to adventure and ended up having an amazing time with some amazing people! So… final tip… say YES to adventure!! You won’t regret it.