Holly Larabee

Holly Larabee

Winchester Mountain Fire Lookout

09/23/15

This site lists this trail as a beginner, and another Washington Trails site had it listed as an Intermediate. Frankly, under the conditions that I hiked it over the weekend, it is more advanced than publicized, and not for the faint of heart. It's not a long hike, but the elevation gained in a 2-mile distance to the top is pretty intense. I am very fit, and had a difficult time carrying a medium pack. The top third of the hike has switchback turns across a rocky face, and in the rain, was very slick and unnerving. Throughout the trail, lots of loose rock. We spent the night in the fire lookout (thank goodness it is there!), but even with good camping gear, it was cold and difficult to rest. There's a gigantic flag that creates a lot of noise with the wind gusts. In good weather, this location would be amazing, but if there is any risk of rain, I'd suggest skipping it. We got a good look at the lakes as we came down the mountain the following morning, but aside from that, it was not an ideal adventure. The road conditions are not nice, but not that terrible, you just have to drive very slow. You would be totally fine in a truck or SUV, and most station wagons (we drove our Subaru up there). There were no sections where we bottomed out. Just take your time. It's a one-lane road with a lot of ruts.

4.0