Today the Seattle Times ran an article on the Western spruce budworm infestation  of the North Cascades. Accompanying this was an aerial shot looking north of the east side mountains of Ross Lake  You can see the twin spires of Hozomeen and in the center left -- you will see the hump at the [...]

Jim ( the current Deso Lookout in his 10th year ) is quick to reply to my emails.  However, I have not heard from him in over a week. I would guess he is already up on Desolation.  A staffing scheme in the past has been 10 days on and 4 days off.  Though if [...]

On April 19th the University of Idaho is holding a conference on the art and architecture of fire lookouts.  You can find a reference to it here-- https://cdil.lib.uidaho.edu/lookoutconference   I love both art and architecture...... I may go and present photos / drawings of my studio modeled on a LO. bruce p.s.--here is my latest [...]

Yikes it is getting busy firewise on the south end of Ross Lake with the fire on the south side of Ruby Mt at 700 acres and growing, and  new fires on Sourdough and Pierce ( which are next to each other ). If you are on Instagram ---take a look at :  ncascades [...]

Last week on the trail above Ross Lake Resort I met a couple visiting from Germany.  Jorg was very knowledgeable about Jack Kerouac and had climbed Matterhorn peak in California some years ago.... He was asking about Desolation Peak and if I understand correctly may have even visited this website.  Here is a picture [...]

Upper Lake Chelan has a 12,000+ acre fire burning called the Pioneer Fire.  There is a massive response going on with something like 12 helicopters and 700+ firefighters.  Here is a photo taken by Jim Henterly ( the Desolation lookout ) of the Pioneer smoke plume from Desolation.....

You will see on the main menu -- a new section on the Sourdough Mountain lookout.  I staffed that lookout twice and will be posting some pictures from those days including a painting I did of my first night of the first time.....incredible scene !  Stay tuned -- it will take a month or [...]

Currently starting to read a memoir -- The Last Lookout on Dunn Peak.  It is about a couple from back East that staffed some LOs in St. Joes Forest in Idaho in the early 1970s.  They returned years later to staff one again. So far the book has been a lot of fun.  Here is [...]

Here is a similar shot of me one time manning the nearby Sourdough LO --- which has a long series of steps up ---  good times !

My son took this picture of me standing in the Deso  doorway. I am usually smiling  LO duty but I looked at little pensive that day.....probably quiet with little radio traffic, no smokes  and no hikers--