Waldo Mountain Lookout…
Deb’s sister, Cheryl Hill, mentioned that she needed to get to the Waldo Mountain lookout for a lookout project she is working on. Unfortunately, the standard Waldo Mountain trailhead is still closed due to the current fire closure. We worked up a route that started from the Shadow Bay boat ramp, paddled a kayak and canoe to the west shore, near Rhododendron Island, where we set up camp, then thrashed through the burned forest to the Waldo Lake trail. Once at the trail we turned north and hiked for about 2.75 miles to the trail junction near Elbow Lake. The main Waldo Lake trail is in great shape and used mostly by Mountain Bikers and trail runners. At the junction we turned left onto Salmon Lakes trail and immediately had a hard time following the trail. Where the forest has burned, there was no trail, and where the forest has not burned, the trail is very overgrown. We were able to connect the surviving fragments of the trail to the next trail junction, turning right on the Spirit Lake Trail for about .25 mile, then turning onto the Waldo Mountain trail for the final push to the summit.
The lookout is still closed. The front door has been kicked in, but not damaged. The inside looks like a museum, with the wood stove, bed, cabinets w/ pots and pans. The maps were still hanging on the walls… It looked like the lookout personnel just walked out a week before. Looking at the paperwork, it looks like this lookout hasn’t been manned since Sept 2001…CRAZY!!
We got back to camp, on the west shore, at about 6:45pm for a nice relaxing evening at the shore of Waldo Lake. The next morning, we slept in a bit, had our morning beverage, ate breakfast, packed up the boats, and had a nice paddle back to the Shadow Bay boat ramp. SO MANY PEOPLE at the boat ramp. We did not stick around, although it looked like a fun place to people watch 😊
A fun couple of days kayaking, camping, and hiking with my lovely wife, Deb, and her sister, Cheryl.
The days tracks….
