[Mike Collins]

Most hikers will hike to the Desolation Peak lookout from Ross Lake by taking the trail to the top. My buddy and I took a different route from the north. We crossed the border at Sumas and drove to the town of Hope, B.C. where we turned onto the Silver Creek/Skagit Road and drove it 55 km to its end at the trailhead for the Hozomeen Lake trail. After three miles we took the right folk which brought us to Willow Lake. Shortly before the outflow at 2850' we headed due south offtrail following the line of gravity for 3100 feet of gain. The forest was steep and had short mossy cliff bands to thread through but it went smoothly for us. We went over the top of Pt. 5967 and took a break. The register there had been placed by Fred Darvill Jr. in 1967. We were the sixth party to sign the register in those 38 years. Three of the entrants were lookout rangers who had sauntered the 1 mile distance from Desolation Peak. One ranger commented that the sixty days in the lookout taught her to enjoy quietness. We continued south going over Pts. 5687 and 5925. There was a boot scarred path from the basin beneath the lookout to the summit and as it followed the easiest line we stayed on it to the top. It was disappointing to find the lookout boarded up for the winter. I had called Sedro Wooley on Wed and they assured me that the lookout would be staffed this weekend. I had hoped to share the same space as Jack Kerouac did but it wasn't to be. The 20 oz bottle of Snoqualmie Wildcat Beer which I brought for the ranger didn't go to waste though. My friend and I enjoyed it while pondering future outings. Our descent was down a different line as we wanted to avoid the mossy rock found on the upclimb. We descended NW from Pt. 5967 toward Pt. 4423 and then dropped NNE toward Hozomeen Lake to connect with the trail. The route went quite well for us. Distance travelled; 18 miles. Car-to-car 10 hrs. Elevation gain; 5,000 feet.

[Hiker Boy]

Sweet TR! ..and in my neck of the woods too! "Hozomeen, Hozomeen, most beautiful mountain I ever seen ... but what a horror when I first saw that void the first night of my staying on Desolation Peak waking up from deep fogs of 20 hours to a starlit night suddenly loomed by Hozomeen with his two sharp points, right in my window black... Over 70 days I had to stare at it." Kerouac

[Mike Collins]

Fred Darvill has written a book, Hiking the North Cascades. Must of his climbing was done pre-SR 20. He and his wife, Ginny, adopted the Hidden Lakes lookout and kept it up for 40+ years.

[Elvis]

Mike - Nice report and sounds like a great excursion! Too bad the LO was closed up. My previous inquires with the SW office about Desolation usually results in answers that either include 'probably' or 'I think'. Can I ask what prompted you to come in from the N side of Ross? Just looking for something different? Were there many people at the lake on that end? I'm guessing that from the small number of boats on that lake it's not a highly publicized location. What was the condition of the gravel road and about how long did it take to reach the lake from the Sumas crossing? I'm just curious because I've never taken that route as it appears to be much longer than just taking Hwy 20... and I really enjoy the marvel of the dam and the resort. ~E

[lookout bob]

as a lookout buff, I've longed to go to Desolation for a while but haven't quite found the time....is this a faster way in than by boat? I'd always hoped for 3 days to do D Lookout. Also, did you feel Kerouac'd when you were there?

[Mike Collins]

A friend of mine lives in Everson, 10 miles south of the Sumas border. From the border plan on 2+ hrs to the Hozomeen Campground. The road in was a hard packed gravel with some holes here and there but it went fine in a low clearance Nissan. The boat costs coming and going and from my friend's house the drive is probably about the same time commitment. Mainly though I wanted to do the peak from the north as it looked quite doable and enjoyable when I was on Ross Lake this summer for a three day seminar. The Ross Mule is the NCNP barge which lumbered along and the route was pointed out to me by Gerry Cook who works for the park. Trails are convenient but the monotony of switchbacks is less appealing than the everchanging landscapes of crosscountry travel. Plus you can slap a mule on the butt at the bottom of the trail and it will walk to the top unescorted. I like routes which take a little more thinking. I like to sit down with a buddy and a map to figure out the route up something. Problem solving with a map offers constructive interchanges between partners that are a plus to outings. I didn't feel Kerouac'd while up there but had hoped to. It was a disappointment not getting into the lookout. I did look in though and was deflated even further. The table for the Osborne fire finder was missing the map and the crosshair scope that spun around atop the absent map was also missing. The desk which I had read faced away from Hozomeen (Kerouac called this peak "the Void") now faces Hozomeen. I had more of a connection reading the register on Pt. 5967 where a ranger named Eustler made an entry in July, 1969 quoting Kerouac. It was a thin thread connecting with the turbulence of that time.

[Snowshoe Hare]

[seawallrunner]

Mike, what is the condition of the trail to Desolation from the Canadian side (eg where you turned off to bushwack up) Is the trail from the Hozomeen parking lot a big wide trail, kind of like the East Bank trail closer to Highway 20? I was at the lookout in early August. We camped at Lightning Creek, took our canoes to the water trailhead, then hiked up. I was surprised that so much of the trail is under the cover of trees - only the last two miles (my estimate) are in the open meadows. So you went up from Willow Lake, eh? I remember standing past the lookout,looking at the bumps between me and Hozomeen and thinking that there has to be another way up than the switchbacks. I would love to return to that area soon.

hozomeen from desolation lookout

desolation lookout - while a fire rages near Diablo

Ranger Marie - 2005

More photos here from Desolation: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seawallrunner/sets/727611/

[Mike Collins]

Thanks for the photos. In the first photo there is a peak between Hozomeen and Desolation (where the photo was shot). Atop that peak is the register left in 1967 by Fred Darvill. If you go there you can be the seventh entry in the log. The trails up to Willow Lake were not a problem at all. The tallest point of Hozomeen is the peak on the left. Summiting Hozomeen was one of the highlights of this year's hiking for me. In the last photo the map for the Osborne fire finder and the carriage for spinning it are not at the lookout presently. Maybe they take it down for the winter.

[marzsit]

firefinders are rare instruments these days, so they are always removed for the winter in case the building is destroyed or looted.

[lookout bob]

actually Marzsit, you can still purchase Osborne fire finders. They cost about $2800. from a guy who custom makes them. Ray Kresek ( author of Firelooks of the Northwest) is marketing a much cheaper one now....it's almost the same but is not acurate to 1/10 degree like an Osborne. Its 1 degree accuracy makes it only suitable for demo purposes, not actual detection. I think you can find out more via the Forest Fire Lookout Association....I just added its site as a link here. ( top of the page in Links.....)

[Islander]

That's my neighbor and friend Marie pictured with the fire finder. She's been there around 8 years...big fan of Kerouac, but have never been up to see her....she mentioned the water problem this year....I think I'll head up early season.

[Mike Collins]

I talked with a former lookout ranger who told me the Desolation Lookout used a cistern adjacent to the cabin that had a capacity of around 40 gallons.

[seawallrunner]

Islander, it was such a pleasure to meet Marie on Desolation. Indeed, she told us that she's been assigned to Desolation for a few years. And on the day that we were there, there was a fire near Highway 20 - so severe that it was closed as a result for a day or so. So she visited with us, but she also had some fire-controlling logistics to watch for and listen to on her 2-way radio. She did have time to give us a tour of the lookout, and showed to us how the Osborne finder works. How peaceful it must be, to sleep in the lookout, and awake at dawn's early light. And Mike - the furniture in the lookout can be moved at the ranger's will. It's a small cabin as you know (L4 Aladdin 14' x 14', see Kresek) and everything is moveable. The position of the table may just have been the 'new' ranger's preference. And, we saw the cistern Mike - it's on the side of Desolation, towards Skagit mtn, looks like it's hanging from a cliff...

[greg]

but cwall, did you hoist a slug of whiskey or some other beverage to jack? seems only right.