[iron]

awesome. so much beauty, both from the lookout and on the entire way up on the trail. lush forest. great moss. high alpine colors. and stellar views of the north cascades. warm, soft bed. great sunset. great sunrise. read 250 pages of registry entries. made a new friend. quite the experience --- not too bad for a last minute change of plans. there was so much beauty on the way down, it almost brought tears to my eyes. lots of blueberries too my crappy backup camera does not do justice!

sibley creek

great basin

nice mixture

back towards marblemount

ripe berries too!

grass

wet rock

bright white granite

various stages of alpine flavor

tarn, looking northish

granite and moss

no doubt

lookout supplies

water bag, binoc's, and fishing poles

house rules

books to read

rough views of the ptarmigan traverse

spider formidable col

south cascade glacier, dome, and bruseth

the king

second half of ptarmigan traverse

the lookout's perch

eldorado

forbidden, quien sabe glacier, boston peak, sahale

johannesburg and magic mountain

tarn above hidden lake

great campsite

hidden lake

twin sisters and baker

sunset

sloan, rainier, mutchler and snowking

lookout, spider, formidable

great place to stay the night

ugly views from the inside

the start of a great setting

double reflection

great clouds

alpen glow for sure

yep

brilliant

2.5 suns

2.75 suns

3 suns

yum...

3.5 suns

4 suns!

more wonderful skies

swirly goodness

goodnight king

nah, you don't want views like this

"when i'm the farthest away from my typical self - i'm more at peace."

good morning

"decided i must get engaged in this place someday!"

"arrived at lookout and asked siri to marry me; she said yes!!! - and we lived happily ever after!"

"i just couldn't believe that we were in such a spectacular place and that he had proposed - a lot to process in one day!"

mutchler and snowking

great setting

popcorn clouds

contrail reflection

zoom

watch yer step

the final words of the former keeper of the lookout

"i bring up my girlfriend, i take down my fiancee."

"but then we have sanctuaries, temples, like the north cascades, that remind us why we fight everyday."

"this place makes me remember that life is full of changes and you must embrace them as they come."

"life is a river with many streams. it's just important that when exploring the streams you make sure to find your way back to the main river."

my entry

ideal

looking out the door

sonny boy ridge - our exit on the sonny ptarmigan traverse

many classic peaks

multiple tarns

green, red, and white

autumn leaves and granite

band of green

bright leaves

too much beauty

baker presiding

i love fall!

great hillside

upper sibley creek

hairy rocks

classic cascades

moss-caked tree

woohoo, let's hope it's something good

sorry, i'm getting lazy with my TR's...

[Hikingqueen]

Short to the point, lovely photos, and great stories. I must go someday.

[raising3hikers]

Great place to enjoy the North Cascade scenery!

[Michael Lewis]

The pictures tell the story.

[mgd]

Great set of photos!

Magnifico! The lookout library seems to be deficient in Louis L'Amour. That is like a balanced diet without vitamin C.

[Magellan]

Thanks for the post Iron. Nice pictures and stories. I was up there once and ran into a couple coming down who had just gotten engaged. I knew this place was special the first time I went.

[Highwalker's Daughter]

If anyone's planning on going up there soon, please contact beethovenhiker so he can send you the donation envelopes to leave in the lookout. Also, if there are ever two of you, the beams still need portaging as far as people can get them = eventually to the lookout. Most are still at the trailhead. Great weather, Iron!

[coldrain108]

Those views boggle the mind...nice!

[SlingShot]

Great Report and photos! Inspired me to go see for myself, So I did today. I didn't receive the same great weather, But still good. Did this as a day trip with a buddy of mine. Lookout was vacant when we arrived, saw two packs near first view of lake but saw no one. Hung out for about an hour or so, poked my nose around a little. Swept up, closed up and left for car at 2pm. Ran into 2 groups headed up, 1 couple for the night, the other for the day. Took over 100 photos, but seems a little redundant to post. And I had less light to work with. lol I did notice donation envelopes, I didn't count them but I'd say there were 12-18, -1. This was my first visit, of many.

[seattlehikertoo]

Holy mother of G*d Iron. I cannot believe those colors.

[jcocci]

[Quark]

Love the smarmy photos of the proposals of marriage that went on in the Lookout. You're such a damn sap. And now for something completely different - yet similar. The Saga of Park Butte.

[fishonjoe]

Nice shots Iron. Was reading the post entries and on the 1st one, turns out I was in the lookout that night Eric wrote in the Register "when I'm the farthest away from my typical self - I'm more at peace." He was with a group of 2 other guys and when I arrived they were gracious enough to let me stay overnight with them. They were complaining of some disgruntled guy that was there when they arrived and told them to leave...guess he wanted the Lookout all to himself and got pissed and left himself. I was up there all alone the night before 9-11, ironic, but it was so Peaceful and Beautiful that night.