Waking up on top of a mountain as the horizon turns orange with nothing blocking the view is an amazing sight–especially from the comfort of a bed within four walls. With windows across all four walls, a 360 degree view of the mountains and Kootenai Valley could be seen from Shorty Peak Lookout.
The current Shorty Peak lookout was built in 1964 and replaced the original structure built in 1927.
As the sun rose above the Purcell Mountains in Canada, the peaks in the Selkirks turned pink and shadows slowly descended down the mountainsides.
Staying in Shorty Peak Lookout for two days provided time to sit with binoculars and look at the surrounding peaks. Shorty Peak offered a good view of where the Baker’s Camp fire burned. If only we had been there a week or two sooner and then we could have seen the helicopters in action.
While we didn’t spot any fires while at the lookout, we did spot one across Smith Creek while driving down the road from the trailhead.
I can imagine the person manning the fire lookout back in the day knew every intricacy of the surrounding mountains, making spotting fires easier. The Osborne fire finder in the middle of the lookout enabled him to precisely locate on a map where the plume of smoke was rising from.
The Osborne fire finder is located in the middle of the lookout.
We used the fire finder to identify peaks instead of smoke. As the position of the sun changed, different aspects of the mountains would be illuminated and more viewing with the binoculars was necessary.
The most amazing light was on Friday night when there was a scattering of clouds near the horizon. As the sun peaked out from beneath the clouds everything turned golden until the sun sank behind the mountains.
As the sky darkened, Venus and another planet appeared above Lone Tree Peak and on Saturday night a sliver of a crescent moon appeared briefly. Nighttime brought views of the Milky Way and constellations through the windows.
There was enough starlight that I didn’t need the headlamp I packed. We could also see the twinkling lights of Creston, British Columbia.
All ages will enjoy the views of the Selkirk Mountains, Purcell Mountains and the Kootenai Valley.
However, we did use every drop of water we packed up the trail. I didn’t think about packing in water when I made the reservation in January. Obviously no water is present at the top of the mountain unless there is snow. Some years there is snow in July on the peak as people in the logbook noted. A side trail leads to a spring but we didn’t explore it because we had just enough water–even for the dog.
With that spring being the closest water (at least half-a-mile) the person manning the lookout had to work to haul his water.
Despite the hike to obtain water, the lookout provided everything the person manning the lookout needed–a table, chairs, beds and shelves. Two chairs and a stool were complete with glass insulators on the bottom of the legs.
Sunset from Shorty Peak lookout
While a lightning storm would have been humbling to watch from the lookout, I’m glad I didn’t need to sit on the chair and hope lightning wouldn’t strike the lookout. Occupants the day after we left may have had to take refuge on the chairs because a big storm moved over the Selkirks that morning.
However, the chance of a lightning storm is worth the experience to stay in a fire lookout especially because of the views.
Note: Reservations are needed to stay at Shorty Peak Lookout. They can be made up to six months ahead of time and summer fills up fast. To reserve the lookout visit www.recreation.gov.
