Windy Joe Mt.

Stats: 16.4 km / 780m gain / 1882m high / 4:45 hours MT

It was not so windy at Windy Joe Mt. And a good thing because temps were -15C at the parking lot.

This snowshoe always feels like a long haul. And that's because it is. But there are no steep parts to it, as it follows an old FSR route. And the end results are well worth the effort. There's even a shelter from the cold at the summit.

Ice coated trees are backlit by the rising sun.

At first someone thought this was Brigette's scarf.

2.1 km in and leaving the Similkameen River behind us. Now the climbing started but it remained gradual because the trail is on old road used to get up to the fire lookout tower.

Feather-like patterns in a pocket of land that sees no sun in the winter.

5.5 km in. The trail we'd come up on is the home stretch of the 4260 km Pacific Crest Trail. Now we turned left, trudging up broad switchbacks and warming up as we were then exposed to the sun.

You could do this whole trail with micro-spikes on but for scouting around on the summit, snowshoes were nice.

The forest began to thin out somewhat. Looking west at Mt. Frosty.

Over 8 km and we arrive. This lookout is named after Joe Hilton who worked at Manning Park from 1946-1975. He was responsible for laying out many trails which exist in the park today.

Immobility meant cold, dispite the fact that there was no wind and the sun was out in full force. So glad this fire lookout was open.

Views on the North Cascades from the upper story in the lookout.

Chutwanten Mt. 2070m -- southeast.

Mt. Winthrop, 2316m - Joker Mt, 2256m - Castle Peak, 2286m

Mt Frosty, 2340m -- southwest.

The old-school fire finder.

A bit down & past the lookout, is this viewpoint.

Mt. Outram, 2400m - Ford Mt, 2108m - Dewdney Mt, 2246m / Then Snass, 2130m - Cascade, 1890m

Outram, Ford & Dewdney -- west.

Snass & Cascade and to the very right, the Four Bros. ridge -- northwest.

This fire lookout was built in 1950. In 1963 they built a bigger one by Monument 83 so this one was no longer staffed. There are more than 300 fire lookout sites in BC but only 25 are considered active.

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