Lookout Mountain Lookout — Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2025

Most important info first: I did not encounter any wasps, but I was solo so perhaps was able to pass them quickly enough to avoid enraging them?

I usually do this lookout in the winter, which is a type II fun sufferfest that takes 6-8 hours snowshoeing and breaking trail, so it felt like a cakewalk to just waltz up in shorts on a visible, well-maintained trail! Took me 2.5 hours to get up, and the lookout stayed 70 degrees overnight. Ideal conditions, although it was a bit smoky— but it gave the sunset some flair!

There’s a whole slew of perfectly ripe blueberries near the top, highly recommend stopping to pick them! And if you—hypothetically— miss the last anemic running water source (just past the turnoff to Monogram Lake) because you’re—again hypothetically— used to coming up in winter, there’s a very small pool to the right of the trail at 5,275ft that you can—purely hypothetically—filter through your shirt to get the moss out, and then treat in order to save your experienced ass from the embarrassment of a very rookie mistake.