Steliko Lookout — Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023

Took my 2 year old and a friend to stay overnight at Steliko Fire Lookout. This was a bucket list to do with the kids in the winter as the hike is pretty short at around 4 mi roundtrip and it's pretty much a hike on a forest road. The lookout is also fully equipped with 4 mattress, heaters, stove and cooking utensils.

We parked the car on the designated parking area before the barrier as the previous trip reporter mentioned. We arrived late just before the sun set and we hiked up in the dark (with our head lamps) for majority of the time.

The snow was soft and not deep so snowshoes were not needed (we left our snowshoes in the car and brought spikes). I did not put on any traction on the way up but did put on spikes on the way down.

It took us a little over 2 hours to reach the lookout (shouldn't be more than 1 hour for a regular hiker) as I had to deal with a cranky and tired toddler. If you bring your little one, make sure you arrive at the trailhead by 1 or 2 PM to give enough time to hike up. Check in time starts at 3 PM per the booking confirmation.

The lock box for the key was easy to find but it was a bit tough to unlock and lock the door. Not sure why. I also could not turn on the main Martin heater and pretty much gave up after 2 tries. 😀 The back up Mr. Buddy heater worked fine but I would recommend to bring a back-up 16oz propane. One Cylinder lasted a little over 2 hours on a Hi setting.

We did not use the stove as I forgot to bring a lighter and used my friend's Jetboil instead.

The stay was comfortable but at 1 AM, I had the urge to use the bathroom and the outhouse was 'too far for my liking' and it was cold so I just had to hold it until morning 🙂. There were plenty of toilet paper and paper towel at the lookout.

Things that I'd recommend to bring, on top of the ten essentials:

- a Back up 16 oz propane

- a Sled - we used it to haul my toddler on the way up and to sled down whenever possible on our way down. I carried a big trash bag too so the sled was very helpful.

- A portable charger and a camping lantern. There were a few camping lanterns at the lookout but they were low on battery and the lights were out within 2 hours after we arrived.

I also prefer to bring a few freeze dried meals and disposable cutleries to make meal times easier for my toddler.

In the morning, we also built a snow man for an extra activity for my toddler. The cell reception was also pretty decent at the lookout that I was able to play YouTube without interruption.

Overall, we really liked the stay and my toddler seemed to enjoy it too.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/morning-hike-at-steliko-lookout-71cc107?p=-1&sh=d960ob