I had the great fortune of doing a winter visit to Windy Joe on March 3, 2019. I was working on visiting all of Washington State’s standing fire lookouts, a journey I finally completed in 2019, and my original plan was to ski to Monument 83. Unfortunately temperatures were approaching -20°C so I abandoned that idea and instead snuck in an unplanned visit to this lookout.
Windy Joe is a real gem and here in Washington State we only have one D-6 cupola remaining, North Twentymile, so it was a pleasure to see this one and it’s remarkable condition. Thought you’d enjoy some snowy photos.
pmjwright
March 4, 2022 at 7:48 pmA photo was published in The Province in 1952, three from a September 2016 hike, and one from my first visit in 1968; that must have been where I got bit with Lookout Fever!
There are informative dioramas and displays inside the lookout cabin.
The lookout cabin is of a type known in BC as the Standard Cabin-with-cupola and was based on a pattern designed by USFS in the Pacific Northwest Region, where it was designated as the D-6 lookout. This pattern was widely used in BC from the mid-1920s until about 1950.
Fortunately, about 6 lookouts of this design still survive in BC: Windy Joe, Woss Lake on Vancouver Island, Sugar Mtn near Cherryville, Mt Brent near Penticton, McBride Top Lookout above McBride, and Mt Revelstoke Summit lookout.
Firelookout.ca
March 4, 2022 at 10:07 pmThanks for the info, Jim!