McBride Fire Lookout (From Below)

    Normally it is difficult to see the old McBride Peak Fire Lookout from the valley bottom, but the other day when we were walking Skye down the runway at the McBride Airfield, the sun was hitting the lookout building just right and a dark sky behind it made it visible.  The lookout is the white speck on the horizon in the middle of the photo above.  (This was taken with a telephoto lens.)

    You can drive up McBride Peak and park in the sub-alpine, then hike up slope to the lookout.  Distances and slopes are always deceptive from the valley bottom.  I am usually fairly pooped by the time I leave the vehicle and make it up to the lookout.  Once there, you can head out in several directions and either hike in the alpine meadows, or walk along the ridges of the mountains.  

    The vertical photo below shows a more accurate view of how the lookout appears from the valley bottom.  The bales of hay are along the side of the runway of the airfield and the tiny white speck on the horizon is the lookout.

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