Located in Ashford, WA
A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I visited the high rock lookout to catch the sunrise there. My brother & sis in law Shane, Christine, & Sam hiked here the previous week with Christine’s siblings and they wanted to go again! Of course we joined in since Summer is almost over. I was looking forward to it but also kind of not looking forward to it because I knew we would be up ALL NIGHT to hike and wait for the sunrise. But let me tell you this: It was worth the sleepless night!
I planned to catch some zzz’s before the hike, but apparently my mind knows that I will have to wake up in two hours so… that nap didn’t happen. I ended up being up for 28 hours! It’s amazing what the body can do, huh?
The Lookout Is On A Literal Cliff
That little itty bitty shack that you see there on the top of that cliff… is the lookout! It looks pretty insane, doesn’t it? It doesn’t look that steep from this view, but it’s pretty steep. I don’t even want to sugar coat it, haha, but it’s not like you’re climbing a mountain! Before we get into all that, let’s talk about what you should wear and what you should bring for a SUNRISE hike! My sister Christine sent me this list so I can be prepared:
🌲 HIKING ESSENTIALS
Head lamp
Hand warmers
Gun
Small phone charger
Charger cord
Hair tie
Water/Other Drinks
Granola bars
Outfit to hike-
Leggings/Bike Shorts
T-shirt
Pack to change into-
Warm Coat
Beanie
Gloves
Long sleeve/Sweater
Joggers to layer over leggings
2 pairs socks
Hiking shoes
THE DIRT ROAD BEFORE THE HIKE… THAT SEEMS ENDLESS
We got up at 11:30 PM or something and started driving to Ashford. Before you find that entrance to the hike… there will be A LONG DIRT ROAD that spans exactly 9.5 miles. It seems way longer than that when we went because the whole time, we were like “WHEN DOES THIS END LOL” It doesn’t help that hubby and our friend Edd decides to list all the worst case scenarios that could happen in this long road that doesn’t have cell service.
The head lamp is a must have so you don’t have to hold it, but flashlights works, too! Be safe and go with a group of people so if something happens, there’s a lot of people to help especially if you’re hiking this to catch the sunrise. It makes it fun, too because someone is always trying to be funny and entertaining.
The hike is 1.5 miles and it is all incline or if you want me to be specific, I would say 99.57% incline. It will feel like you did a legs workout that concentrated on lunges. With that said, you WILL be hot and sweaty. I opted to wear bike shorts and sports bra with a muscle tank and it was perfect attire for this. I also wore long socks as well. What I didn’t have was hiking shoes so I literally wore normal sneakers that didn’t help for on the way down lol. I’ll invest on that soon. Before you get to the lookout, you will have to go up that rocky steep hill!
THE LOOKOUT!
I wish I took a photo on the rock cliff climb that I said was steep earlier. It doesn’t look like it on the photos, but I think it’s pretty steep. You’re not “climbing” up though if that’s what you’re thinking. You can stand and walk up so it’s just steeper than the hike before that. FOR ME… I had to kind of crouch to touch the rocks to keep myself balanced, but for some other people like my husband and brother in laws just ran up there and down like it was nothing.
Anyway, as you can see, I put on my joggers, sweater, and beanie and Christine put on her jacket. I already got cold pretty fast! It’s also nice that they have this shack here, but you have to know about the bugs that crawls on the floor and the walls… and they can also fly.
There is a guestbook inside the shack and you can write your name, number of parties, and a comment! I guess in case anything happens, people would know that you’ve reached the top at least and they can begin to search from there. This whole post sounds like this hike is scary, LOL. It’s not. There’s windows on the shack, too but they boarded it up? I wonder if there were some people who vandalized it or something.
THE VIEW
The view was breathtaking from night until the sun rose. It was such a clear night and we saw all the beautiful bright stars so clearly! It was very clear that you can see the twenty or thirty satellites up there… evenly spaced just circling the earth. It was so weird looking… and definitely makes you think!
All of us just sat around the doorway and sides waiting for the sunrise. There were so many other people as well, but they were literally sitting right off the cliff. Like if they were to be pushed… or misstepped… yup. Death. I can’t ever! I didn’t even like looking at them daredevils! I mean, just look at the lady who did a handstand yoga pose in the first picture of this post! WOOOOH!
Another tip: bring a thermos of coffee or hot cocoa! My brother Shane brought hot cocoa and my hubby brought coffee. Make sure you COVER YOUR CUPS or bottles because of the many, many bugs that can fly in there. Yuck!
Literally catching the sunrise! So beautiful and so worth the WORK and sleepless night to catch this view. There is absolutely a Creator in this world. How can things in this world be so beautiful like this and not to mention so constant in how it operates and works? Just like how everything is created from the things of the earth, the things of this earth is also created.
The high rock lookout is definitely a hike you should do at least once in your lifetime! If you’re visiting here, though, you should definitely put it in your list of things to do. Hiking in the dark may not seem very fun, but if you go with a group of people, it IS fun and less scary. An owl was hooting in the middle of our hike and half of the people freaked out thinking it was a wolf howling LOLOL. My husband then looked and literally saw an owl! I have never heard an owl before and wow they are super loud!
Visit ALLTRAILS to read other people’s reviews of the hike and more photos. For me, I do think this hike is moderate. It’s not “easy”, because of all the incline and the burn your legs will feel, but it’s not hard. It’s a short hike of 1.5 miles, so that’s definitely not too bad! Let’s just say it’s moderately easy. You can do it! Thank you so much for visiting my post and I’ll see you on the next one!
PIN-IT!
