Rising nearly 5,000 vertical feet from the valley where Sierra City is situated are the Sierra Buttes. I headed out of town asap after getting breakfast and some groceries and when I reached the Sierra Buttes jeep trail I got my map and guidebook out to figure out where I wanted to camp that night. Lo and behold, there were several recommendations to head up to the fire lookout tower that sits perched on one of the highest stone pinnacles and literally hangs over a 600 foot drop with 360 degree unobstructed views. I was near a spring and so decided to go tank up with a gallon of water and hoof it the other 1,400 feet up to the lookout and see what the likelihood of getting a night's sleep up there would be. Well, I climbed and I climbed and I climbed and it became clear that this was a very unique place near the trail, perfect for taking a shorter-than-expected day and doing some journaling and yodeling and cliff-yelping.


A friend of mine checking out the lengthening shadows as the sun sets.


The tippy-top lookout tower itself from a cliffside boulder.


After cooking dinner on the open metal grating that circles the tower's second floor, I tossed my sleeping bag and pad, water bottle, and clothing up onto the ROOF of the tower and then hauled my skinny butt up there to journal some more, read, and catch some Zs. When I awoke to pee in the middle of the night the view took my breath away. Since there were/are fires to the north of here, the entire surrounding area of peaks and valleys was choked with woodsmoke. The moon, still more than half full, bathed everything in a pale milky light. It was as if I were in one of those cheesy movie scenes where they try to depict heaven being a bunch of people up on white clouds. Absolutely incredible.


The view in the morning was even better as colors poured from the sun through the clouds and smoke banks making it look like I was on the top of the Dark Tower in Mordor with the smoldering ruins of a blasted land all around. Just the 4.5 lb bronze "Bad Wizard" and me up top. More on him shortly.