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REVIEW OF CLASS ZOOM MINI-REUNION MAY 14, 2022
Known as “Author and Dean of the Olympic Peninsula Lookout Hunters...”
Leslie shared how her enthusiastic embrace of the out of doors devolved into a passionate pursuit of hiking to forest fire lookout locations. These destinations provided her not only great exercise but often breath-taking views, and beautiful flowers and fauna to observe along the way.
In the early 2000’s she was hiking two or three times a week, leading small groups of women in this pursuit. They called themselves variously “Women in Motion” and “Tuesday Trotters,” and shared many adventures, laughs and gaffs.
By 2008, Leslie had visited 300 (!) of these, and ultimately she hiked to an astonishing total of over 500, across the U.S. She realized she needed to learn GPS so that her screen would match her (don’t leave home without it) map. Armed with this skill she continued to hike and to research and record the history of each lookout’s location.
When she realized she had become an expert on fire lookouts, she decided to write a hiking guide focused on the Olympic Peninsula and Willapa Hills, which she knew best.
Nonetheless, Leslie spent four years drafting her book, determining its organization, incorporating pictures and maps, indexing and footnoting, until she finally found an editor and cartographer that would publish and distribute it: Sidekick Press.
Lost Fire Lookout Hikes and Histories is so well written it was a 2022 finalist for an Eric Hoffer Award. If you missed this mini, and even if you never get to Northwest Washington, we recommend purchasing Leslie’s book. It’s guaranteed to inspire you to don your hiking boots and set off on many more “Mountain Days” of your own!
Submitted by Elizabeth “Sunny” Eaton Steadman
