Full Moon at Sex Peak

"Full Moon at Sex Peak." Sounds like a real bodice-ripper, doesn't it? The truth is, we needed our fleece jackets and warm sleeping bags to enjoy this campout, which turned into one of the highlights of the summer.

Sex Peak is an old (1920s) lookout tower in the Kootenai National Forest. And yes, Sex Peak is its real name....always has been. The lookout is no longer staffed, so the Forest Service rents it out for $35 a night during the summer. No water, no power, no nothing, except a starkly furnished cabin, 14x14, with paned windows and a catwalk all around. It's popular; I made my reservations back in February, and August was already booking up. I couldn't get Aug. 6, which would have been a full moon, but I got Aug. 5 which was pretty close to the big enchilada.

We left home around 4:30 yesterday and made the 22-mile drive to the lookout. Along the way we stopped to pick about two quarts of huckleberries. Once we reached our "vacation home" driveway, we swung the "Occupied" gate closed behind us and drove the remaining quarter-mile to our castle in the sky.

While Lizzie chased picas around in the rocks, Don and I set up our lawn chairs on the wrap-around catwalk and soaked in the 360-degree vista. The temperature had been in the 90s on the drive up, but was a comfortable 75 at the summit. As the sun dipped lower the temperature relaxed into the high 60s with a light breeze. We toasted sunset and all that's good with McClellan's single malt scotch. Don had debated which adult beverage to bring up there. We were both in agreement the McClellan's was as perfect as anything could be for that moment. Earthy, clean, simple, smokey, and rich beyond description, needing nothing to adorn it. It was in perfect harmony with the whole experience up there in the trees, rocks and sky.

The full moon poked out of a thick haze, surprising us that it had already risen above the mountains in the distance. Don shot some pictures of it through his spotting scope. We watched a few lights pop out from ranches far below us, and marveled at what a unique experience this was, up here on top of the world, with no humans within 20 miles. No ambient noise or lights. Just utter peace. It was hard to remember there was strife anywhere below us, and even harder to believe we'd been able to leave it all behind so easily and quickly.

We ate a cold dinner of great leftovers I'd brought from home, then retired for the evening. Now you want to hear the bodice-ripping part...but alas, you'll just have to use your imagination. When Don finally went to sleep, I pulled out my headlamp and read 30 pages of "Atlas Shrugged." I felt like a kid at summer camp!

Around 2 a.m. we woke to lightning in the east, followed by lightning in the north and south. Within minutes a cell of wind, thunder and rain had blown upon us, so we got to enjoy the elements for half an hour or so until the cell blew threw and all was calm again. The full moon had disappeared behind clouds, but it was worth it to experience the electrical storm in our stormproof glass tower.

This morning we explored the scree that covers the area surrounding the lookout. It's a sandstone/quartz/travertine/granite mix that is naturally broken into a variety of building blocks. The cleavage is remarkable; the pieces look almost like machine-made bricks. It was sort of like an adult version of Leggo toys; there's no end to what you could "build" by piling and piecing these intriguing rocks together.

Around 9 a.m. we reluctantly readied for check-out. After packing up and sweeping out the cabin for the next tenant, we headed back down the mountain to the World.

If you want information on the Sex Peak Lookout, go here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/kootenai/recreation/activitiesx/lookouts/sites/sex_peak.shtml

Sex Peak is just one of many lookouts available for nightly rentals during the summer. Next year we plan to check into another one in this area. Meanwhile, we feel a special sense of "ownership" of this one special place where we spent a magical night of solitude above the human strife below.

For more photos of our trip, try this: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015672&id=1215276210#/album.php?aid=2015672&id=1215276210&ref=nf