A Lookout Restored

Our next season (June - early Oct 2024) is open for reservation.  Dates become available on a three-month rolling basis through our AirBnB listing.  
The appearance that "dates aren't available" on AirBnB is both deceiving and frustrating. We understand the frustration of trying to figure out from the AirBnB site what dates are available.  We hope the following will answer your questions. 

1) When we are in the "open season", every night another new day (3 months in advance) will become available. 

2) AirBnB does not reveal to you the difference between dates which have been "blocked", "reserved", or "unavailable" (due to scheduling rules, such as the 3-month rolling window).  When a date moves from "unavailable" to "available" status, a few minutes or hours may pass before it is reserved by someone.  In the 2023 season, most reservations were confirmed within ten minutes after midnight (Pacific time).  Thus, for everyone else checking afterward, the date will still appear "unavailable" but it has actually been "reserved" and you won't be able to tell the difference.  

3) If two or more people are trying to make the reservation with AirBnB simultaneously, success will come down to a matter of which data packet "hit" the AirBnB servers first; sorry, it may seem that you were checking constantly and yet someone else got the reservation.  The nature of split-second computations...

4) Even people who check every day -- but during the day -- will probably never see an open day on AirBnB, thus resulting in the impression that "nothing ever becomes available".  The only exception we've seen comes when a guest cancels their reservation.  Usually that new opening is snatched up within a few hours, sometimes a day.

THE THIRD ANNUAL NORTH MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT AWARDS!

The North Mountain Fire Lookout -- like all lookouts -- was once a place where we looked out for forest fires.  Now it is the basis from which we also look out for one another.  Do you know someone in the Sauk/Suiattle/North Stilly region who has done a great job looking out for others?  We want to hear about it and thank them!  Each year, the Friends of North Mountain award prizes to local folks who have done a great job of prioritizing others in the community with kindness and service.

Nominations for the 3rd Annual Awards can be submitted here.  Deadline is Sunday night, April 14, 2024.  Winners will be announced at the Darrington Strong Community Meeting (Wednesday, 17 April).  We have seen so many great examples of community service in the previous two years of running this event!  We look forward to many, many years of the same.

All together, the Friends of North Mountain have contributed $2,480 to the local community through these awards.