A quick trip to Stehekin

Whoa. Where did August and September go? Whoa.

Frank and I have been busy, I guess. I'm going to "catch up" by posting some stories and photos of our activities in no particular order. I might not even put dates on the events. So there.

First off: A quick trip to Stehekin.

The Lady Express on Lake Chelan

Frank has hiked many pieces of the Pacific Crest Trail over the years, and he's semi-serious about completing sections as he goes along. Last summer he hiked from the Canadian border to Rainy Pass with his friend, Rob Langsdorf from San Diego, who is seriously section hiking the PCT. Anyway, Frank wanted to walk from Rainy Pass to Stehekin, so he took the opportunity a few weekends ago.

I decided I wanted a few extra hours at home, so I dropped him off at the Bridge Creek trailhead on Saturday after lunch and said, "I'll meet you in Stehekin tomorrow."

Early Sunday morning I boarded the Lady Express in Chelan and began a two-and-a-half hour boat ride up Lake Chelan.

You wouldn't believe the boring scenery on the way up lake . . . .

The boat arrived at Stehekin Landing around 11 a.m.  

Major activity at the landing - that's the national park bus.

So I had around 4 hours to myself in Stehekin to wander around, find and set up our campsite, eat lunch and nap atop a picnic table along the shore. It was rough. The weather was glorious (if a little hazy from distant forest fires), and the surroundings couldn't have been more serene.

Frank arrived on the 3:15 shuttle bus Sunday afternoon as planned. He was very hot, tired and dusty but we cleaned up with a dreamy swim in the crystal-clear waters of Lake Chelan. SO GREAT!

Sunset looking into the North Cascades from the tiny marina.

Frank and I had a lovely dinner at the only restaurant in Stehekin. The food was delicious. Now think about this people: It's the only food vendor in town. The food could stink and they'd still be serving it. But no, they do better than they have to. How refreshing.

We didn't have to get on the boat back to Chelan until noon on Monday, so we rented bikes in the morning and rode a couple miles to the excellent bakery for breakfast.

Frank and cinnamon roll. Yum.

The scenery along the Stehekin Valley Road was outstanding, we basically had the place to ourselves, and there was something so sweet about just pedaling along on our poopy old rental bikes.

The Harlequin Bridge - our turn around point.

Kokanee salmon (land-locked sockeye) in the Stehekin River.

Wetlands where the Stehekin River enters Lake Chelan.