Definitely one of our favorites – Chelan provides a beautiful glacier fed lake, cute little town and an awesome RV park (City of Chelan Lakeshore RV Park) right on the lake. It is also the gateway to the southeast corner of North Cascades NP, which you can only get to via a ferry ride north 50 miles on the lake to Stehekin and then an 11 mile hike or bus ride to the entrance to the park. You kinda have to want to get to this one, but the journey is fantastic!! AND, since the getting there is so difficult there aren’t very many people. Also, there are no internet or cell connections and no TV. One can truly disconnect and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. There are two additional benefits – one is that Stehekin is adjacent to the Pacific Crest Trail just 80 miles from the end of the journey at the Canadian border and the second is that there is a delicious bakery just two miles from the ferry landing (and the Lodge).

Having visited Stehekin previously for just a day trip on the ferry, it was a desire to return – for the bakery and to visit with all the hikers coming off the trail to eat and reprovision. So – it was time to board the Lady of the Lake and head to the Lodge for a couple of days and all that Stehekin has to offer;-)

The bakery – Stehekin Pastry Company – is exactly two miles from the Lodge. This became our ‘breakfast/lunch walk’ for the three days in Stehekin (a replacement for the two mile one way walk to Starbucks at home). This is where one gets to visit with all the hikers off ‘the Trail’ and hear their tales. Fascinating!! It is now late September and those that started at the Mexico border began their trek in late April or early May. Over 120 days hiking and about 2500 miles;-( They have much more energy and resolve than we do.

A typical hike for folks like us is the 7 mile round trip hike to Rainbow Falls (1.5 miles past the Bakery – so a stop there makes it palatable;-) On the way, one passes the 100 year old Stehekin School. After looking in on the old, it was good to see a new school has taken its place just up the road.

Getting to the North Cascades NP entrance from this direction was a must and an 11 mile hike (22 miles round trip) was NOT on our agenda! So – we found a CanAm to rent for a couple of hours to check out High Bridge and to get to the park entrance. Off we go – – –

Other sights of Stehekin that ‘entertain’ one during their visit include the Red NP Busses that will get one from the Lodge to the Bakery and High Bridge, if you are willing to abide by their schedule;-( There are many other sights that amuse – but the upload time won’t allow for many!

The stay in Stehekin was awesome! It is a world away that only takes 2.5 hours to get to. Try it sometime.

A stop would not be complete for us if there wasn’t a round or two of golf. Gamble Sands (about 40 minutes north of Chelan in Brewster) is the top rated course in Washington state and it is easy to see why. There are panoramic vistas of the Cascade Mountains and Columbia River on every hole. Designed by David McLay Kidd the course is built in the middle of apple orchards and vineyards as a links course. Therefore, one never knows what kind of roll one is going to get. Actually – quite a fun round although freezing cold on this particular day;-)

Bear Mountain Ranch was a little closer to town, the weather was better – but the course was MEAN!! It did have beautiful views of Lake Chelan, the apple orchards and vineyards all around – –

It was VERY hard to leave this beautiful area. Definitely one of our favorites. But, the time came to say goodbye to Lake Chelan and then to the Columbia River, which we had been following for about a week.

It is always sad to leave Chelan and Stehekin – there is such beauty and remoteness that is hard to duplicate. AND – It makes life so simple;-)

But, as always, we must move on. So – with a tear in the eye we head west to the Fjord of Hood Canal and another remote entry to another NP. Stay tuned;-)

E & G off on another adventure