Stehekin, WA Aug 29, 2011

We are camped in Chelan, WA on the south shore of Chelan Lake. This is a summer vacation destination in the Cascade Mountains, full of families with powered water toys having the time of their lives. We are here by suggestion of an old friend, LT, who recalled loving the trip on the Lady of the Lake up to Stehekin at the north end. The lake is 55 miles long and the north end differs from the south end like ice differs from water. It shares the same ingredients but they are arranged very differently. We took the Lady Express early in the morning, arriving some 2.5 hours later in Stehekin, a town of 95 inhabitants, a bakery, a one-room schoolhouse, and a waterfall. There are no roads in or out. The backcountry of the north end of the lake is actually National Park. 

As LT recalled, bicycles were for rent and we pedaled the only road we could find, which took us to a lovely waterfall in a shaded glen. If the mosquitoes hadn’t been so ferocious we could have stayed for a picnic. On our way back to “town” we stopped at the schoolhouse and lunched at the bakery. In hindsight, we wished we had decided to remain overnight. The intimacy of the town was intriguing and there were hiking trails everywhere.

Our return journey, a short three hours after arrival, took four hours on the Lady of the Lake. This journey is better suited to a cooler day than the one we had. We were treated however to a golden eagle in flight. As we approached Chelan again the ski-doos played in the Lady’s wake. We were back in vacation land. For those of us without the toys, it was nice to find the part of the lake where a canoe would have been welcome.