Stehekin

In the eight years that we owned Starfish, our 22 C-Dory, I always wanted to trailer it over to Lake Chelan, a fifty five mile lake on the east side of the Cascades. Never did.

 This last June, Helen and I along with friends Kayleen, Nels, Nell and Andy boarded the Lady of the Lake for the 4 hour trip up to Stehekin a small community at the head of Chelan where we would hang out and explore for four days.

Stehekin can only be reached by water but once there ten miles of road gives access to homes, attractions and a gateway for hikers and climbers in to the Cascade Mountains. The cabin we rented was 3 miles from the boat landing and came complete with rental vehicle for our stay. That vehicle turned out to be a school bus and was a true highlight of our stay!

For such a small community, Stehekin has lots of things to do. Eating at the Stehekin Pastry Co. was our first but not only visit. Over the next few days we wandered up and down the valley in our bus and on foot; 

hiking,

 horseback riding,

and mountain biking.

Other activities include rafting the Stehekin river, kayaking on the lake and flyfishing. Maybe next time!

The Stehekin valley has been settled since the late 1800s and a visit to the Buckner Homestead and orchard is a great way to get a sense of the history here.

And while you are visiting the Buckner homestead don't forget to walk up to Rainbow Falls. My photo doesn't do it justice and it's way beyond visual. Figure on getting wet and deafened too!

This place really worked for us and led to talk of coming again. The quiet, laid-back atmosphere combined with the multitude of things to do is a good mix but mostly the Bus!

We rented a cabin and brought food with us. There is little in the way of groceries and restaurants. There is an all inclusive ranch option but for us the cabin was the way to go.