We took the Stehekin Ferry north across Lake Chelan to the town of Stehekin, where we camped at the Lakeview Campground in North Cascades National Park, and took a day-hike to the famous Stehekin Bakery.
We woke up in the campground near Mazama, ate breakfast, then headed east and south to the town of Chelan, which was located at the southern tip of Lake Chelan. This lake is 1500 feet deep in spots, and is over fifty miles long! In the US, only Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe are deeper. It was carved by a glacier during the ice age. All in all, it’s an impressive lake in every way, and we were excited to be taking a ferry ride along much of its length, from Fields Point in the south to the town of Stehekin in the north. We ate lunch in Chelan itself, and enjoyed the shoreline and the touristy feel to the downtown area. Then we drove a bit further to Fields Point where the ferry had its terminus.
We unloaded our big backpacks, carried them out onto the dock, and set them down. The ferry wasn’t there yet. So I drove up, parked the car, paid for overnight parking, and by the time I came back to the dock the ferry had already arrived.
This ferry, the Stehekin Ferry, was based in Stehekin itself, and left there every morning for the ninety minute voyage to Fields Point. We had tickets for the afternoon return journey. Tomorrow we would come back here on the morning run. But right now our adventure was beginning. Several passengers helped the crew with loading everyone’s luggage in the hold. It didn’t take long. Then we all boarded. I chose to sit on the lower level, up near the front, on the shady side.
The crew cast off the dock lines and away we went. It was a catamaran, with twin engines, and it really cut through the water. I was glad I was sitting inside, because there was a stiff breeze blowing down the lake, strong enough to be choppy and raise some whitecaps. It was exciting at first, but eventually the drone of the engines became constant, and the mountainous scenery flowed slowly by. Time went on.
We pulled up to the ferry dock in Stehekin and the crew re-tied the dock lines. Soon we all made a bucket brigade with the luggage, and everyone’s belongings were safely set on the dock. Vicki and I picked up our backpacks and put them on. We were here! In Stehekin!
Thanks to earlier research, I had a good idea of where the Lakeview Campground actually was. The FarOut app was almost useless. So we headed south and up the hill toward the park’s visitor center. The camp was just beyond it.
Luckily, there was an actual map posted near the campground entrance. The “Group Camp” is also the backpacker’s campground, and it was all the way up the hill. All the numbered sites are reserved. You can camp in the Group Camp if you have a wilderness permit for a nearby trailhead or a valid PCT long distance permit. We also had to pay for the spot. Getting cell signal to pay wasn’t possible up there. But we didn’t worry, yet.
After choosing a campsite, we wandered up the hill a bit. There was a waterfall there. Then we headed back to the lake. We tried to check out the Visitor Center but it was closed. For the season! This seemed odd, but maybe the park lost some of their funding. The American people overwhelmingly love their national parks, yet the parks keep getting their budgets cut every year. Strange but true. Surely there must be a reason.
We took a short hike along the lakeshore. There were docks and quite a few boats. Interestingly, the main town with all the houses is all the way at the furthest end of the lake, and a road comes down here to the lodge and the docks. These roads are amazing because they don’t connect to any other roads in the United States. It’s as if Stehekin were on an island. The cars and buses were all transported here by barge.
We walked back to the North Cascades Lodge to eat dinner. I had tried to book a room, but they were all reserved. But the restaurant was open to everyone, so we went inside to get some dinner. We brought food in our packs, but why bother, when we could eat better food right here with a great view of the lake?
After dinner, we went and sat near the ferry. We were glad to see that they left the boat plugged in with its Starlink wifi router powered on. We had enough signal to text our friends and pay for our campsite. Thanks for that! Then we headed back toward our campsite as the sun dipped down below the surrounding mountains to the west.
After a good night’s sleep, we woke up early, just like always. We ate some hot breakfast and then packed up everything. Then we put on our backpacks and headed back down the hill toward the ferry dock. It didn’t leave until 10:30am or so, but we wanted to get a hike in first. So we set down our packs right in front of the boat, and got ready to walk north.
Our plan for the morning was to hike north to the actual town of Stehekin. It was still rather cold, especially next to the lake, so we hiked along at a good pace, hoping to get warm. We were on the eastern side of Lake Chelan and in the shadow of the hills. There were a few houses along the shore, but mostly it was just us and the road.
The ultimate destination for the hike was the Stehekin Pastry Company, which we understood to be quite exceptional. At least among PCT hikers, who are always looking for good food, and plenty of it. We arrived a few minutes before 7am, when they officially opened. When the staff saw us outside, shivering with cold, they graciously opened the door and let us in. Hot coffee awaited us! This was living. We chose some tasty pastries and sat down at a table to eat. So what if this was our second breakfast? We deserved it.
On the way back we stopped at The Garden, an organic farm. The owners were out there in the field, planting more crops. Everything looked healthy and happy and orderly, just like a garden should be. Vicki bought a jar of their organic honey to bring home as a souvenir.
We headed back toward the ferry landing. Unlike yesterday’s choppy waves, today was calm and the lake provided lovely reflections of the mountains to the west. We walked out on the docks and checked out the aluminum boats that belonged to the park service. Nobody was using them today. Then we sat down in the sun near the ferry, and waited for the crew to arrive.
We watched as the crew loaded the luggage, boxes, and backpacks onto the boat. Then we went aboard. This time, I sat in the smaller, upstairs cabin, right behind the captain. Vicki sat with me, but often got up to go outside and stand in the breeze of our passage down the lake. It was a calm day, and the boat glided right along. Still, it took a long time to get to Fields Landing. Lake Chelan was huge!
Back at the dock, we helped unload the boat, then carried our backpacks to shore. We walked up to the parking lot and tossed them into the back of the car.
Now it was time to head out on our next adventure. But where would we go? It turned out that I already had a plan. Since Vicki did quite well that morning on our dayhike, we were both hoping that her recent spell of fatigue was over and done with. Maybe we could do some proper PCT backpacking! To that end, Vicki agreed to do a “test hike” and I chose the Chinook Pass area, near Mount Rainier, as a likely spot. We’d find out tomorrow.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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