Update

The photo links for all six days are up now in the long hike-log post below.

Settling in in Stehekin

Today was the day for getting unpacked and settled in. There was a small snafu that caused my groceries to arrive a day late, but they got here and everything was fine. All of these pictures were taken either in Imus House (my home here for four weeks) or a few feet away from it.

My workplace

The view from the desk

View from my front porch

View uplake

View downlake

If I can't get inspired here...

The big adventure

I'm in Stehekin! Here is the log I kept of my backpacking trip to get here, along with links to a whole bunch of photos.

Technical note: the photo links are to Flickr sets, one for each day. I recommend opening them in new windows and viewing them as a slide show. Click the "Info On" button to see the titles and descriptions.

Day 1: Wed., Sept. 24

4.5 miles, 1,700 ft. gained

Link to Day 1 Photos

I met my ride at the Wenatchee airport without a hitch and got to the trailhead at about 4:30 in the afternoon. It was cloudy but not raining, although it had rained some on the drive. The 3.5 miles to Leroy Creek (minimal elevation gain) only took about an hour, with a bit of drizzle off and on.

The Leroy Creek Trail was a different story--brutally steep! But Leroy Creek Falls was spectacular, and there were some great views through the clouds, up and down Phelps Creek and (way) up to Seven Fingered Jack and Maude. (Mt. Maude is tomorrow's destination.) It took a little over an hour to climb the first mile to the Leroy Creek Crossing, where I made camp in the rain at 6:45, at about 5,320 feet. (I was hesitant to continue to the basin, not wanting to hike such steep terrain by headlamp in the rain. "Make conservative decisions" was the very last thing Tracey told me on the phone on the way to the trailhead, after all.)

I cooked corn and potato chowder by headlamp and hit the tent--wet, but undaunted.

Day 2: Thur, Sept. 25

est. 7.5 miles (mostly off-trail); 3,000 ft. gained; 2,200 ft. lost

Link to day 2 photos

It rained off and on (mostly on) all night, and is still raining at 7:00 am. I slept fairly warm--I'm guessing the low was around 40. I'm biding my time in the tent: I will abort the trip to Ice Lakes and Mt Maude if it rains all day, but the forecast says it might taper off later this morning.

The rain stopped around 9:00, so I quickly broke camp and hiked the steep mile up to Leroy Creek Basin in about 45 minutes, where I was greeted by a group of does. There was even a little sun as I made camp, allowing the tent and fly to dry a little--things were looking up! At about 10:45, I took off for Ice Lakes. By now, it was drizzling off and on. It is about 3 miles and 2,000 ft cross country (there is boot-built trail some of the way) to the saddle on the Entiat crest which leads to Upper Ice Lake. I didn't have much trouble route-finding on the way: the traverse through Leroy Basin beneath the cliffs of Mt. Maude alternates wooded sections and scree/rocklide traverses, on very steep terrain. There is pretty good trail in the wooded sections, but you have to watch very closely for a few cairns in the rocky areas. There was fresh snow on the peaks of the Entiat crest above.

I reached the infamous gully (the pictures don't do it justice: it is a deep gash in the mountainside) and didn't have too much trouble crossing it, although it is formidable. It was now lightly snowing, as I completed the rest of the climb to the saddle between the Leroy and Chipmunk Creek drainages. I ate lunch  at about 12:45, in increasing snow, at this beautiful spot with its yellow pumice soil and some Larch trees just starting to turn gold. (In a week or two, they'll be spectacular.) Elevation 6,820.

After lunch, I headed off to the Entiat crest at 7,800. There is a beautiful boot path through the pumice slopes--as good as any official trail. But the pumice soil is especially slippery when wet, and it was now snowing harder and harder. This last drag is steep: gaining 1,000 ft in not much more than 1/2 a mile. I reached the crest, the gateway to Ice Lakes, the place above any other place in the Cascades that I've so wanted to visit for so long, in a full-on blizzard. I couldn't even see the lakes, and the snow was starting to accumulate. I was especially worried about getting through the gully on the way back, since I figured it was raining down there. If that loose dirt were any wetter, it would really be treacherous. So, within a 1/2 mile of Upper Ice Lake, I made another one of those conservative (but painful) decisions, and turned around. I will get to Ice Lakes another time. (Here's a picture of what I missed.)

This turned out to be a good decision. For one thing, it took me longer to get back to camp then it did to get here, even though it's mostly downhill. I had routefinding problems 3 times. (In my hurry to beat the weather, I had committed the classic blunder of not turning around often enough to see what the route would look like on the way back.) The first two problems were between the Chipmunk Creek saddle and the gully: both times I ended up below the correct route and had to climb on very steep and rough terrain to regain it.

Then, the gully: I tried to cross in the same place I had on the way, but the dirt was much wetter and looser and I had some trouble. About halfway down (it is maybe 25 feet deep), my feet slipped out from under me, and I slid the rest of the way, tearing my pants, my knee, and abrading my hands in several places. It was also very difficult climbing out.

Now I was home free, if bloody. Well, sort-of: Having lost the route below twice already, I had clearly learned my lesson, because now I lost it above between the gully and the main basin (where my camp was). The terrain was steep and wooded and slippery when wet, so this slowed me down considerably.

I finally got back to camp a little before 4:00. It rained on and off the rest of the day. I did some first aid and got into the driest clothes I had, then I collected water from a branch of Leroy Creek a few steps outside my tent and fixed 3-bean chili for dinner. It was excellent (but it gave me heartburn--or maybe that was the gully exacting it's revenge). I hit the tent with my trip log and a book around 6:00. Even though the weather was bad, I still got some beautiful views of the Entiat crest poking through the clouds. This is truly a spectacular and rugged area. Today was my most extreme travel of the trip, and hopefully my most extreme weather as well, if the forecast holds.

About 7:00 pm, I got up to get a Zantac down from the bear bag, and it was clearer than it had been all day: a good sign. Just as I settled into the tent, what sounded like a huge rockfall came crashing down from Seven Fingered Jack above me. (Scary!)

Day 3: Friday, Sept. 26

11.5 miles; 3,300 ft. gained; 3,800 ft. lost

Link to day 3 photos

I got up to pee at about 3:15, and was greeted with a good news/bad news situation. The good news was that spectacular star display meaning the sky is clear. The bad news was that it was no more than 20 degrees and nothing I had was really very dry yet. Brrr. I got up about 6:30, finding everything that was wet last night (that would be everything) frozen this morning. The temp had climbed all the way up to 24.  I hit the trail around 8:00. The Leroy Creek trail is steep enough that it's almost as slow going down it as up it, especially when it's wet. I reached the  Phelps Creek trail and hit it hard the couple miles through unremarkable forest to Spider Meadow, which is just a gorgeous place. I had the first installment of lunch at the Phelps Creek crossing, at the far end of Spider Meadow, where I was able to sit on something dry (a rock), which was something of a novelty. Then the real climbing begins: up a mile to Larch Knob (what a beautiful place!) and course 2 of lunch. Then on to Spider Glacier. (It's not really a glacier anymore: just a permanent snowfield.) The snow was fairly hard (there hasn't been much sun lately), so the ascent would probably not have been possible without trekking poles (or an ice axe and/or crampons). I reached Spider Gap at about 2:00, but didn't linger long because a cold breeze was funneling up Spider Glacier.

The snowfields on the Lyman side were also fairly hard (and steep)--it was slow going down. The third installment of lunch was above the snout of the Lyman Glacier ( a real glacier) at about 3:00. I had a little trouble finding the route down toward Lyman Lakes: the area below the glacier is just a rocky wasteland. Once the trail is found, it is absolutely gorgeous parkland from here to Lower Lyman Lake and Railroad Creek, where I made camp a little after 5:00 in a fairly unappealing woods camp.

I have never seen as much spectacular scenery in one day as I did today--simply amazing. I briefly pondered continuing on with extra water to a possibly dry camp below Cloudy Pass, but I was pretty tired and wanted to dry my gear in the last bits of sun. I managed to get everything fairly dry, and I'm a little ahead of schedule, so tomorrow can include a climb of Cloudy Peak and/or some rest and recuperation time at Image Lake.

It's hard to believe my trip is half over. In spite of the poor weather (no complaints today, though--partly sunny and warmer), this is just absolutely fantastic so far. I've not seen another human, and I'm enjoying the solitude of an extended solo hike more than I thought I might.

Day 4: Saturday, Sept. 27

8 miles; 3,300 ft. gained; 2,800 ft. lost

Link to day 4 photos

It was cloudier and not so cold last night. I slept alright, although there was a lot of animal activity near me all night: mostly deer and small animals, I think. I thought there were supposed to be bear cables at this camp (there weren't), but I got a pretty good bear bag hung, and banged a pot during the night a couple times when it sounded like something larger was around. I hit the trail a little after 8 and was at Cloudy Pass about 9. It was still pretty overcast. I packed my fanny pack and headed up good boot-built trail toward Cloudy Peak. I got to about the 7,500 ft. level and decided that was enough--every route I could calculate up the last 400 ft to the summit looked fairly exposed, it was cold, and the clouds were being stubborn anyway. I hung around a while in a little grotto in the talus, had a chat with a pika, and took some pictures. (I never got a picture of the pika, because he never stood still long enough. Some have said that pikas are the cutest animals in the world. Here is a picture of a pika.) 

I headed back down to my pack at the pass and started the steep trail (down and up) to Suiattle Pass. Then I had the somewhat tedious traverse toward Miners Ridge. The forest is very dense and brushy here on the west side of the Cascade Crest--you can tell that it rains more here than where I've been so far.

The clouds were gradually disappearing, and more and more views opened up as I traversed miners ridge: Glacier Peak, Fortress, Chiwawa, The Dakobed Range (Mt. Clark), Tenpeak, etc. The last couple miles of miners ridge are beautiful grassy slopes. I had a chat with a marmot here (marmots might rival pikas in cuteness, and I did get a picture this time). I arrived at Image Lake about 3:00, getting the pick of the designated campsites at 6,200 ft., about 1/4 mile below the lake. The view of Glacier Peak was spectacular.

I walked up to the lake to fetch water from the little trickle of an inlet stream, and since swimming is allowed until the inlet dries up, I went for it. Yes, it was very cold. But it was sunny, and warmer than it'd been the whole trip (maybe 55?), so it was tolerable, and it sure felt good to be a little cleaner.

I had ramen noodles and dehydrated blueberry cheesecake for dinner, cleaned up, and did a little maintenance work on my feet. Then I walked back to the lake to get some of those classic photos of Glacier Peak over Image Lake in the day's last light, which means I'll be hiking back to camp by headlamp. What a fantastic end to a fantastic day. Image Lake is almost too beautiful to be real: it is as if God set out to create the perfect place from which to view Glacier Peak.

Day 5: Sunday, Sept. 28

11.5 miles; 1,700 ft. gained; 4,100 ft. lost

Link to day 5 photos

It was clear and very cold again last night: I think the low was around 25. I opened the tent to the spectacular sight of Glacier Peak in first light--what a way to start a Sunday in the presence of God's awesome work in nature. I cooked breakfast for the first time this trip--it was tasty and warmed me up inside. I hit the trail about 8:30. I took a little side trip up the steep, grassy slope to the crest of Miners Ridge, where I found great views that were definitely worth the effort, including a view down to Image Lake. I hit Suiattle pass mid-morning and started the long (20 miles) descent down Agnes Creek. The parkland below Suiattle pass was especially beautiful. I was starting to drag a little, looking for a good lunch spot for what seemed like forever. The forest here is very wet, and you can go a long time without a decent place to sit down. Finally, I hit the crossing of Agnes Creek, a bit below some falls. I had a nice liesurely lunch here, knowing it was only about 4 more miles down to Hemlock Camp. I'm glad I'm going down Agnes Creek: I can see where 20 miles uphill in mostly dark forest could get a little tedious.

The first couple miles after lunch were brushy, wet, and muddy--this was a little demoralizing. But the trail got better, and about 3:00 I arrived at Hemlock Camp, which features (duh) giant hemlock trees somehow surviving in an area of flood devastation from some flood long ago. I had direct sun until about 4:15, giving me a chance to set some creek water in the sun to bathe with and soak my feet in the warm sun and very cold creek. Some hikers passed through: they were hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (which I was now on) from Mexico to Canada--they only have about 5 days to go. I gathered up some firewood, but it's a challenge: everything is either green or rotted.

Dinner was most excellent Mac Patch Mac & Cheese and a dark chocolate bar with blueberries. But the evening did end with two somewhat disconcerting events:

1. A solo through-hiker arrived well after dark, just as I was enjoying the last bit of my fire and reading by headlamp. He kindof startled me. He was a little strange and socially awkward. As I lay in my tent later, I remembered the rumors about a rapist hiding out on the PCT heading north. This made for a less than relaxing night. (He was gone without incident when I got up at 6:15, before dawn. So, whoever you were, sorry for thinking you might be a psycho.)

2. Hemlock Camp has mice. They got into some of my food when I was not looking, and even chewed through my bear bag during the night--right through the odor-proof plastic sack inside. They have good taste, at least: they chewed the Larribars (which are my favorite) and left the Cliff Bars (which I have found I can barely choke down. It's like eating the Sahara Desert). Good thing it was the last day and I had packed plenty of extra food.

Day 6: Monday, Sept. 29

13 miles; 1,000 ft. gained; 3,900 ft. lost

Link to day 6 photos

I got up about 6:15 and broke camp by headlamp. Damn mice! I hit it pretty hard today, hoping to catch the 3:00 bus from High Bridge down to Stehekin, rather than have to wait for the 6:00 bus. I had a nice rest at Swamp Creek, and another little one by the spectacular falls just above where the West Fork of Agnes Creek meets the main creek. (It's a little strange to call Agnes Creek a "creek" now--it is a mighty river at this point.) I had to inch out onto a scary little balcony to get the photos of the falls. The forest is now becoming drier--smaller trees, and it is getting warmer.

I stopped for lunch just short of the Glacier Peak Wilderness boundary (I've been in the GP Wilderness this whole time), and peeled off layers, making it all the way down to just shorts and a silkweight shirt, for the first time. As I traversed the last miles high above Agnes Gorge, I could recall why Stehekin is such a spectacular place--it was warm, and the forest was sunny and pleasant and didn't smell like decaying plant matter. I got my first views across the Stehekin Valley to McGregor Mt., and upvalley to Goode. There is smoke in the air, which I later learned is from a controlled burn at Weaver Point (the very head of Lake Chelan, across from Stehekin Landing). 

I crossed Agnes Creek as it exited the gorge on a beautiful new bridge, crossed into North Cascades National Park, and was at High Bridge in a few minutes, right at 2:00.

There I found a pleasant sunny balcony over the Stehekin River and finished this log while I waited for the bus. It was in the 80s. Stehekin is a fantastic place. This backpacking trip has been beyond all expectations spectacular. I'm so fortunate that I am physically able to do this, that my family supported me being away for a month, and that I can have a sabbatical to make this kind of thing possible. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

The grand totals: 56 miles; 14,000 ft. gained; 16,800 ft. lost; one amazing adventure never to be forgotten.

Lazing in Chelan

Looking up Lake Chelan from near the town of Chelan

Yesterday was my travel day: today I am "laying up" in Chelan. I pushed the start of my backpacking trip back a day (from today to tomorrow afternoon) due to rain/snow in the forecast.

Chelan is a more appealing town than I remembered. I guess that's because I lived in Seattle the last couple times I was here, and Seattleites scoff at all things Eastern Washington.

I walked about 3-4 miles this morning, snapping this "first light" photo looking uplake. It was about 40 degrees. (I specifically wanted to test out how warm my new Patgonia Capilene 3 baselayer was: I'm relieved--it was quite warm!)

Chelan River (lake is beyond bridge) at first light

Today I set up charge accounts at the supermarkets (for ordering groceries from Stehekin) and buy non-perishable groceries to send up by boat tomorrow morning. Then the real adventure begins tomorrow afternoon. The forecast looks really bad for Wed and Thur. (Cold, rainy, possibly snow in the high country.) But once I endure that mostly clear skies are expected from Saturday on.