Granite Cliff Studio

Leavenworth, WA

To celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary we got a nice room for a couple nights in the Bavarian replica town of Leavenworth. When people were traveling on the rail in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s many were immigrants from Germany and Scandinavia. This area is know as the American Alps and Leavenworth certainly is all in on the German mountain town feel. I had the opportunity to spend time in Germany when I was in high school and you definitely could have fooled me that this wasn’t a town near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Because of this, the area was crowded with tourists, shopping, eating and enjoying great beers. Cured, a local butcher shop, was a highlight, we ordered and took home some locally sourced truffle and garlic meats. Leavenworth Cider Co. was also a great spot to hangout on the balcony and people watch while enjoying a nice cider from the local Icicle Brewing Company.

We had our share of schnitzel and bier but also enjoyed a nice hike down by the river and enjoyed the birds on Blackbird Island. A sign warned us that a cougar was seen in the area but there were many people exercising and fishing. Enchantment Park was a nice area along the Wenatchee River with ponds that hosted kingfishers, hawks, salmon and trout. This sanctuary was cool and serene considering the proximity to massive groups of tourists right up the hill.

Driving from Leavenworth, we were amazed at the number of apple orchards and vineyards along the Colombia River. The road was winding and went up and down in elevation and had scenic views of the river valley. The area resembled the Mosel River in Germany but quite a bit more brown. Drought and record highs impacted this area severely. My pre travel news and weather observing had revealed this area was in the 100s for weeks right before we arrived. Still it was warm, in the 80’s, and for September this seemed very warm.

Stehekin, WA

When I was researching this adventure, I would ask people who were from Washington or who had traveled through the area before about Stehekin. Typically, the response was a blank look. I would then say Lake Chelan and that would ring a bell and people would say that they had water skied there or kayaked or done a wine tasting in the area. Well, Stehekin claims to be the most isolated town in the lower 48, it takes a 55 mile, two and a half hour ride on the Lady of Lake to the end of Lake Chelan into the heart of the Cascade mountain range. When you make that final turn and see the glaciers atop McGregor Mountain and Cascade Peak right over it’s shoulder, you can’t help but get excited like seeing Mickey Mouse at Disneyland!

This was the first boat trip I went on that felt like we were going uphill, but in reality the mountains were just getting taller. Going into the heart of the Cascades is an incredible journey and the whole boat is full of adventurers. Adventurers of all ages and skills, journeyers voyage to Stehekin to hike 100s of miles, fly fish the Stehekin River or to grab a famous cinnamon roll. There are bus tours that pick up day trippers, campgrounds throughout the valley, ranches, lodges and vacation rentals. The Stehekin Valley itself from boat landing to Cottonwood is about a 30 mile road, it only goes 23 miles now due to some flooding at the end of the road. My wife and I rented a side by side on one our of days here and drove to the end of the road past High Bridge onto the Pacific Crest Trail and the end of Upper Stehekin Valley. It definitely reminded me a lot of Alaska. The crystal blue glacier waters running down hill with each creek making the river bigger and bigger until it is damned in Chelan and forms the 3rd deepest lake in the U.S.

Our day trip to the end of the road was nice because I was able to stop and take photos where we were unable to reach by bike and foot. We stopped at High Bridge and met Doug, a thru-hiking veteran. He was happy to see our smiling faces and share some stories about his journey. Doug was telling us about his PCT mates and how we was waiting for a friend who paused her trip to go to Burning Man. Doug told us about bear sightings and showed us some pictures on his phone. We told Doug of our hike we did the previous day where we saw a ton of salmon on the Stehekin River Trail. We parted ways but saw Doug again right before we boarded our departing ferry, he asked how to get to the trail where all the salmon were, he looked hungry!

Kokanee Salmon are Chinook Salmon that are landlocked, so they don’t actually make it to the Pacific Ocean. They are a rich orangish-red color. We rented bikes when we first arrived, nice 15 speed mountain bikes to get around. We wasted no time and biked up the river following the path of the salmon. Unknown how much energy or how much elevation we would be conquering we started a ride with a trusty map and fall colors leading the way. We rode by the famous garden and approached the Stehekin Pastry Company. This was a must stop. I won’t share the amount of sweets, pastries and chocolates we already had in Leavenworth but obviously we needed more. There was quite a selection of fresh pies, pumpkin bars, cinnamon rolls and various cupcakes and cookies. Our next stop on the bike trip was an orchard so I went for the apple pie. Amazing!

We made our way to Buckner Orchard, an original homestead from the 1890s. A working farm and available to the public. This historic landmark is maintained and managed by the NPS. Healthy apples about to be harvested at the upcoming harvest festival were plentiful. We took a stroll around the area and imagined the simple life of the Buckner family. Being it our first day in Stehekin and sunlight getting a little scarce we hopped back on our bikes and made haste back to the lodge.

We had quite the rations laid out knowing that the restaurant was closed for the season due to staffing. We enjoyed sandwiches, snacks and some local Washington wine on our balcony over looking Lake Chelan. The sunset was right up Stehekin Valley creating some euphoric long shadows on the peaks and valleys of the Cascade mountain range. After a travel day and some extra physical fitness we hit the sheets right after sunset. When I go to bed early its usually because I plan on doing some stargazing. This area is a dark sky paradise. I awoke just after midnight and peaked outside on the balcony, whoooosh, a barred owl swooped near me out of the ponderosa pines. That got the heart rate and excitement going. Up in the sky, stars were twinkling extra bright so I gathered my equipment and headed down to the lake.

Creeping around as quiet as I could, not to hide from anybody or be a ninja, but so I could hear if they were any bears or elk stomping around. Just the owls, I could hear a pair now, the same barred owl that I saw on the balcony was now communicating with its partner. The sky was free of smoke and I was able to enjoy the night sky. Peace and serenity was joined by a plethora of shooting stars. After spooking myself a few times, it was time to go back to bed and get ready for our morning adventure.

After an amazing sunrise and pastries from the Stehekin Pastry Co. we got back on the bikes and headed for the air strip where our trailhead for the day began. Today, would be 10 miles on bike and 8 miles hiking, Jamie joked if the water was a little warmer we could have done our first North Cascades Triathlon. We started our hike on the Stehekin River Trail which parallels the river and ends at Weaver Point, another historic homestead with a view of Lake Chelan. Normally, a very wet area with tons of glacier streams and mosquitos, was nice and dry with only a few skeeters. The hike started in tall brush that seemed like an ideal place for a bear to hangout. Less than 10 grizzly bears still exist in the Cascade wilderness but black bears thrive here so you have to be aware. Luckily, Jamie is a natural bear deterrent, known as an animal whisperer, bears know to leave us alone when we are in the area. The trail was magnificent, with views across the valley over the river and of Rainbow Falls. The leaves were changing colors and it was hot but the tall forests were cool and quiet, excellent for recreation and fun. When we did hike away from the river for brief periods the sound of the river would disappear but after a while we would exclaim, I can hear it, we are getting close again!

The end of the trail was our lunch destination to rest and recharge for the way back. A backcountry campground and many picnic tables were on the shore of Lake Chelan. Immediately as we walked out of the woods and onto the shore a bald eagle was fighting with another bird, it was quick and sudden and was hard to know how the fight started but the other bird was a seagull and he had a partner, well they seemed to win the fight over a bright red salmon as it fell to the water and the eagle escaped into the pines. I tried to get another view of the eagle but no success. The two seagulls seemed to not know what to do with their catch but pecked away at the salmon until it sank. There were numerous ducks, geese and maybe some osprey off in the distance that all were enjoyable to watch as we sat and rested before our trek back. We had to sort of hurry cause we had a dinner reservation at Stehekin Valley Ranch, the other lodging in the valley. The ranch was a thru-hiker stop and had big camp style dinners and we were excited for our only hot meal in Stehekin.

We got back in record time and cleaned up and waited for the shuttle. We met the shuttle driver and he was happy to see some younger people getting on his bus. We shared some stories about Maui as it seems everyone when traveling has a story about how they stayed in Kihei or Ka’anapali when they were a kid. The crowd was what you would expect at the end of the season with children back in school. The shuttle ride was nice and the ranch was beautiful. There were nice wide open fields with horses grazing which opened up the views of the nearby glaciers and mountains. When we arrived it coincided with the mail delivery and dirty, excited europeans, middle aged women and trustafarians were happy to gather their packages that would get them to that final stage of the PCT. Canada was on the horizon but fires were redirecting the hikers and our curiosity has us eavesdropping on all their plans. Some people were disappointed they couldn’t take the traditional route to the terminus but others thought it would be cool. The dinner bell rang and we got in line for our ranch roast. After the long day hiking and biking you could have fed me cardboard and I would have told you it was ahi bruschetta. Kidding aside, the food was great, BYOB allowed me to pair the pot roast dinner with a great Oregon Cab that had a picture of Sasquatch on the label. The highlight was the pie, fresh from the pastry company down the road, loaded with berries fresh from probably the backyard, each bite was balanced and sweet. Enough of the food, on the way home Jamie got to see her first bear. A huge black bear was strolling down the gravel road when he was startled by our shuttle driver who must have had a date later cause she was in a hurry. This ultimately scared the bear but we were able to see its large hinder and then a quick dash to the left which was a vertical incline which the bear ran up in less than a second. This was just the conclusion we needed for an epic day.

Stehekin, you have our hearts, you are a truly special place and we really appreciate the dedication to preserve and not exploit this gateway to the Cascades. It was difficult to leave knowing we still had almost a week left of our road trip and we thought we could have stayed here for the full two weeks. Nonetheless, it was a great icebreaker and we will be back. As you leave Stehekin and stare off the back of the Lady of the Lake towards Stehekin Valley it is the longest goodbye and one hell of a memory.

Part 3 – Marblemount, Diablo Lake and Highway 20 coming soon…