Stehekin: Where No Roads Can Take You

 This is a bizarre town with 75 permanent residents, plus a couple hundred seasonal workers. It's accessible only by ferry, seaplane, or foot, which results in a funny mix of grungy backpackers mingling with ritzy seaplane folks. I was fascinated by it and glad that I spent a couple days there. 

This sign was the first thing I saw, at the trailhead when I made it to the town's one road (which doesn't connect to anything). I found it very endearing. 

When you hike in, you get to the famous Stehekin Bakery before you hit the actual town. That was actually my main draw, so I was very happy to start there.

The first thing I did upon arrival was to order this delicious blueberry pie with huckleberry ice cream. 

cute gumball machine on the walk from the bakery to the "downtown" area

Lake Chelan, from the northern end

It was very, very hot while I was there. Probably the only thing that has ever given me trouble sleeping!

I camped near the center of town and then walked back to the bakery early the next morning.

I ordered one of those cinnamon buns and ate half before starting my hike back up into the mountains. I did feel a little sick at first, and also regretted carrying the other half... until I made it to my next campsite that afternoon. It was the perfect reward for finishing the climb.

I almost flushed my hopes and dreams, but this sign stopped me.

I would've taken more photos, but my camera was on low battery, so I was conserving it as much as I could. 

Mountain, forest, water

North Cascades! These are all from the hike from Rainy Pass to Stehekin. I went clockwise to make a five-day loop.

spot the bird :)

attempted self-portrait

First view of Lake Chelan!

Next up: Stehekin.

Fungi of North Cascades

If only I knew any of their names!

Glacier Day 6

Final photo dump from this trip! On our last full day in the park, Laini rested and journaled while I did some day hikes to see waterfalls and St Mary Lake. 

I love waking up to views like this.

Can you see the waterfall? Below is a closer crop...

See the waterfall near the center of this photo? I hiked there before hiking to the other side of the lake for this photo :) 

I saw a moose! It was verrryyyy far away.

These are called Fireweed because they grow on burned areas.

~still life~

It was pouring rain the next morning. We packed up in the rain and then hiked 1.5 miles uphill to the road, where we caught a shuttle back to Apgar. Long story short, our reserved shuttle back to the airport completely forgot us, so we hitched a ride with a ranger who was headed out to pick up a friend. I missed my flight but Laini just barely caught hers. I was settling in for a long, uncomfortable, damp night at the airport when my sister Janie came through with a Kalispell connection who picked me up, drove me to her house, and set me up with her wonderfully giant laundry room, kitchen complete with fresh veggies from the garden, a long hot shower, a bathrobe to wear while my clothes were washing, and a very comfortable bed. I was in heaven. The best part was being able to dry out all my gear before repacking it for my flight the next morning. They even let me drive their car back to the airport! Incredible generosity and hospitality for which I couldn't have been more grateful.