Chelan Lakeshore Trail

Subject: Trip
Report: Chelan Lakeshore Trail Tom, Amy and I decided on a thursday night to go hiking that weekend. I'd seen a note in the Post Intelligencer saying the Chelan Lakeshore Trail was free of snow, had been hiked by both forest service people and regular hikers. As it was written, so it was to be done! (If you read no further, the flowers were just beginning to bloom the weekend of April 4-5, 1998, the trail is snowfree, and there is water in every crevasse and land ripple.) I called the Lady of the Lake Ferry people and found we had to be at the Fields Point Landing dock on Lake Chelan by 10:50 AM Saturday morning to catch the ferry to Prince Creek Trailhead. In order to catch the ferry Sunday, we had to be at the ferry dock in Stehekin, 17.2 miles uplake, by 2:00 PM - 17.2 miles in 24.5 hours, if you factor in the change to daylight savings time. The round trip cost is $22 per person. We left the U District at 6:30 AM on Saturday, and hitting no traffic, arrived at Fields Point Landing at 10:10 AM. We went into the parking concession/gift store building to pay for parking overnight, at $3.00 a night. Tom asked if the ferry took credit cards. They didn't. The look on Tom's and Amy's faces was priceless. Major fau paux. Luckily, I had fifty bucks or so, and we made the $66 for three with five to spare. Let it be known. The ferry takes only cash (or checks the concessionaire said). The ferry dropped us off at Prince Creek at noon on the nose, along with two groups of 13-15 year old boys and their adult leaders. There were about 20 kids and ten adults that got off the ferry. While the boys milled around the picnic tables listening to the adults organize, we hightailed it up the trail to put as much distance between us and them as possible. We'd overheard that both groups were going to try to make Meadow Creek Shelter, about seven miles uptrail, and that they were hiking over three days and 48 hours. We decided to make it about ten miles up the trail, on the shoulder of Round Mountain. We thought we were going at a pretty good clip, but after a 15 minute snack/foot break, there came a group of boys trooping along. They were so entranced with us (Actually I think it was Amy they were entranced by) they walked right off the trail onto the bench we were lounging on and milled about for 30 seconds or so until a more alert fellow called out he'd found the trail. Tones of voice - the spice of life... We began walking again, marvelling at the sun breaks, the 6000' rise of the mountains across the lake, tops hidden in swirling clouds, peeking (peaking!) out periodically in total dominating majesty. The temperature was between 55 and 60 all day, encouraging copious amounts of sweat to darken our clothing. It was wonderful to dip my bottle in rivulets and drink the snow melt. (I felt the risk of Giardia to be low, probably a subjective rationalization because I hate to filter water). Tom and Amy filtered everything, wisely I might add. We passed the boys when they stood milling about during a break. The trail was unmarked again! Up and down the trail went, mostly in little 100 to 300' rises and dips up and around benchs or granite cliffs - seldom coming close to the lake. The Greentrails map shows the trail right next to the lake a lot of the time. This is true only at the very end of the hike, when you get near Stehekin. About 100' before Cascade Creek we came to a section of trail that had washed out. Foolishily we grabbed onto stones and roots and bellied our way accross this five foot absence of trail. Amy came last and her calm statement, ""I'm falling"" as the last of the trail gave way beneath her was both scary and funny. We grabbed her and she swung onto terra firma with a nervous smile. We stopped so I could put ducttape on my heels. I'd purchased a pair of fabric boots through Sierra Trading Post I was breaking in, and they were heating up my heels. The duct tape works far better than does moleskin or even good athletic adhesive tape. The boys came up to the washout and milled about until an adult came up. They asked what we'd done, and we told them, and pointed them to a ledge above the trail they could use to bypass the landslide. We quickly left as they inched their way down the slope to the creek, and that was the last we saw of them. We arrived at the Meadow Creek Shelter in a mild rain, feeling tired. It was four or so, and our out of shape bodies were complaining. The shelter is a dirt floor with roots sticking out, and very ""hovel"" feeling. We hiked on for another hour or so until we came to a bench overlooking the lake flat enough for two tents. A small rivulet was 100 yards back on the trail. Perfect. To figured we'd hiked ten miles or so. I know my body felt it. We put up the tents and tried to lounge a bit, but it began to rain in earnest again. We moved all the lounging gear into the tents and I cooked dinner, squating under a small pine. We ate while the rain fell, and about 7:30, after washing dishes, went to bed. It rained all night, a constant, hard rain. I was too tired to worry about the hike in the morning; the rain wasn't an issue. The ridgerest felt so soft, and I was so warm, with sleeping bag unzipped all the way, over me as a blanket. We awoke at six the next morning and got up at 6:30. The sky was filled with high, puffy clouds that once again shrouded the tips of the mountains across the lake. The snow line was about 5500', a line across the mountains between dark and white, tree and snow covered trees, that stretched up and down the lake. Pretty amazing. The trail was a little soggy, but not muddy. As a whole, the trail was in pretty good shape despite the rain. No rain forest bogs here! Feeling the pressure of our eventual departure motivating us to boogie, we packed up camp and headed down the trail, deciding to eat breakfast at Moore Creek. We got there, and as I boiled water for instant oatmeal and coffee, Tom actually stripped down and got into the creek and gave himself a spit bath - and this at nine in the morning in 48 degree weather. I was content to smell and feel sticky... After breakfast we hit the trail and monitored our watches, wondering with a bit of anxiety if we would make Stehekin in time to catch the ferry. The trail went way high up the canyon wall offering incredible views, and then dropped down to the lake about a half mile from Stehekin. When I say, wall, I don't mean cliff. The trail is pretty much invisible from the ferry on the lake because it follows benchs and stays in forest most of the time. There are lots and lots of flat spots up there, and only three major switchback sections, none of which is more than a 300' climb. And the ""climate"" of the forest changes from Prince Creek to Stehekin, going from Steppe to more damp forest as you head up lake. We saw no rattlesnakes, which I imagine there are plenty of. We did have to monitor our bare skin as there were lots of ticks on the newly budding bushes hanging over the trail. We probably picked up 30 or so over the two days, none of which gained serious purchase on our bodies. WE termed our constant inspections, ""monkey love."" We stopped at 11 on a bench over looking the lake and watched a float plane bomb along 20' over the water, headed to Stehekin. We then heard it leave while hiking in a forested section. The ferry passed us at 12:15 or so, and we played up our anxiety about making it by two. We knew we would make it, so it was in fun, more parodying the constant deadlines that marked this trip as different from any other I've ever taken. Nothing like hiking to deadlines. I ate lunch at this stop, two bagels and cheese, and felt every bite as my motivation and energy went to digesting. The last couple hours were a slog for me. I decided that I need at least an hour lunch, and a nap, if the afternoon hike is going to be any fun. On normal hikes lunch for me is at least an hour affair, and sometimes two if I'm doing long distance, PCT type hiking. 15 minutes just wasn't enough. We pulled into Stehekin at almost exactly 1 PM, our intended moment of arrival. WE were beat. 17.2 miles, with about 3000' of vertical in 24.5 hours. We spent just about 10 hours on the trail hiking, including short breaks now and then. The ferry pulled out and we watched the east canyon wall course by, trying to pick out the trail we'd just walked. WE saw it every once in a while, and we saw at least one pack of boys way up on a bench. We arrived at Fields landing about 3:45 PM, and got back to Seattle right about 7:30 PM. This is truly a city person's way of hiking. Everything was done by deadlines. The hike though, is worth it. 48 hours would be better than the 24 we spent. More lounging and sunning would take place. Now is the time to go. It's 60 degrees, the flowers are just coming out, there's lots of water, and the snow covered peaks on the west side of the lake are stunning. Jeffrey Olson April 7, 1998