stehekin two ways
Published 2:52 pm Friday, July 30, 2010
If you’re looking to get away, really get away, it’s hard to beat Stehekin.
You can’t drive to Stehekin, and usually visitors get there by boat from Chelan up the 50-mile lake, or by airplane. But for hardy souls, there are options.
It does involve some walking — 19 miles from one trailhead or 15.5 miles from another — to a shuttle bus stop for a ride on the one road through the valley to the village. If you want to walk another 11 miles, don’t take the bus.
You could carry a heavy pack with a sleeping bag, tent, cooking gear, food, stove, fuel and extra clothes, or you could take advantage of Stehekin Outfitters’ tent-to-tent program and do the whole trip with a day pack, carrying just food, clothing and, of course, the 10 essentials.
Imagine the ease of carrying a light pack 9 miles over Cascade Pass to Cottonwood or 12 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Bridge Creek and coasting into completely equipped campsites, each with a large tent that can sleep up to six people, on cots with sleeping pads. Sleeping bags with removable liners are provided. Put a fresh liner in before using, remove it when you leave.
The tent has a stove, utensils, a coffee pot, pans, seasonings, cleaning supplies — everything you need.
Well rested the next day, you do an easy 3.5 miles from Bridge Creek or the longer downhill (about 12 miles) hike from Cottonwood to the Stehekin bus stop at High Bridge.
You might not want to go to Stehekin at all. The campsites can be used as bases for day hikes on any number of trails leading to breathtaking scenic views in North Cascades National Park.
If you go to Cottonwood campsite via Cascade Pass, take Highway 20 east to Marblemount and where the highway takes a sharp left, go straight across a bridge to Cascade River Road. The trailhead is just over 23 miles up that road.
Bridge Creek Trail (part of Pacific Crest Trail) is accessed from Highway 20, a mile east of Rainy Pass.
Reservations of the campsites may be made through Stehekin Outfitters, 800-536-0745, or www.stehekinoutfitters.com. The cost, according to the website, is $95 for the first two people, and $25 for each additional person up to a total of six. Roberta Courtney of Stehekin Outfitters said they had permits for up to three tents at the sites, with no limit to the stay.
Usually Cottonwood camp is open Aug.1 to Sept. 30, and Bridge Creek is open July 1 to Sept. 30. They may open earlier or later, depending on trail conditions, Courtney said.
