Backpacking Part 2

The midway point of our camping trip included a 2-day stop in Stehekin on Lake Chelan in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Stehekin is a fascinating community - and one of the only towns in a National Park.  

This is the Stehekin Landing where the Lady of the Lake would drop you off, but as you know we hiked in. 

When we got into town we were super excited to stop at the Stehekin Landing Resort for something we had been craving... 

BEER! One of the most well deserved of my life! 

Then we rented bikes to get around since our campsite was 4 miles from the main town area. 

My professor John Miles and I were the only ones to wear helmets! Safety first! 

It was a great road for biking - not many cars, these shiny red buses and lots of sun. 

As we were biking we spotted this along the road - The Garden.

We rang, and went on through the gate to a wonderful place. 

I think I was in Heaven! Something close to it at least... an organic garden, isolated at the end of the lake and thus geography naturally protects the garden from pests and disease. 

Beautiful flowers... these were just like in my bouquet. 

Raena, Tina and I talked with Carl, the barefoot gardener, and decided on the herb goat cheese, 2 carrots each, blueberries, nectarines and a peach. 

The he went to go pick the carrots! Right in front of us! It was SO COOL! And there were incredible carrots, especially dipped in the goat cheese. 

Can you tell the difference between these two photos?!?

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The we stopped by the Stehekin Pastry Company. We had heard rave reviews from anyone and everyone - so we had to check it out. Twist my arm. 

There was so much to choose from! Cinnamon Rolls, quiche, muffins, breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, pie, coffee, croissants stuffed with bacon and swiss. INCREDIBLE!

Isn't this beautiful! This enormous roll filled the plate with warm, gooey, cinnamon delight! 

I am much more of a savory breakfast person, however, so I split the roll with 2 other people and got an egg and cheese sandwich to go with it. 

Eating breakfast with Raena, Katie and Ashley. 

Other Stehekin Highlights: 

Roadside Chapel - what an incredible location. 

Be still and know that I am God. 

Rainbow Falls. 

Buckner Orchard. 

If you are here in the fall then you can pick as many apples as you like - the orchard is maintained by the park Service, therefore the apples are for the public. They were quite green and not ripe at all right now though. 

There is a dead accurate sun dial near the orchard - though it did not take daylight savings into account. 

Later, a beautiful setting sun. 

For dinner that night we decided to eat together (all 24 of us) at the Stehekin Landing. 

While we were waiting we enjoyed juice box wine. 

Oh my gosh was this a lot of wine for one person - 2/3 of a bottle. I still haven't finished it - nearly a week later. Whew. 

Dinner was incredible. I had a veggie stuffed potato with a side salad. Love my veggies! 

I foolishly tried to take pictures of the full moon on the lake as we were biking back to our campsite. I even wrote a poem while we were biking. It went like this: 

"Beautiful moonlight on the lake

Holy Crap! A rattlesnake!" 

Because as we were biking we heard a rattler! It was scary! I just started biking faster, but Alex decided to go find it. Dumb. Don't go looking for rattlesnakes! But everyone was OK in the end. 

The next morning I decided, along with 4 others, to take the Lady of the Lake home instead of hiking the 3 days out. My knee was bothering me too much (though biking didn't hurt!) and others had terrible, debilitating blisters. There were some really intense portions of the trail! All in all, however, a challenging, beautiful and educational backpack with my fellow grad students. 

However, nothing beats home and being with the one I love. Or beautiful flowers when I arrive. =)

Backpacking Part 1

Yes, I am back from the Wilderness and home again. 

Can't beat the scenery - that's for sure! This is the view hiking up to Cascade Pass. 

We even saw some ice fall! 

Crossing a talus field... 

And the view from the pass into Pelton Basin. 

Me at the pass - trying to prevent my knee injury from coming back. Didn't work... but carrying 50 pounds for 5-9 miles a day will do that to you. 

What goes up must come down. 

And we spent the next few night in the valley far below. 

We crossed many bridges (this bridge used to be a vehicle bridge for the Stehekin Road that came quite a ways up the valley but has since washed out. Now the road is 10 miles shorter than it used to be - and whether or not it should be rebuilt is quite the controversy: it might involve moving wilderness boundaries, disturbing habitat, and most definitely will cost a lot of money which the Park Service doesn't have, though it gives people access who couldn't otherwise visit those places. It will interesting to see how it all turns out - the issue is up for vote in the Senate!)

Later we decided to climb down under the bridge. 

And jump in the glacial fed waters! 

It. Was. COLD. And only felt good once you were out - though it is nice to rinse off after hiking for 4 days. 

And there were mountains, beautiful mountains. 

And food - of course! I packed a ton of it! The stove I have is a MSR SuperFly stove and I love it because of how simple it is to use and how compact it is. All you have to do is screw the stove onto the fuel canister, turn the handle and light the stove: no priming or messing around, just instant flame, the fuel is cheap and you can find it almost anywhere. Downfall: non-reusable fuel canisters. =( The cookware I have is from REI and I've been very happy with it - it's lightweight, the stove fits inside the pot with my bowl and spoon, they are non-stick, and the lid doubles as a fry pan. The set comes with 2 sizes as well! 

The bowl is Squishy and fits nicely wherever I want it to go, and the food-grade silicone means I can add boiling water without worrying about hazardous substances seeping into my food. The Sporks are great as well - light and multi-functional (spoon, fork AND knife that cuts cheese with ease), though a friend's broke on the trip. I've heard lots of stories about their lack of durability - so be gentle. 

I was very pleasantly surprised with the dehydrated meals the Co-op offered - such as this Black Bean and Sweet Corn Chowder (just add boiling water!) that we mixed with smoked salmon. Delicious! It was great to have organic, healthful, nutrient dense and tasty meals in the backcountry! My favorite was the Bean Burrito Mix - pinto beans, corn, cheese and spices made for a great burrito - just add tortilla. Well, first boiling water, then tortilla. 

And did I mention that there were gorgeous mountains?!?!?