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Seracer
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PostWed May 16, 2012 3:27 pm 
I am beginning to think this trail is sort of the Camino de Santiago of Washington. The Camino de Stehekin, if you will. It certainly seemed that way getting off the boat at Prince Creek. My brother Randy and I were in the mass of folks exiting on the ramp this last Friday. There was a WTA work crew staying at the campground and their comment to us as we walked by was "is there anyone left on the boat?". Good question. We pulled out of the way and spent a leisurely lunch on the dock as the herd packed up and headed north. Since our return ticket was for Monday and we figured most everyone was leaving Sunday, we could afford to let them get ahead of us.
We headed out after talking some more with the WTA folks (really need to do that sometime). The trail was easy. We eventually caught up with some of the slower folks and passed them, then they passed us as we stopped for a break. Tag, you're it. The day was perfect. No bugs other than an occasional horsefly. No skeeters the entire trip. Lots of water still running down the little side creeks. We had planned on just finding a spot along the shore somewhere maybe four miles in. There just was no need to hurry at all. In most places, however, this trail smacks of the Ross Lake Southshore Trail in that it is usually too far above the shoreline to make it realistic to do a beach camp. So we just kept hiking and eventually found ourselves at Cascade Creek camp. Seven miles in and people were peeling off to camp. Huh.
Not wanting to spend the night with too many others in what the WTA folks said was a "pretty small spot" we pushed on and soon found ourselves at Meadow Creek. We had talked about camping perhaps near it, so we could get an early morning crossing to avoid any high water, but jeez, here we were at late afternoon. There had been much warning and cautionary statements from the USFS about this. We approached it with trepidation. The washout is impressive to be sure. We walked to the end of the trail where the steep and unstable bank just cuts it off about 30 feet above the creek. A little ways back there was evidence that others had descended down a steep, rocky and interesting route. We followed suit. It was steep, rocky and interesting. But short. With no injuries we were standing on the south bank of the new Meadow Creek. The banks are unstable and quite high in lots of places. We found a spot just downstream from the shelter and got down to the water easily and safely. Since we were in our Keens, we just waded across. Water came to just above our ankles with no problems. Kind of an anti-climax.
The shelter here was a nice surprise. We began to setup our camp in the shelter since nobody was around. I hung my hammock and Randy spread his bivy out nearby. We would not use a tarp this trip any night, the weather was so good. Absolutely clear every night, no real wind, no bugs. Perfect. As we set things up, 4 more people showed up and made the descent to the south creek bank. They looked at the creek with questioning motions. We pointed to where we had crossed. They looked at it, looked some more, hiked up to another spot, hiked back. We finally walked down and tried to help. They were not interested in getting wet at all. We moved a couple of rocks into the water so they could make a short jump across after handing their packs to us. Eventually they all made it across. Four Canadians, nice folks. They made camp beside us as we returned to the shelter. It was still early and so we lay down to read and take a short nap before dinner. Three hours later I woke up to twilight. Guess I was tired. Maybe more like relaxed. Dinner was short, a prepared noodle dish made by Randy's wife Lee that we just had to heat up. Excellent. I went back to my hammock and read a bit more before falling asleep again.
The next morning we awoke to an empty camp. The Canucks were gone already. We had a leisurely breakfast and moved on. The day was more of the same. Stunning day, great views, no bugs. No snakes either. I was apprehensive about them, but all we saw on the trip was a couple of lizards and one garter snake. We made the steep drop to Moore Point and spent a nice hour or so on the sand there. Another large group pulled in as we were leaving. Our plan was to get to Flick Creek and spend the night, then saunter into Stehekin just after the boat left. We dreamed of burgers and beer on the deck. I knew the bakery was not open yet, but beer...that should be there.
We kept passing cabins along the shoreline, each one right where a nice beach camp could be. I respect private property, but after a long hot day looking for a simple access to the water, I began to get cranky. Maybe I was just jealous. But it seemed that all the nice flat spots were occupied by cabins. No, cabins is not the right word, they were homes. Bigger than my house homes. Big, summer homes. Yeah, I was jealous. Pretty sure. We pulled into the rock spit that is Flick Creek campground to find the Canucks. They had their tents setup, one in the shelter. No worries, we just needed a tiny flat spot and two trees which we found nearby. A second group pulled up as we were setting up camp and did not seem happy. No room at the inn. I was a bit surprised at the tent in the shelter, perhaps that was their beef.
We slept that night as the first, under the stars. Next morning we stalled until everyone was gone, then stalled some more until we could see the boat downlake. On the way north, we talked for a bit with some guys building a new bridge over Fourmile Creek. I said we were going out on the boat tomorrow, delaying our entry back into the "real world" another day. One of the bridge builders said "THIS is the real world". I could not help but agree. We watched the boat pull out just prior to our arrival. Perfect. Well, not quite. The store was still closed. No beer. I tried the restaurant door. Locked. They had closed as soon as the boat left. Holy crapola Batman. No beer, no burgers, no pastry. We found a spot in the Purple Creek CG and cried a bit. Some other hikers were there as well, in fact the CG ended up pretty much being filled that night. We had a nice dinner (with no beer) and slept in the next morning. Finally got a burger for lunch the next day. Bit of a bummer at the end, but worth it.

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SergioNapelo
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PostWed May 16, 2012 5:55 pm 
Nice............ up.gif Just reading it made me more relaxed.......

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where shall my help come. My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!" - David, King of Israel 1,000 BC
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mbtigger
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PostWed May 16, 2012 6:45 pm 
I set up a tent in the flick creek shelter last year. It was terribly windy, and I figured the kinder would feel more comfortable with a bit more protection from the elements. But since I did it on a Tuesday night We had the place to ourselves... With the kinder in tow we had to travel quite a bit further downstream to cross meadow creek.

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Backpacker Joe
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PostWed May 16, 2012 6:51 pm 
Im going to have to try that hike. You made it look very nice. I think a mid week jaunt might be quieter. up.gif

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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tree anna
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PostWed May 16, 2012 7:57 pm 
just a couple more pics from the trail....
WTA Chelan
WTA Chelan
WTA Chelan - Prince Creek
WTA Chelan - Prince Creek
2008 05 WTA Chelan - Prince Creek
2008 05 WTA Chelan - Prince Creek
beautiful area!!!

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Seracer
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PostWed May 16, 2012 7:59 pm 
Yeah, pretty relaxing. I would do it mid-week next time. Might even try and coax someone I know with a nice boat to give us a lift to Prince Creek prior to May 1. Not that I'm anti-social or anything... tree anna- were you at Prince Creek with the WTA this last weekend?

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texasbb
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PostWed May 16, 2012 9:26 pm 
Nice report! I don't think I've ever seen a set of pics that gave me that much feel for the trail. I think the only reason I haven't done it yet is it's so short for the complexity of the logistics. I'd go nuts doing that in three days. Even two days would leave way too much camp time for my taste. Maybe I should tack something else on at the Stehekin end. I did Prince Cr to Stehekin via Chelan Summit a few years ago and loved it. Thanks again for a mouth watering report!

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HitTheTrail
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PostWed May 16, 2012 9:44 pm 
I concur on the great pics comments. up.gif up.gif Loads of people are why I try to avoid weekends around Chelan.
Backpacker Joe wrote:
Im going to have to try that hike. You made it look very nice. I think a mid week jaunt might be quieter. up.gif
If I get clearance from my foot doc soon I am still game if its not too far into the distant future(think hot). I have done this hike before but just need an easy hike to test gear before summer. I would probably do it as a one nighter but am flexible.

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Bigfoot Jim
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PostWed May 16, 2012 10:03 pm 
I was WTAing there. Was anyone left on the boat?

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Seracer
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PostThu May 17, 2012 7:44 am 
Bigfoot Jim wrote:
I was WTAing there. Was anyone left on the boat?
Just the pilot and the ramp guy. Oh and a drunk passed out in back.

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Curt
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PostSun May 20, 2012 7:53 am 
What timing! I'm heading there next weekend with a buddy for his 50th birthday. We figured it would be pretty hammock-friendly, but this is just perfect timing for a trip report. This place has been on our list for almost 20 years, but the logistics always leave us finding another spot. Got our boat tickets booked and eager to go! Is breakfast in Stehekin possible? It's hard to tell what's open and what's not. Any info on what's available there this time of year is appreciated. Also, would you leave the bug netting at home entirely? Thanks!

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Seracer
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PostSun May 20, 2012 9:00 am 
Not sure about breakfast. If the lodge is open, I suspect they will have the restaurant open for breakfast, otherwise probably just lunches when the boat comes in. I know the Courtney's offer a breakfast, and I saw a bus that runs to their ranch up valley. Never have eaten there, but from what I hear it's outstanding. I did not use bug netting at all, and if conditions don't change you would not need it either. But those darn little bugs hatch at the worst times. Have fun! UPDATE: Just looked and the lodge opened on Friday. Looks like you will have all amenities available (breakfast, lunch dinner) and the store open too.

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