[thormond]

Last April I hiked the Lakeshore trail from Prince Creek to Stehekin. On the evening of the second day my companion and I had hoped to camp at the Flick Creek camp but found it fully occupied. The occupants mentioned a place called the "Shepherds Camp" which was to be found just north of Fourmile Creek a mile or so north of the Flick Creek camp. They said to go past Fourmile Creek and look for piles of rocks above the trail. Finding no camping spots as we travelled north we crossed Fourmile Creek and soon spotted the piles of rocks. Turning off the trail and wandering uphill we found ourselves in an area surrounded by low rock walls which supported a few ancient fence posts with bits and pieces of barbed wired. I even found a stock tank with remnants of a pipe system running towards the nearby creek. Evidently a lot of work went in to creating this enclosure. We found a number of excellent flat camping spots with water available just a hundred yards or so away. I also noticed the only Scotch Broom plants anywhere along the Lakeshore trail. When I returned home I tried to find some information about this shepherds camp online but came up with nothing. I was wondering if anyone has any information about this shepherds camp.

[Waterman]

Someone should cut that scotch broom down before it spreads. Invasive plant.

[thormond]

Last year after completing the trip I logged in to some state government website and reported the existence and location of the Scotch Broom. I never heard anything regarding that report. Last week I repeated the hike. Near Moore Point my companion and I came upon two fellows working with the Washington Conservation Corps. They were doing some work related to unwanted plants. So I mentioned to them that I had seen the Scotch Broom at the Shepherds Camp. There is a fair amount of the stuff growing in that localized area. But nothing like amounts seen along I-5 in some areas. It would take a good bit of work to pull it all out.

[HitTheTrail]

[Sculpin]

Just wanted to point out that this is important information because camping is extremely limited on this trip and there is no way to anticipate whether there will be space available. I went just as the initial pandemic shutdown was easing, and all the campgrounds were technically still closed (by angry red signs telling you they were closed). "No problem," says I, "I'll just camp somewhere else." Nope. Every single chunk of flat ground along the trail was privately owned.

[HitTheTrail]

[cdestroyer]

many years ago I picked scotch broom for a living, it is used or was used in floral decorations back east, along with fiddle head ferns, salal and huckleberry. power line rights of way had tons of the stuff..

[Kim Brown]

What an interesting find! There were lots and lots of sheep camps all over the place. It may not be that there is any information on this one camp, since it was a common thing from (guessing) the 20's up to the 80's or so (?). It could be on old maps! That would be cool to find.

[thormond]

I like the suggestion of hiking downlake from Stehekin as a way to find more camping spots. I was thinking of doing that on my next trip just to see the sights in a different order. I will keep that suggestion in mind. Also, the camp site uphill from Flick Creek Camp is a good thing to know. I do hope the Washington Conservation Corps will act on the Scotch Broom infestation. I would not like to see it growing all over the east side of Lake Chelan.

[HitTheTrail]