Long ago, we put a weekend on reserve for backpacking with Cat & David, and as the time drew near it was clear that Western Washington was not going to be friendly to us. Luckily we landed on the awesome Lakeshore Trail along Lake Chelan in eastern Washington. We still didn't have perfect weather, but it was a lot closer.
Friday afternoon after work we took 1-90 East and made our way to Leavenworth, Washington's little Bavarian town. We spent a relaxing evening in the company of Cat's friend from grad school & his fam who kindly let us crash at their place. Saturday morning it was up and at 'em, as we drove to Fields Point Landing, about 20 miles north of the town of Chelan, on Lake Chelan, where the Lady of the Lake picked us up to carry us further north. The road ends shortly after Fields Point and the lake becomes very sparsely populated. The ferry drops people off where ever they wish, and we disembarked at Prince Creek along with a dozen or so other hikers.
Lady of the Lake
We all spread out quickly on the trail and made our way 11 miles to Moore Point campground. We saw no one on the trail either day, only a few as they straggled into the campground. The trail hugs the lake, sometimes along the shore but more often 100-300 feet above the shore, along a rolling hillside. The wildflowers were out and the views were great. Weather was somewhat variable - we had a short squall, some clouds, and plenty of sun, always warm.
C&D
The hike is known to have a lot of: ticks, rattlesnakes, and black bears. Wildlife count for the weekend: two rattlesnakes, lots of little forest creates, one cougar (terrifying!), and two killer hummingbirds (ask Matt about it sometime). The meadows looked mighty bear-friendly, so we counted ourselves lucky there.
Moore Point campground was a gem. There was a shelter, a pit toilet, a bear bin, 4 fire pits, lots of picnic tables, and great lakeside campsites. Considering there are no roads, only trails and a lake leading to this campsite, we were pretty impressed. We passed the evening eating, sitting by the fire, and sharing good company.
lovely campsite
Sunday morning we rose to a steady sprinkle and still had 7 miles to go to catch a noon boat back. We quickly packed and made our way the last 7 miles to Stehekin. The rain soon stopped and we made it with plenty of time to fill our tummies with warm food and coffee before boarding the boat back to Chelan and Seattle, with a stop in Chelan for some brews. It was a beautiful hike, long but with minimal elevation gain, and a great early season choice.
