Stehekin, Washington
Only accessible by a 55-mile boat ride or by seaplane, Stehekin is one of the remote gems of Washington Cascades. The town sits at the northern tip of Lake Chelan’s narrow, yet astonishingly deep waters and features the famous seasonal Stehekin Pastry Company, a motel, and access to the 4 or 5 operations that rent cabins up the Stehekin River Valley (usually remnants of the homesteaders that first settled the valley). Camping is also an option, with four campsites accessible by the bus that runs up the valley and nine more in the backcountry. The town has about 75 year-round residents that reside around the pristine waters of the lake and along the idyllic Stehekin River. During the high season, Stehekin is full of backcountry travelers passing through before heading in or out of the rugged, glaciated terrain of Glacier Peak Wilderness and North Cascades National Park. Thru-hikers also pass through town on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s worth the day-long journey even just to see the remote beauty of Stehekin, but add in access to some of the most coveted terrain in the Cascades, and Stehekin should be at the top of everyone’s list.
Maps
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The Ptarmigan Traverse Summits
The Ptarmigan Traverse is a high elevation route in the North Cascade Range of Washington State. It was first done in 1938 by a group from the Ptarmigan Climbing Club and didn’t become popular with mountaineers until much later. Nowadays, many groups tackle the traverse every summer. For experienced mountaineers, this trip has a lot […]
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Stehekin River Overnight Trip – Places I’ve Never Been
Remote rivers pose a unique access challenge. You either have to pare down your gear and run them in whatever you are willing to haul in on your back, or work out a complicated scheme, usually involving more than one mode of transport, to get as close to the water as possible. Thankfully, Washington’s remote […]
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The Bulger List – Washington’s Highest 100 Peaks
In the summer of ’96, I ran into a friend that I hadn’t seen in awhile. After catching up and laughing about the crazy times back in college, he mentioned that a few guys were climbing Mount Shuksan in a couple of weeks and asked if I wanted to join them. I immediately said yes, […]
Featured Mountains in Stehekin
| Mountain | Approx. Elevation |
|---|---|
| Tupshin Peak | 8,320 ft (2,536 m) |
| Splawn Mountain | 7,398 ft (2,255 m) |
| Purple Mountain | 7,070 ft (2,155 m) |
| McGregor Mountain | 8,136 ft (2,480 m) |
| Magic Mountain | 7,536 ft (2,297 m) |
| Goode Mountain | 9,200 ft (2,804 m) |
| Flora Mountain | 8,320 ft (2,536 m) |
| Devore Peak | 8,360 ft (2,548 m) |
| Boulder Butte | 7,306 ft (2,227 m) |
| Hunts Bluff | 2,287 ft (697 m) |