BobRat

Chelan Lakeshore Trail

By Eric

Summer arrived overnight. For most of the first day of our backpacking trip along Lake Chelan, the sky was stubbornly overcast. Occasional gusts of cold wind came up from the ruffled waters and rain seemed imminent. I'm not complaining: it was still wonderful to be outdoors before Memorial Day weekend. Still, the season was early--it seemed changeable and fickle.

By Sunday morning, summer was here. White clouds were scudding across the sky, which was emerging into a lovely blue. By mid-morning, it was beginning to get warm. Not hot by any means--not for Eastern Washington--but there was something in the air that was more like summer than spring.

At Hunts Bluff we sprawled out on slabs of lichen-encrusted rocks and felt the morning sun on our limbs. At noon, we lounged along the trail, scarfing summer sausage and crackers. We felt luxuriant in the beginning of the sunny season. Arriving at Stehekin confirmed it for me. The village probably feels like summer camp during any time of the year, but all the more so now. We sat on the deck above the lake, eating ice cream sandwiches and resting our tired legs. At the turn of the season, however, no amount of footsores could stop us plotting the next trail.

Driving back through Entiat and Cashmere, we could feel the hot Columbia River breeze. We could see the Wenatchee River running clear among the cooling orchards at evening. We could smell the dust of sage brush country mixing with Ponderosa pines and farmland. We relished burgers and a milkshake at a roadside drive-in. Summer had arrived, and with it a sort of maudlin and happy feeling that's stayed with me all week.

(Photos and trail description here: Backpacking the Chelan Lakeshore Trail.)