Let me be the first to say how much fun we had on this awesome trip!
The group consisted of Greg James and Susie Starrfield, Lowell Lorenz, Marty Loken and Mo Moss, Lauryn and Chris Taylor with their delightful son Dylan, Richard Amberson, newcomers (and hopefully soon to be NWCBC members) Greg and Stacey Barber, my son Brendan McCrain and me.
The weather was great on Saturday, the views were beautiful and with the exception of Chris and Lauryn's Evinrude having a little starting difficulty at one point, (swiftly remedied by Lowell) uneventful. We paused for while at Domke Falls and took photos before continuing on our way to Stehekin. Once there, the folks who had reservations at the resort checked into their cushy digs while us primitive types checked out places to either tie up our floating accomodations or pitch our tents. Brendan and I had planned to camp at Purple Point, but upon arriving there found that the last camp site had been claimed minutes earlier by a family that looked suspiciously like the Taylors!
This, however, turned out to be a good thing. Although Chris and Lauryn graciously offered to scrunch into half their site and give us the other half, Brendan suggested we go over to Weaver Point and check out the spaces there. The hustle and bustle of the resort area wasn't exactly the camping experience he had in mind! We ran across the lake and pulled up to an empty dock, an empty campground with clean flush toilets and the best view on the lake. Once we unloaded the boat, Brendan began setting up camp while I ran back across the lake to persuade the Taylors to abandon their noisy crowded environment and join us in the comparative wilderness of Weaver Point.
While they packed all their gear right back into their and Lowell's boats from whence it had just been unloaded, I let the others know that the potluck dinner had been relocated from Purple Point to Weaver. I wasted the perfect amount of time doing this, as when I arrived back at the dock Lowell and the Taylors were all loaded and ready to go.
Soon after Chris and Lauryn set up camp Greg and Stacey arrived and joined us, pitching their tent. Our three tents were the only ones in the campground. Lowell decided to tie up and spend the night and soon Greg and Susie did also. Not too long after we all got settled in Marty and Mo arrived for dinner, followed by Richard.
The rest of the evening was a living example of our motto, "Good boats, Great friends". Sitting around a campfire, sharing good food, swapping stories, all the time taking in fresh air and admiring the view. At one point I overheard someone say "It just doesn't get any better than this". I couldn't agree more. I encourage everyone to take part in this trip, which is a must for our calendar next year.
Richard, Brendan and I had to head back Sunday morning, the other lucky folks stayed on another night. The GPS said we averaged 22 mph on the return trip, we left the Stehekin fuel dock at 10:20 and arrived at 25 Mile Park at 11:40. The water got a little choppy as we approached the park and after we loaded the boats and were driving away there were a few small whitecaps on the lake.
Thanks to everyone who made the trip and made it such a great time, and a special thanks to Greg James for organizing and leading this special adventure, sure to become a fixture in the NWCBC calendar!
Tim
P.S. I posted some photos in the "Lake Chelan Stehekin Adventure" gallery, but I just had to share this one with you here. Lauryn was telling us about the large fish she had on but lost just before bringing it into the boat. Look at Dylan below Lauryn - while she is illustrating the fish's length with her hands, Dylan seems to be covertly giving the REAL size of the alleged monster! Chris appears to be trying hard to remain neutral ...
The group consisted of Greg James and Susie Starrfield, Lowell Lorenz, Marty Loken and Mo Moss, Lauryn and Chris Taylor with their delightful son Dylan, Richard Amberson, newcomers (and hopefully soon to be NWCBC members) Greg and Stacey Barber, my son Brendan McCrain and me.
The weather was great on Saturday, the views were beautiful and with the exception of Chris and Lauryn's Evinrude having a little starting difficulty at one point, (swiftly remedied by Lowell) uneventful. We paused for while at Domke Falls and took photos before continuing on our way to Stehekin. Once there, the folks who had reservations at the resort checked into their cushy digs while us primitive types checked out places to either tie up our floating accomodations or pitch our tents. Brendan and I had planned to camp at Purple Point, but upon arriving there found that the last camp site had been claimed minutes earlier by a family that looked suspiciously like the Taylors!
This, however, turned out to be a good thing. Although Chris and Lauryn graciously offered to scrunch into half their site and give us the other half, Brendan suggested we go over to Weaver Point and check out the spaces there. The hustle and bustle of the resort area wasn't exactly the camping experience he had in mind! We ran across the lake and pulled up to an empty dock, an empty campground with clean flush toilets and the best view on the lake. Once we unloaded the boat, Brendan began setting up camp while I ran back across the lake to persuade the Taylors to abandon their noisy crowded environment and join us in the comparative wilderness of Weaver Point.
While they packed all their gear right back into their and Lowell's boats from whence it had just been unloaded, I let the others know that the potluck dinner had been relocated from Purple Point to Weaver. I wasted the perfect amount of time doing this, as when I arrived back at the dock Lowell and the Taylors were all loaded and ready to go.
Soon after Chris and Lauryn set up camp Greg and Stacey arrived and joined us, pitching their tent. Our three tents were the only ones in the campground. Lowell decided to tie up and spend the night and soon Greg and Susie did also. Not too long after we all got settled in Marty and Mo arrived for dinner, followed by Richard.
The rest of the evening was a living example of our motto, "Good boats, Great friends". Sitting around a campfire, sharing good food, swapping stories, all the time taking in fresh air and admiring the view. At one point I overheard someone say "It just doesn't get any better than this". I couldn't agree more. I encourage everyone to take part in this trip, which is a must for our calendar next year.
Richard, Brendan and I had to head back Sunday morning, the other lucky folks stayed on another night. The GPS said we averaged 22 mph on the return trip, we left the Stehekin fuel dock at 10:20 and arrived at 25 Mile Park at 11:40. The water got a little choppy as we approached the park and after we loaded the boats and were driving away there were a few small whitecaps on the lake.
Thanks to everyone who made the trip and made it such a great time, and a special thanks to Greg James for organizing and leading this special adventure, sure to become a fixture in the NWCBC calendar!
Tim
P.S. I posted some photos in the "Lake Chelan Stehekin Adventure" gallery, but I just had to share this one with you here. Lauryn was telling us about the large fish she had on but lost just before bringing it into the boat. Look at Dylan below Lauryn - while she is illustrating the fish's length with her hands, Dylan seems to be covertly giving the REAL size of the alleged monster! Chris appears to be trying hard to remain neutral ...
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