9/20 Boat Tour of Lake Chelan

Lake Chelan is next to the small town of Chelan in north central Washington.

Lake Chelan is a little strange.  First, it was originally a natural lake, about 350' above the elevation of the nearby upper reaches of the Columbia River.  As you drive to the town of Chelan and up to the lake, the road is very steep, which seems strange because you are driving "up" to a lake.  The depth of the lake varies, but much of it is 1,000' to 1,500' deep. The lake was originally formed by glacial melt, which explains its depth and height.  It is connected to the Columbia River by a series of falls.

In 1927, they built a dam to raise the level another 20'.  This stabilized the lake level, but what you have is a natural lake that is dammed.  This is very unusual because most lakes formed by dams started out as small streams in a canyon or valley.  

It is also strange because of the mountains that surround it and the fact that it is 50 miles long and 2-4 miles wide, so it is more of a very wide river than a lake.  Also, only the first third of the lake is accessible by road.  The last two-thirds does have an occasional cabin, but the only way to get to them is by boat or seaplane.  And yet, at the end of the lake is a small town, Stehekin, with about 75 year-round residents.  There are many cabins and houses for rent there, but you have to bring most of your own food.  There is a ranch, a bakery, and a lodge that serves meals, but many of the people traveling on the boat brought big coolers with them.  Rental homes have electricity and water, for the most part.  And some even come with cars parked at the dock so you can get to your rental!   

This is the dock for the two boats heading to the end of the lake: one is slower and makes more stops, and the other is an "express" that makes the trip in 2.5 hours.  I took the express.

The town of Chelan is on both sides of this end of the lake. 

As you move up the lake, you see a lot of homes with fantastic views, but these are all accessible by roads.

I really like the one partway up the hill.  

The ground is very rocky here in this part of the Cascades.  There are not too many flat spots suitable for building a home. 

We made a stop at Field's Point to drop off people and freight and to pick up passengers.  This is a dump station for boats so they don't dump sewage and waste into the lake.  

Some of these mountains seem to be entirely burned.

Houses are getting fewer and fewer, but these two were gorgeous. 

As you go up the lake, the mountains get bigger and the road disappears, along with most of the homes. 

A lot of these mountains show evidence of old or recent forest fires. 

This green area must have been burned several years ago because it is beginning to regrow.

This looked like fire in the distance.

This huge burned area from last year must have been pretty impressive while it was on fire.

Just a rocky canyon.  There were a lot of hikers on our boat who had been hiking for several days. 

There are some small patches of snow in the far mountain on the left.

We are approaching Stehekin at the end of the lake.  

There were buses to shuttle people to the bakery, a ranch, and several rental houses.   

Somehow, I completely missed taking photos of the bakery.  Food was very good, however, so I bought an extra sandwich to heat and a pastry to tonight's dinner.  We are headed back to the town of Chelan. 

Burned areas. 

This is one of the houses accessible only by boat or seaplane.  Note the solar panels.

I asked how people got groceries, other than bringing their own.  I was told there was a small vegetable farm and once a week, a truck brought grocery orders.  So, here is that truck along with several others.  Wonder if someone is moving???

It was a beautiful day with lots of sun.  High was about 70, but it was cool on the lake. 

And back to the town of Chelan!!