N Cascades Hike Day 3: Cottonwood Camp - Cascade Pass

Oooh, bugs! We broke camp on Day 3 as quickly as we could. Our breakfast was cooked at the river, where the bugs left us alone and we could fill our water bottles for the last time. We had each packed 2 water bottles in addition to our camelbacks. For the upcoming upward hike, we left one bottle empty. Light and fast! 

Riverside breakfast buffet

N Cascades Hike Day 2: Bridge Creek - Stehekin Pastry Co. - Stehekin Landing - Cottonwood Camp

We  woke up on the second day of our epic hike with increased optimism... and hunger! Our  breakfast consisted of a few cliff bars, because we could practically smell the cinnamon rolls waiting for us in Stehekin. We only had 5 miles of easy walking ahead of us, then a bus ride from High Bridge. We tucked our unneeded food into the bear box, zipped up our tent, and went on our way.

Day 2! Blisters taped, pack lightened, Cinnamon rolls within reach... let's do this!

N. Cascades Hike Day 1: Cascade Pass to Bridge Creek

Sometimes you need a Stehekin cinnamon roll. The trouble is that to get to said cinnamon roll, you either need to hike 20+ miles over a pass, or drive all the way around to Chelan and then take a several hour boat ride up the lake. We decided to take the more direct route, thinking that it would be a tough uphill hike for just a few miles, then a coast down the Stehekin river valley to the shuttle at High Bridge. Not counting the bus ride  from High Bridge to the bakery, it should be ~35 miles round  trip. Doable in 3 days, right?

The last push up  to Cascade Pass