Stehekin 2022

GOAL: Noun the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

"not getting eaten by a bear has become the most important goal in his life"

I have a current goal that is more like a life long quest: to find the best cinnamon roll in the planet and after I find it eat it. This is research I do not take lightly. So far the Bakery in Stehekin Washington has the number one slot. Call it my inner scientist or call it my inner fat kid,  I've been back to Stehekin three times conducting reconnaissance which may or may not have included an open tab at the bakery.  

This year's trip was an elaborate kid-free plan that included a group of hikers, a bus, a car shuttle a boat  and two sets of grand parents to watch some toddlers.

Brandon, Jenna and myself planned to hike 24 miles through Cascade pass and catch the bus to the bakery.  We got a bunch of snow late in the season so what we had planned to be a pedestrian route ended up being pretty mountaineerie. Day one we hit snow right away and it lingered around like a fart in an elevator. Jenna got super nervous at a steep section of the route like I've never seen her nervous before. She started cussing with an epically thick Minnesotan accent. I've only heard such this language before because something's gone terribly wrong with a hotdish.  Three bridges on the route weren't quite put in yet so we had some savagely cold, fast and deep stream crossings that left you unable to feel your toes and despite our best efforts unable to feel our privates for longer than you want.  

Just as the snow went away and we were arriving at camp the first day we encountered a bear. Following the park services advice we started shouting "hey bear" "go away Bear". The pamphlets and rangers will tell you that they just go away and there is no need to be packing firepower. The pamphlets lie! This bear started sauntering over towards us as we frantically waved our hands in the air. At this point our buttholes got the same workout our legs had been getting all day long and we all three simultaneously, silently started thinking about who was going to get eaten first. (It was agreed upon that Jenna would be eaten first because she was the most tired) . Eventually the bear wandered off and we got to camp only to find a steaming pile of fresh bear shit by the food locker. We were on high alert for the rest of the night.  

The group woke up on day two happy to be alive and happy that the hiking was super fast- we were able to catch the early bus and gorge ourselves at the Bakery. We met up with the other half of our group who had boated there and had a pretty excited reunion. The rest of the trip involved some boating, hiking, campfires and good food with good friends. Until next year Stehekin Cinnamon Rolls!