A Leisurely Walk on the Stehekin River Trail

View looking up the airstrip toward
MrGregor from the trail-head.

      The River Trail takes you 4 miles to Weaver Point on the south shore of Lake Chelan where you will find a large public campground and a sandy beach for those who like cold water swimming. The way

 is mostly forested and you are only in view of the river along three different stretches. This is a nice cool hike for a hot day, and comes complete with a few fishing holes along the way. 

View of the river from the meandering
River Trail.

       The trail-head is 4.5 miles up valley from the boat landing 

and across Harlequin Bridge. Follow Company Creek Road 125 yards and take a left into the National Park Service maintenance area. Continue straight ahead to the Stehekin Airport. Heading down-valley (left) along the landing strip you will find the trail head at the end of the runway. 

      The trail meanders past creeks coming off the hill side and the Stehekin River as you head toward Weaver Point for some spectacular views looking down the lake on a lazy afternoon.

A wonderful view looking down lake from the Weaver Point Dock.
A great place to relax an have lunch!

Passing the Reins ~ reprinted from 2016 Guidebook

Ray Courtney heading into 

the back country

     Imagine yourself on top of a mountain, your legs are tired but the breeze tousles your hair and sunshine warms your skin. Before your eyes is a spectacular scene of snow capped peaks, forested mountains dotted with alpine lakes and puffy clouds in a sapphire sky. The mountains of the North Cascades do not disappoint in their grandeur or beauty and with the horses of Stehekin Outfitters carrying your gear they are easier to access than ever. This Outfitting business has been passed through three generations of the Courtney family; each outfitter hosting trips displays an adventurous spirit mixed with a desire to share the high country. 

The original business started in 1946 when Ray Courtney and Virgil Fellows, friends from WWII, teamed up to create Alpine Packers. This Outfitting and guided horseback business worked in conjunction to several other packers in the area like Guy Imus and Dan Devore. Virgil was instrumental in financing the startup of the business; together he and Ray offered rates starting as low as ten dollars a day. Ray was a 

Cragg and Robbie Courtney

man of many talents and to make a living in Stehekin he used all of them, operating his lumber mill, packing, trapping, gardening and in the winter he found work at ski resorts. As the packing business grew the trips swelled in size, some hiking trips with as many as seventy hikers and riding groups rose to around forty. There was one occasion where all the valley packers combined their resources to take a Sierra Club trip with about a hundred hikers that needed over thirty horses and half a dozen packers. The summer season stretched on into fall with hunting parties wanting to be dropped off and packed out after a week or so. In 1961 Ray married Virgil’s sister Esther and that summer they started their own full service trips dubbed “Hike and Like it”. As the family grew, their children all spent time helping on the trips, packing and leading a string of horses, gathering firewood, pitching tents, getting water and helping Esther with kitchen chores. In 1967 the Wenatchee World contracted with Ray for an annual event they called the “Wenatchee World Trail Hike”. The Courtney’s would completely furnish the trip with food, cooks, horses, wranglers and packers in exchange that the newspaper would place ads to help drum up interest. These well-known local trips went on for forty years, continually drawing repeat hikers as the family would alter routes to enable hikers to see more of the back country sights. On any trip, guests can hike strictly from camp to camp or venture up a side trail to summit one of the looming peaks that offers spectacular views.

Nancy Davis

Tragedy struck in 1982 when Ray was fatally injured in an accident during a trip. In the coming years, his sons filled in to keep the business alive and eventually Cragg and his wife Robbie took over breeding and maintaining the Fjords, taking hiking trips with the help of the family and offering guided rides from the corrals at Stehekin Valley Ranch. This valued service continued for over thirty years until Cragg passed the reins over to his nephew Colter and his business partner Nancy Davis who was currently employed in their Outfitting program. Colter and Nancy will continue to provide quality trips to places like Hidden Meadows, Walker Park, Cottonwood, Park Creek and Rainbow Meadows.  Nancy grew up in a small Vermont town and spent her childhood riding horses, camping, hiking, swimming and exploring the Green Mountains before she trekked across the country with an Equine Studies degree from Centenary College. Colter was raised in Stehekin and to avoid mischief at his parent’s Ranch he would often be out gallivanting through the mountains, fishing, hunting, hiking and camping, driven by an unquenchable thirst to explore new territory.

Colter Courtney heading out with a string

His school years took him to Chelan with his cousin Quin to play football and after tasting a year of college he heard the calling of the mountains to come back home. Taking on Stehekin Outfitters is the best way to continue an outdoor lifestyle and sharing it with guests is a rewarding experience. These trips are about companionship, adventure, freedom, physical exercise, and the opportunity to see God’s country. This work is what we love and you are invited to come along on the trip of a lifetime in the high country of the North Cascades. For the full story of Passing the Reins, visit our website at

http://stehekinoutfitters.com/about-us

PART ONE: A 5 Star Recipe: The Making of the Stehekin Pastry Company

We attempt to honor Cragg and Roberta Courtney's contributions to the Stehekin Valley experience in the following two part story. We commend you, Cragg and Roberta for your hard work and dedication to Stehekin…. 

A 5 STAR RECIPE:

 THE MAKING of

 the STEHEKIN PASTRY COMPANY

A Tribute to Roberta and Cragg Courtney 

She’s been featured in Martha Stewart ‘s Living Magazine, has appeared in National Geographic at age 10,  had her photo taken with Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire. You won’t find an article about Stehekin that does not mention her name or her place of fame: The Stehekin Pastry Company. Yet, in all of her Northwest and beyond fame over her 28 years of operation, Roberta Courtney remains a believer in generosity, benevolence and management with compassion.

Photo from Martha Stewart Feature

Roberta and her husband Cragg, have created the new most favored and beloved  destination of visitors and locals. The big question of how far is it to the highly sought visual, Rainbow falls, has now been replaced by…how far is it to the Bakery? The answer is a two mile trek from the boat landing to the glory of culinary treats and meals where you must weave through a heavily traveled path full of  rental bikes, hikers, strolling couples, buses, rented Rangers all  drawn like magnets to this delightful compliment to mountain majesty. From mid May to Mid October, visitors are on a “bakery mission.” 

 

Today, mid August, Roberta is catching her breath, standing on the steps of her Bakery entrance.  Her ear phones around her neck dangle. “Just fixed the water intake,” she reports. “Just” actually means hiking up a steep mountainside, and directing a mountain stream to go where it should. The sprinklers in the beautiful fields near the Bakery are now running, again. She is heading back to her long wooden workbench covered with everything from a stack of pie plates, to large bread sheets full of round dinner rolls to a cavalcade of spatulas, bowls, big spoons. 

 

Delicious Sourdough Dinner Rolls

Pie Production: Personally Crafted Every time

Back at her station, surrounded by her bustling helpers, bowls of pie fillings, and a myriad of baked goods in process, Roberta’s hands are expertly shaping pie dough for some 20 different pies. However, her eyes are taking in 360 degrees of activity at the same time. Rolls are being shaped, icing is being swirled on cinnamon rolls, soup of the day is being assembled,  the propane stove is roaring as it bakes bread and customers are lining up three and four deep. Roberta sees the line up of enthusiastic requests at the counter, wipes her floury hands on her apron and joins her helpers up front.

Some know her as “Robbie,” those that have known her for her lifetime  as friend and neighbor dedicated to the Stehekin Valley. To others, she is “Roberta,” creative and hard working owner operator of the Stehekin Pastry Company. With either name,  her jaunt up the mountain this morning to fix a problem first hand speaks of her life philosophy: Hard work plus compassion, and the bottom line: a worthy, successful product.

Roberta and Hannah tackling salad orders

 

“She makes me want to learn more…" says Hannah Geitl, the Bakery’s creative soup salad and sandwich chef. “Robbie is inspiring…she knows so much, she sees so much, she does it all…she sees things way beyond what her hands are doing. She’ll say, ‘Someone check the coffee,’ and she’ll be right on when there is one cup left.

She is always saving the day…she does a lot …it’s cool…she’s knows when I need help. I would go so far as to say she is …omniscient!”

Hannah explains the creativity that has to flow from day to day between the staff and Roberta. “One of my favorite things to make is any hot delicious saucy sandwich. “I was making Rueben’s, and we ran out of sauerkraut. Robbie invented a delicious slaw on the spot of fresh cabbage and jalapenos, and through her emergency miracle working, a new town favorite was born: The Ruebenesque.”

From Roberta's Eagle Perch :)

 

Roberta is quick to give credit to her staff, and her husband Cragg for the day to day challenges that emerge.

 “Cragg keeps it going, keeps all things functioning. He fixes things, takes on projects, and maintenance, and handles crisis situations in the middle of his main work. If I can’t find him, I tell the staff, sometimes it just works to step out the back door and yell, Help! Cragg!” Roberta says with a laugh. She wants to be sure and give every single staff member credit for their efforts. “From cleaning toilets to taking out garbage, everyone deserves to be mentioned.”

What inspired Roberta to start her adventure 28 years ago?

“Cragg was supportive, we had the land, and there was a niche to fill, and we felt it could be made into something.” And make it into something, they did.  Cragg and Roberta started small, with a kitchen, a case up front, and tables on the porch. Two remodels later, they fill to capacity, handle very long lines, and still provide an atmosphere of happy comfort

Happy locals insisted on photo bombing!

Big Decisions!

“The best education I received besides the Culinary Arts Program at Spokane Falls Community College, was the communication class that was required. I wouldn’t have thought of that.. Life is relationships, and good communication makes you a better manager. The food industry needs it! You always have to think about what someone else has gone through and walk in their shoes. It’s hard to remember, but it is a back and forth process, not just talking at employees.  It’s accepting feedback,  and giving them a chance.

Always a smile at the counter~ Gina

Roberta also cites her favorite help book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey.….” as a guideline for good management, along with the “Seven Habits for Managers.” Covey’s influence of compassion in Roberta’s work presence is evident. Just ask her staff.

“What is it like to work for Robbie? She is more than a boss, she is a friend, “ Lindsey says as she is on task, wiping clean the proofing box. “She checks in on you.”

Baking assistant, Mairin is obviously in awe of her mentor. “She does so much. I don’t know when

Mairin visits before driving the Bakery Bus on her day off

she sleeps. She is up at 3:45am.…. She taught me the value of a twenty minute power nap, and also to never waste a step. Carry something out, carry something in. She is always looking for the most efficient way to do things.”

There is much more to Roberta and Cragg’s Stehekin Pastry  Company’s Success:

Tune in next week for “Part Two” where we play quick fire twenty questions about everything from Danish Rolls to Roberta’s favorite Brand of Coffee. l.c.

Roberta at work: Managing ten things at once

Find the Stehekin Pastry Company two miles north of Stehekin Landing--Mid May to Mid October

Historical Events to Remember...reprinted from the 2009 Guidebook

Article and pictures copyright by Mike Barnhart.  

"As the chickens were busy gobbling up the pancakes and oatmeal on the porch table and dad was running around like a wild man, your mom was making her entry into the world in a small log cabin at the end of Company Creek road”. This was how my uncle Laurence Courtney remembered the day. At eight years old, Laurence was the oldest of the four children, Laurence, Curt, June and Ray born to Hugh and Mamie. Below is the full story of that morning."

By Mike Barnhart

               

Grandma Courtney (Mamie Moore) and Mike's
sister Mary  Barnhart 1942

Shortly after my grand parents, Hugh and Mamie Courtney acquired the old McComb homestead at the end of Company Creek Road, my mother June was born in their small log cabin. The year was 1918 and, as the story goes, there were problems with the delivery so, not having anyone around who knew anything about delivering babies, Laurence went up the road to get OP Maxwell. Mac had cows and had helped deliver many calves. They figured he would be better than nothing. Laurence crossed the river on the trolley and ran the two miles on up to Maxwells. By the time they got back Mrs. Merritt was there. She was a midwife and had everything under control though Mom still was not born. By this time it was early morning.  Granddad cooked up breakfast for everyone and set it out on the table on the front porch.  About this time, Mom decided to enter the scene. So while everyone was running around with great excitement the chickens decided to have a little of their own and were all on the table making short work of the pancake breakfast! As Laurence recalled, “pandemonium was at a pretty high level for awhile”.

        That day marked the beginning of my connection to the Stehekin Valley but we need to back up another 104 years to 1814 when white men first started coming to the valley. It was that year that Alexander Ross of the Northwest Fur Company arrived and had hopes of finding and establishing a route between Fort Okanogan and Puget Sound via Cascade Pass. Travel was so difficult that he eventually turned back and abandoned the idea. It wasn’t until the 1880s that another official expedition explored the valley, this time by the U.S. Army. 

          Trappers and prospectors began moving into the area and in 1882 Lt. Henry Pierce brought a

small party of men from Ft. Colville, over Purple Pass and down into the valley. His primary goal was to gain knowledge about the area and the Indian encampment at the head of the lake. With the help of an old prospector and a Native American guide, he successfully found a route across the pass and down to the coastal region but a road was never built.

       

Rouses Camp (Basin Creek)

With the discovery of rich mineral deposits in the Horseshoe Basin and Cascade Pass areas; and the lucrative fur trade, miners and trappers began pouring into the area. In 1889, scheduled steamboat service to Stehekin began. At this same time, two large hotels were built at the upper end of the lake: The Moore Hotel at Moore Point and the Field Hotel at the mouth of the Stehekin River. A large mining settlement was also established at Bridge Creek, 16 miles up the Stehekin River. Mr. Henry Freeland Buckner operated a hotel there and supervised mining operations for a number of years up in the basin. The ore was rich enough to keep investors interested but getting it to market proved to be too much. The severe winters and avalanche conditions were a formidable obstacle. In the 1940s, money and interest began to fizzle out. Then a huge avalanche roared down Basin Creek and completely wiped out the main base camp at what is now Basin Creek Campground.

           

Trost Cabin, North Fork of Bridge Creek

 Another attraction to hardy souls was homesteading. In the late 1880s, the Homesteading Act opened up lands and soon log cabins were showing up throughout the valley. Henry Buckner’s brother, Van obtained a tract of land that would become the Buckner Orchard. Hugh and Mamie Moore Courtney homesteaded at the end of Company Creek road. Descendants of these two families still own land and live in the valley. There were others: John Horton, O.P. Maxwell, Bill Buzzard, Dan Devore, Lewis Weaver and Frank Lesh just to name a few. Hard work was a way of life. These rugged individuals carved out an existence with their hands, clearing land, building homes, trapping and raising large gardens.

        With more families moving to Stehekin, the need for a school became apparent. Since there were children all the way from Moore Point, seven miles down lake, to Stehekin, classes were held in several locations during those early years. Eventually a school was built near the Field Hotel and Daisy Weaver was one of the first teachers.

Steamer Stehekin loading wood

                In 1927 a concrete dam was built at the lower end of the lake to help control flooding and provide

electric power. Its completion raised the lake 21 feet causing the removal of the Moore and Field hotels. The Moore Hotel was later rebuilt on higher ground but the materials from the Field were salvaged and used to build the Golden West Lodge and what was known as the ‘white house’,  a rooming house at the  present Stehekin landing site. A new road was built along the end of the lake and down to Purple Point where the passenger boats would now dock instead of at the Field Hotel.

         

Stehekin School near  Field Hotel.
Teacher Daisy Weaver in the doorway, Olive Field to her left.

During the 1930s, the tourist trade started to pick up and several new businesses were established to cater to visitors needs. Rainbow Lodge, where the new school is today, had an open-air bus service from the landing to Rainbow Falls. Lunch at the lodge and the return bus trip was included in the package, all for one dollar. There was a store, coffee shop and post office at the landing as well as sleeping cabins, rooms and the Golden West Lodge. By this time, gas and diesel engines were powering the passenger boats offering faster service to the head of the lake. Hiking in the Cascades had become fashionable and tourists would often come for several weeks at a time, learning about the culture of the valley and hiking the many trails.

Conversations With a Three Year Old

   Conversations With a Three Year Old

Saturday March 6, 2004

By Roberta Pitts

First Published in the "Stehekin Choice"

I

 traveled to Ellensburg today to meet Tom and family. They arrived at the appointed place at 12:45PM.  It was a quick transfer and before I had hardly said hello to them I found myself alone with the Farrukh strapped into his "kids" seat next to me. It was almost like someone said, "Let the conversation begin!" Farrukh began to talk, with Grandma scrambling to decipher all of the words bouncing around in the cab of the truck.   With a lot of echoing back to assure Farrukh, and myself I was on the same story line as he was, the stories began to serialize.  I heard the "bad word" story first, followed by the "scary bear" story, which lead into the "dinosaur", "worm", "truck driving", "boat riding", "friends waiting", and "chasing bad men" story.  Punctuating all of this were the questions concerning, "where is Grandpa Don?", "when will we get to Stehekin?",  and "where did you get the McDonald's cup?"  Although the trip back to Chelan didn't take much over 2 hours, it seemed much longer than that.....chatter from a youngster is going to be a challenge for this Grandma!

We made it to the boat company just in time to pee.  Peeing seems to punctuate most activities, be it grocery shopping, eating dinner, or driving down the highway.  With peeing taken care of, we moved on to delivering the freight filling the back of the pick-up.  Irina had presented me with a very large, very heavy plastic bag full of Farrukh's stuff. I had some room in one box, my last box.  As I dug deeper into this bag I found that it was full of groceries, one item being a gallon of apple juice.  Aha!  I discovered the weighty item.  I began to rearrange things and eventually worked everything in except the package of fresh hamburger buns. 

Since the exchange hadn't gone as I had envisioned, parked next to a restaurant I foolishly thought we might eat lunch there; it was time for a very late lunch or an even earlier dinner.  We visited the Apple Cup where a favorite line from Farrukh was, "We don't know those people!"  One needs to have a conversation with Farrukh to appreciate the decibel level of his voice, his non-stop voice!  We did well at the restaurant.  I had a smile or two even.  At one point I kicked the table leg which prompted Farrukh to admonish me, "Grandma, be careful!"  French fries were the item of choice for lunch/dinner.  He carefully took each fry, laid it on his placemat, cut it in two with his knife, placed one-half on his fork, dipped it into his water glass, and happily ate it.  All this motion and nary a drop of water was spilled, and stuck in the glass was that accident waiting to happen, a straw.  I drank 3 glasses of diet soda waiting for the required number of fried to be ingested.  When we reached that mystery number the rest were put into a box and we took them with us.

The next stop was a real, real new experience. A MOTEL.  Farrukh had no concept of a motel.  I told him were going to get a "bedroom" so we could go to sleep, wake up, have breakfast and then to Stehekin on the boat.  Yes, I also explained repeatedly why we couldn't go to Stehekin right then.  He was a bit uncertain we really wanted a bedroom, because he assured me he already had one and didn't need another one. I prevailed and once inside, seeing the two nice big beds and the even more alluring TV he was more than happy.  Before the TV enchanted him to excess, we were off to Safeway.

There is a huge trap for parents of young children lying in wait there. Parked beside the grocery carts are these nifty oversized pickups designed especially for children to pretend to drive while "Mom" shops. I wondered if we could get in without Farrukh noticing.  Silly me.  Before I knew it I was behind this rather long pickup with Farrukh happily settled in the cab, spinning the steering wheel in delight.  These are a bit longer in size than the usual grocery cart. I wondered how many displays I would take out on this trip. I wondered too, Farrukh would stay in the cab happily spinning the steering wheel. I had a pretty good sized list which took even longer because Farrukh continued to talk to me although we were now separated by 4 feet of cute blue pickup. I spent lots of time stopped, walking to the front, and answering the current question or hearing the current statement he was making. The good news was he stayed in the cab; the bad news was at the check stand he announced he needed to "pee". The bad news was he wouldn't get out of the truck; the good news was he "forgot" about "peeing". 

At last we went back to the room.  It is now 5:30 and although it has only been 4 ½ hours since his parents drove away, I was feeling like it had been four and ½ days!  I needed a break!  Where is that cartoon channel?!  I quickly found it and the marathon was off.  I'm not sure this had the desired effect for me, you should watch Sponge Bob non-stop for 2 ½ hours.  It did the trick for Farrukh though, he was happy as a clam.

Bedtime eventually arrived.  I got him stuffed into his pajamas, tucked into bed and we both laid back and read our books.  Quiet at last, it was wonderful.  I am beginning to reme mber "motherhood", and believe me events today continue to bring it home with staggering reality.  If my energy holds, perhaps I can write tomorrow, about the events of today