The Barge: Forty Years of Serving the Stehekin Community

Early morning Launch from Chelan Docking Site--Stehekin Bound!

Steadily churning on the waters of Lake Chelan, in all kinds of weather and conditions during any season you can find a 30 by 80 steel barge laden with freight bound for Stehekin and all points thereof. Locally known as “The Barge” this well known craft carries a you-name-it menagerie of supplies to the ports of Chelan, Stehekin, Lucerne, and many private homeowners and remote cabins along Lake Chelan. Founded by Tom Courtney of Stehekin and serving the area since 1977, the barge service is an essential part of all aspects of community life in our valley.

Fuels for our cars and trucks and machinery, stacks of lumber and logs for our homes and buildings, vehicles that take up half of the deck or just a small corner, animals of all kinds and their precious hay and feed, the list is as varied as the customer. Moving vans, pallets of flour for the Stehekin Pastry Company, gravel for special projects, trailers tractors and canoes--anything that is too large for the passenger boat arrives in Stehekin from a 55 mile full day trip up Lake Chelan, powered by a 50 foot work boat with two 671 Detroit  engines.

The barge arrival means anticipated supplies have arrived and it’s time to get to work! You may see the unloading process taking place at the Stehekin Landing with boom trucks, trailers, rolling vehicles and two legged delivery to valley residents eager to get on with their projects or ready to drive a new (usually used!) rig home. Summer influx of seasonal workers and tourists means many full barges in the spring and fall.Fire season brings unexpected all night trips.

Gravel and Excavator bound for special project

The crew of Mountain Barge Services LLC is dedicated to accommodate all kinds of projects along the shore of Lake Chelan such as dock work, buoy setting, propane delivery,and even fire fighting emergency work. On July fourth, look under the exploding fireworks in Chelan and Manson and find the barge crew sporting the event, keeping the deck as a launch site steadily in place.

Fireworks launch from barge deck Manson Bay

 

You might find it strange to know that even Stehekin’s trash is transported down the lake via this vessel. Or, in the spring, you might see the arrival of the pack trip horses for Stehekin Outfitters.  At one point you would have watched an 85 ton crane rolling off the barge to help construct Harlequin Bridge.  There are countless stories of storms, a missing pig upon arrival, a horse jumping overboard to get to shore faster….all in a day’s, or make that three day’s work considering the full spectrum of loading, unloading and return trip. 

Tom will tell you his business has been challenging, with never a dull moment, but enjoyable. With new plans ahead, Tom says it’s good to expand, provide more jobs, and that no business survives without changing and adapting.  There is plenty to relate about Tom’s life work that has made Mountain Barge Services operate smoothly, along with his son Reed's dedicated management and an excellent support crew.

Fair weather journey!

New plans are unfolding including a new warehouse at 41 Anderson Rd, Chelan, as well as a new office location at the same address. A weekly barge is a welcome addition to Stehekin’s residents.

Thank you Mountain Barge Service for forty years of dedicated, essential service to Stehekin!

 

Phone: (509)-682-2493

Email: info@mountainbarge.com

For more Stehekin information, visit us at: stehekinheritage.com 

 

Trillium Festival

School Children entertaining during Trillium 

For many years, the Stehekin Community has been coming together to acknowledge the end of winter's darkness, and the return of brighter days, with a celebratory gathering. It's known as the Trillium Festival - or more affectionately, just "Trillium".

Trillium flowers are among the first to pop up after the snow is gone and the temperatures begin to rise. Within the shadowed woodlands, the trillium brightly proclaim that warmth and color are returning to the 

valley.

the heavy laden potluck table

It's a come-as-you-are kind of event, but many take the opportunity to put on their finer clothes, or at least clean ones. It starts in the late afternoon with a potluck -with delicious offerings from the many who have spent the morning preparing.

visting and enjoying the food shared by friends and neighbors

In the schoolyard, everyone has a good time reconnecting with neighbors, and getting acquainted with those just in the valley for a visit. The children feel some nervousness as they anticipate their performances to come. Maybe all those who will share talent feel it. 

Following the potluck, everyone gathers inside the school, and the sharing of talent begins. 

the gift of music

school kids impress all with their talents

the happily-entertained

Stehekin's very own band

Trillium Festival 2017 

- Saturday, May 13 -

 Stehekin School

Potluck begins at 4 PM

Followed by local Talent

for more information about Stehekin please visit: StehekinHeritage.com

Signs of Spring -part 3

 arrival of the barge bringing the horses back to Stehekin

Another sign of spring is the Horse Barge. The horses for the pack trips and trail rides - owned by Stehekin Outfitters - go out every fall to their winter pasture at the lower end of Lake Chelan. 

They return in the spring on the deck of the barge. Many gather to meet them and help to walk the horses up the road to their corrals. It's like a small reunion between friends, and an exciting day for all. 

horses and helpers -just about ready to head up the road

leading a string of horses - tied by tails to halters.

Please visit StehekinHeritage.com

Signs of Spring part 2

the mudflats at Stehekin - the river channels' sculpting is unique every year

Many who visit Stehekin in the summer have no idea the changes that take place as the days grow shorter in the fall of the year. I remember when I first heard of the mudflats, and the disbelief I felt. "A mile of the upper lake turns into a mudflat?" It didn't seem possible. It sounded ugly after traveling back and forth along the breathtakingly lovely road, from the boat dock to the river valley.

In the years since my first exposure to the mudflats I have experienced many happy memories there. When the valley is full of winter's snow, the mudflats allow a place to sit in the sun, kick off our winter boots, hunt for things left behind by the receding lake, watch the swans navigating the river channls, fly kites, play soccer, golf, have archery competitions, ski on the open flats at night under a full moon, have a bonfire and look at the stars. The actual list is endless. 

I have to admit a fondness for the mudflats. I remember my young nephew exclaiming one dark Autumn day, "The mudflats are coming up!" And I recall the joy of that. 

the spring winds can create a dust storm that carries the gritty dust to landing and beyond

"Oh no! There's a dragon coming at us!"

Dragon over the mudflats

Please visit: StehekinHeritage.com

The Voices of Stehekin

Many of us will be posting our thoughts through this blog in the months ahead. We are glad you are here to be an audience that inspires us to share our lives, and the beauty of Stehekin. We share many things in common, but we are all individuals who view our world from unique perspectives.

Trillium emerging through winter's decay

We hope to post many pictures on this blog - pictures that speak more eloquently than we can. Since today is the first day of May I want to share a series of pictures that I call Signs of Spring. This spring has been slow in coming, and almost reluctant to be separated from the cold dark days so recently passed. When the temperature dips down into the 30's at night, and we haven't felt the need to put away our down jackets for the season, we are all encouraged by the signs that we see around us, that the clear, warm, sunny days will be coming to stay soon. 

among the first wildflowers of spring

blossoms and rushing cascades

dogwood blossoms

wild currants by Lake Chelan

-mc
Please visit: StehekinHeritage.com

Spring!

Violets 

Springtime is a favorite time of year. Though the access to the backcountry is limited in the spring, the quiet reawakening of life in the valley never ceases to inspire. To look closely at what was so recently a barren hillside covered with decomposing leaves and needles, and discover a variety of tiny flowers, pushing through what so recently appeared dull and lifeless, is thrilling.

Do you know what this flower is?

Even the new leaves appearing on the willows beside the river capture interest. In their early unfurling they are reminiscent of chalices uplifted.

New leaves along the river

 A favorite early spring flowers is the Spring Beauty. They remind many of us of chubby little hands bringing bouquets to put in cups upon the windowsill -  small children delighting in the gift that they can offer. Year after year, Spring Beauties always seemed to come back in abundance, even after the children's harvest from our property. 

Spring Beauties - emerging from last year's decay

The lupine flowers are lovely when they start to bloom, but the foliage that comes first is also unique -with the drops of water shining like little crystals in the troughs of each leaf. 

Lupine leaves with crystal beads of water from a recent rainfall

Welcome to Stehekin

McGregor Mountain from upper Lake Chelan

An Introduction to Stehekin

Welcome to the Stehekin Heritage blog. We are a group of people who live in, and love, the Stehekin Valley.  Nestled in the heart of the North Cascades mountain range, at the end of 55-mile long Lake Chelan, we live in a land-locked community of fewer than one hundred year round residents. Private residences are spread from the boat landing area to nine miles up the Stehekin River Valley.

Docks at the Landing

Since there are no roads that lead into Stehekin, to come and go requires time. Many people liken Stehekin to an island, and there is a regularly scheduled ferry service that runs year round. The boat schedule ramps up in the busy season with two boats running daily, and slows to only one boat running three days a week in the middle of winter. Mail comes and goes by way of the boat, and groceries travel from the markets at the other end of Lake Chelan to the dock at Stehekin where they are picked to fill pantries and refrigerators -and ultimately hungry bellies.

"Meeting the boat" in Stehekin 

There are a total of about 14 miles of open road in Stehekin, and the vehicles in the valley have all arrived by way of the barges that have hauled freight  on the lake for more than 100 years. Gas is available at at self-serve pump that locals use with a computerized system for monthly billing. All the gas and diesel arrives by barge.

Courtney Barge loading in Stehekin

Stehekin has a public school that accommodates students in grades one through eight. All grades are taught by one teacher, and when the numbers require it, there is an aide in the classroom. Most children get to school under their own power - generally by bicycle when the weather allows.
This brief introduction is very superficial, but in the months ahead we hope to publish more in-depth posts, taking you deeper into Stehekin as we know it -  a glimpse into life within the Stehekin community.
Please check back.

Children enjoying a summer rain shower at the landing