April 2003 - Stehekin rocks! Rented a cabin and did some dayclimbs in the area. Hiking during the day, spaghetti and beer at night - oh yeah, good times!

On Thursday we drove to Chelan and then took the Lady of the Lake ferry to Stehekin. We then occupied the cabin and wondered if the rain would stop.

Friday morning we awoke to starry skies - yay! We attempted Boulder Butte via Purple Pass trail. The trail is completely snowfree up to about 4,000 feet. There are some blown down trees that require some atheletic moves to get over, under or around. We then encountered snow in patches and finally snowpack at 5,000 feet. We then turned straight up the ridge, snowshoeing to 7,000 feet. It had snowed considerably on Thursday and it was not consolidated, so avalanche conditions turned us around. Dang! 6,000 feet of gain and we still came up short of the summit. Thats okay - we enjoyed big views of Lake Chelan, Castle Rock, Devore, and Tupshin.

On Saturday we climbed Rainbow Mountain, another 5,000 feet from the floor of the Stehekin Valley. We used the Rainbow Creek trail to gain the ridge at 3,000 feet. The trail is snowfree and clear of debris. We then traveled cross-country up Rainbow's South Ridge. The climb includes a rocky scramble at about 5,700 feet - a real obstacle - then a snowclimb finish to the summit. Whoo-hoo! 360 degrees of big "W" Wow! From Rainbows summit the eye follows Company Creek to the north face of Bonanza, featuring the beautiful Company Glacier. Then up the Stehekin valley to the big mountains of NCNP and McGregor Mountain up close. To the north is Bowen and McAllister. Looking down valley is Lake Chelan, rimmed with impressive peaks, majestic with snow.

Great friends, clear weather, big views, and even some wildflowers. Hey, an 11,000 foot weekend - good job team! Doxey

	Rainbow Mtn with our route photo by Doxey Kemp
	View of Bonanza from Rainbow summit photo by Doxey Kemp
	The gang at the cabin. photo by Seth Pollack
	Logan the Wonder Dog. photo by Doxey Kemp