Jayson, his dog Amber, and I stepped off the Lady of the Lake II onto the shores of Prince Creek at 11:30am Friday morning. The Lady, a passenger ferry running from the shores of Chelan to Stehekin (the most remote community in the lower 48), had picked us up at Fields Point earlier in the day. After finally getting on the freeway by 7am, we had just made it to the ferry with minutes to spare.

We looked around - we were part of about 10 hikers that got off the boat at that point, six of whom were going to do the Summit trail, a 33 mile high elevation odyssey, while the remaining four were going to hike the 18 miles to the town of Stehekin.

Weather forecasts had called for temps in the mid-90s and already at 11 in the morning we were all feeling the heat. Fully loaded up, Amber led the way. Unfortunately, after only 20 minutes it became apparent that she wasn't doing well at all. She was limping pretty badly after jumping down a hill and we think she may have pinched a nerve (being an old dog and all). On top of that, the heat was doing a number on her.

Although a bummer, it wasn't a tough decision to turn around and return to the trail head to wait for the Lady's return trip for a pickup home. We passed the other couple who wished us well and were nice enough to use their water to rinse down Amber, and headed back to the trail head.

We got to the trail head and hunkered down for a pickup - about three hours later it began to dawn on us that the Lady wouldn't be able to see us on the shore and wouldn't be making any unscheduled stops. Decision time - we could either wait overnight and hope for a morning pickup on the ferry's way back to Stehekin, but if the ferry had no one to drop at Prince, it would probably not stop. We decided the best thing to do would be for Jayson to stay at the trail head with Amber, while I footed it to Stehekin by myself to arrange for a ferry pickup.

Wishing each other good luck, I hit the trail. Unfortunately, by that point it was 4pm and absolutely baking.

I feel bad for Jayson, not only because he was stuck there, but because he just missed an awesome hike. Though it appears to follow close to the lake, the trail actually curves up and around the various hills that stand guard over Lake Chelan. The trip was filled with little blessings - an ice cold brook when my water was out, wild raspberries ringing the trail when I needed a quick energy boost, and wildlife abounding when my mind needed distraction from the strength-sapping heat.

The original plan was to take all day and try to reach Flick Creek, where our friend John had camped last year, but with 14 miles to cover and only 5 hours of daylight left, I put it in my mind to reach Moore, a campsite 11 miles out from Prince. About three hours in, I finally caught up to the couple from before taking a break in the shade. Their hike was rather uneventful, so they were surprised to hear of the rattle snakes that had hissed at me a few times already. Wishing me good luck, they told me to keep an eye out for bear droppings along the trail, advice that I thought was rather unimportant at the time.

An hour later, the foliage soon grew thick and green and water became much more abundant. My spirit was lifted a bit knowing that I was almost to the campsite, which is probably why I didn't notice the rustling of the bushes ahead of me. It wasn't until I was twenty feet away that a black bear emerged from the trail!

They say that the bears are more scared of you than you of it, but my shorts would beg to differ. The bear bounded off trail and ran right up a hill. By the time the shock wore off and I could rustle my camera out, it was already a full 100 yards up hill. Thankfully I brought my telephoto!

I finally reached Moore camp a bit after 8, the sun having dipped behind the mountains. The heat had killed my meal - the cheese was melted, the chocolate a ruinous liquid, the bread stale. I had to settle for four of the most delicious handfuls of raisins I had ever had and two cups of lake-chilled sake, and called it a night.

I woke early at 6 and hit the trail at 6:30, having it in mind to reach Stehekin with time for a huge bacon burger. I was in town, cold beer in hand by 10am (after having alerted the ranger of course, of Jayson and Amber's plight at Prince).

The boat arrived and departed at 2 - having not made any up-lake pickups. It was a good thing we decided to split up!

Amber is fine and just needs rest, but Jayson thinks her hiking days are over. Finally on our way home, we traded stories and both hoped the next hike would be fun for the both of us.