We had a full day in Stehekin. According to ranger’s recommendation, we decided to hike on the Coon Lake Trail. To reach the trailhead, we had to take the shuttle bus to High Bridge. On the way, the bus stopped at the only bakery shop in the area for visitors to have coffee or breakfast. On the bus, we learned that some of the passengers are hikers doing PCT Trail (Pacific Crest Trail) which is a trail starting from Canada boarder all the way to Mexico boarder. The Coon Lake Trail is a part of the PCT Trail.
It is a beautiful trail with nice terrain and sceneries. After a while, we noticed our hiking was getting a bit tougher. After extra effort, we finally reached the Coon Lake. At the same time, we saw a group of guided horseback riders arriving to the same area. After talking to the guide, we realized that we made a wrong turn somewhere in the middle of the trail and ended up at the other side of the lake.
After we got back on the right trail, we were taking our time to enjoy the hike. At one point, where the trail has a 90 degree turn upward, the front man in our hiking group was Ben. To his surprise, he found that he was facing a black bear who was coming down from the same trail. Ben was shocked and yelled “Bear”. At the same time, we saw the bear made a turn and dashed out to the other direction. The bear was running and jumping to try to get away from us. Of course, we aimed our cameras at him and tried to take photos for this rare opportunity of bear encounter. Unfortunately, it happened too fast and June was the only person who caught a shot of the bear's backside. This photo provides the proof of our bear encounter and validates our bear story.
When we reached to the Coon Lake, we found another tranquilized and peaceful scenic spot for photo opportunities.
After we got back to the shuttle bus station, we still had time to wondering around the High Bridge area. We found a wonderful spot with creek water rushing down and creating a beautiful Kodak spot.
We decided to get food form the bakery shop and had dinner on our lakefront-view patio.
After dinner, there was still time before sunset. Therefore, we took a nice walk along the lake and tried to take sunset pictures. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy for sunset photos. However, the walk was relaxing and enjoyable.
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