Horseshoe Basin

Work lasted until 2:00 for me and 6:00 for Katie on Thursday afternoon. As soon as it was over, we were headed up the road in the blue truck with a light backpack, headed for the end of the road and the beginning of our trail! The plan was a hike to horseshoe basin and up into the old mine. Steven went to Bridge Creek earlier in the day to take down tents and pack up the company back country campsite. Perfect timing for us so he could carry our tent and food! We all gathered around the fire that night after the short 3 mile hike to enjoy dinner and watch the stars fill the sky. The next morning Steven headed out early with the horses and our gear towards Cottonwood. We left with a day pack with flashlights for the mine and lunch, what else could two girls need on a day hike? Fortunately nothing as we didn't encounter anything too exciting. The air was cool when we first started hiking as the sun was still low in the school casting warmth only on the tops of the mountains. Soon enough it was shining down on us and the trail making us wish we had changed into shorts. We stopped at Cottonwood for a quick snack before continuing up the trail to the basin. Red, yellow, orange, and green leaves lined the trail and the river side making for some great pictures! We made it to the basin by 12:00 or so and enjoyed lunch before scrambling up the rocky trail towards the mine. There we took out cameras and flash lights to enjoy the sites, walk into the mine, then sat on an old board for a while and enjoyed the view. We took our time heading back to Cottonwood to set up camp for the night. Steven was to leave our packs and tent in the bear box so rodents would enjoy our dinner instead of us. Upon arrival, we discovered a "tent fairy" visited Cottonwood and set it up for us....very exciting I must say. So...we watched up by the river, made dinner, sat by the fire, then read our books for a bit, before zipping up in our sleeping bags. When we woke the next morning, we decided to head back to Stehekin and take our time getting backed up. The route we chose was the old road bed from Bridge Creek to Car Wash Falls which provided us with some nice photo opportunities to capture the colors of Fall. The hike was great and the pictures are fun...so hope you enjoy! If you ever get a chance to go to horseshoe basin...Katie and I would both highly recommend it!