The only reason I added an extra star to the lowest possible rating is because the snowmobile ride…read moreitself on the trails was very enjoyable. Wonderful weather, great time in the mountains. The rest of this review is focused on my interaction with the owner Don, and not the guides (who were very pleasant fellas). Don handled the paperwork and showed my partner and I how the snowmobiles worked. Then we got on our own snowmobiles to get started, and this is when Don started yelling at me. First of all, to start this snowmobile you have to pull up the kill switch. Those little knobs pull up by like one tiny centimeter and maybe if you rode it everyday you can tell by eye if the kill switch is up or down. Well I couldn't tell and I assumed I had to pull up the knob so I tried, and Don started yelling at me IT'S ALREADY UP WHY ARE YOU PULLING IT, IT'S ALREADY UP! Then I tried to turn the key in ignition but it didn't start because I didn't flip the parking brake. Then Don started yelling again "YOU ARE STILL IN PARKED, FLIP THIS THING. DON'T YOU LISTEN?!!" Now, in Don's instructions he said almost in his exact words" this is the parking brake and you don't have to worry about it". So hey Don I listened to you and didn't worry about it, guess you need better instructions. Maybe Don had a bad day and was frustrated, but no amount of frustration justifies yelling that way at others. Oh and we paid for a 4 hour ride but got only 3 hours of actual ride time. And no we weren't late. If you really want to go snowmobiling, I'd recommend checking out options near Leavenworth. The prices are similar if not cheaper than Chewack, views are just as good and the staff a lot more pleasant and professional.

The ranch dog had more personality and people skills than the person guiding/leading the ride.read more

This is a short little hike to a couple of waterfalls on Cedar creek. Roundtrip it's about 3.5…read moremiles if you just go to the falls. Elevation gain is approximately 500 feet. There are views of the surrounding North Cascades mountains and you'll enjoy the sounds of Cedar creek for most of your hike as it flows just below most of the trail. If you're a more ambitious sort, you can continue up the creek and over the ridge eventually connecting to the Pacific Crest Trail. Turn left for Mexico, right for Canada.

Egads!! I have a serious problem, this shop is pure catnip to us! The place is so well curated and…read morehas everything we ever need and way more than we ever could lol. Just picked up a fantastic new mountain bike today and as usual they were able to help me figure out exactly what I needed (yes, a MTB is a need, not a "want" ) fantastic customer service, excellent mechanics, great all-around support both before and after purchases! Just took this new Norco out for its first ride and I couldn't be more stoked for summer 2024!

I was so happy I came here! I got FOMO because I didn't bring my bike on my trip to the area, and I…read morecalled them on Memorial Day, a super busy day, and was putting a bike in my car about 15 minutes later. Everybody was very nice and helpful. Also as a solo woman I've had lots of bike shops treat me like an idiot/make me feel like I don't belong, and they made me feel super welcome, gave great ride recs, and even gave me tips for things to try with my personal bike back home. Seriously a highlight of my quick trip! Oh and the bike was awesome, and 80$ for full suspension for a day is even cheaper than the shops back home in OR.

I'm surprised I don't have more photos from Bear Creek because I've played here at least once every…read moreyear for the last Five or six. This is golf in the Methow and it's a local treasure. It seems to improve a little bit every year and it's always friendly and accessible. We played this time on a Friday afternoon, before a scramble scheduled for 4 pm, and pretty much had the course to ourselves. It's challenging but fun, with lots of elevation changes, hidden targets, and pretty views.

We had a twilight tee time, and ended up with most of the course to ourselves. Beautiful views…read morethroughout the front nine holes. Definitely too challenging for our skill set since we're not very good at all. Hole signage could be better because it overlapped with the back nine often.

One of the most beautiful and undiscovered locations in all of Washington. The forest roads are…read morenot paved but still fine to drive on. Plenty of places to take in the vistas and escape the bustle of city life. In the two days I was birding the forest trails in this forest I never ran into two people, on a popular hiking trail. Check the weather reports as freeze-out ridge gets very cold in fall, go figure, you could easily get stranded by a snow storm, and no one would find you. This is one of the only areas where the boreal forest extends down into WA from Canada so the wildlife, trees and feel of the place is very different then you might be used to. It is a great spot to tick off the Boreal birds in Washington state. There was a huge fire around here in the summer of 2006 and I haven't been back since so I don't know how bad the damage was.

Tavish made for a wonderful 6 days of climbing! He took the time to ensure we had unique adventures…read moreeach day while mixing in safety, gear and logistical tips and tricks. Thank you for the trip of a lifetime!

NCMG is awesome! My sister and I wanted to get the multipitch traditional alpine rock climbing…read moreexperience (knot tying, hitches, etc) and we did the 2 Day Guided Course, 1st day was at fun rock in Mazama; true to name, very fun sport climbing area where we worked on skills. Was proficient enough, I suppose, that our guide asked if we wanted to go up in to WA pass. Day 2 we hiked 2 hours to the South Early Winter Spire where we got to short rope, experience the chimney, and summit the 600' spire. Truly a great experience. Our guide Jere was awesome, super knowledgeable, patient, really encouraging and best of all, great sense of humor. He really made the whole experience great. Thanks Jere and NCMG!

Lake Chelan & Stehekin are my jam…read more   Since 2012, I have hiked the Lakeshore Trail of Chelan to Stehekin (unsucessfully in 2012, and successfully ever since) atleast 1-2 times every year.  I actually love the hike, it's an easy way to bag 19-miles, but I've definitely been a creature of habit.  This year I decided to jump out of my comfort zone and research another way to reach the isolated hamlet of Stehekin. I bring you the equation of: War Creek Trail + Purple Creek Trail = Stehekin! I had only seen this route on maps, and did not see much information on the actual route of hiking from the War Creek Trailhead all the way to Stehekin and back.  I wasn't able to get good info on the mileage, some apps had estimates of 15-miles each way, and with that, I thought "Ok that sounds do-able."  So I set out to make the trek from a Saturday morning to a Sunday--I had plans to camp in Stehekin.   On an early Saturday morning I set out up the valley of War Creek valley.  I should first say that this valley has suffered from fires over the years and you can certainly see this as you walk through stretches of ravaged burnt landscapes.  And this trail clearly does not see a lot of traffic because the underbrush have taken over in the absence of trees.  So be ready for lots of bushwhackin' on the trail!  The fairly flat first 6-miles gives way to some very rough burnt tree falls between mile #7 & #8 (before this stretch one can clearly see the work others have valiantly performed to clear the trail.)  I should also say that in mid-July you will also find this valley filled with mosquitoes.  So downed trees and bloodthirsty mosquitoes await you. All is not all gloom & doom in that once you are past mile 8, you begin to enter higher elevations and begin to enter subalpine areas not touched by fire.  And then War Creek Pass looms over you and approaches fast! All the lost blood and sore muscles are totally worth it from War Creek Pass---at the top you are in the Juanita Lake basin:  And It Is GORGEOUS!  In july you will see vibrant wildflowers at your feet swooning you.  And I can't imagine what it's like in Fall for there clearly are families of larch trees peppering this idyllic subalpine basin. But you push on.  The reward beckons in the form of a burger, beer, and all the cinnamon rolls you can eat 5,700' below in Stehekin.  So make your way through the 1-mile wonderland at the top to the other end of it where you find Purple Pass.  Here you are rewarded with a majestic view of craggy mountaintops and the dramatic fall down the Chelan valley to the lake & Stehekin.  Here is where you will want to let out a scream  Just to do it, for you have trekked 11-miles.  Only 7 miles down left! I must admit, this is where the beginning of the errors in my ways starts.  I miscalculated the hike down.  I thought it was anything ranging from 3-miles to 6-miles...it ends up being 7-miles (for a 1-way mileage of 18 miles!).  And my agenda of setting up camp in Stehekin also quickly eroded as I came to find that all the camping spots were taken. Now I had a tough choice.  Do I try to stay down along the Chelan Lakeshore and find a place to camp, or do I give up that idea and begin the trip back??  It was about 3pm when I reached Stehekin, I just missed lunch & dinner started at 5pm.  I eventually decided to reserve a burger dinner, and hike back up Purple Creek Trail that evening.  I would have loved a trip to the Stehekin Bakery, but there was no way I'd walk there.  I thought of renting a bike, but I had no cash or check.  So the cinnamon rolls would only exist in my dreams that night.   Once my burger was in my belly, I strapped my backpack on and began stacking more miles to the 18-already hiked....BUT....this was the hardest portion of the hike:  5,674' up to Purple Pass over 7 miles---and it was 6pm!! I'll spare you the whining, but the hike up was all it lived up to be.  I had 1.5L, but a few miles up, I ran out of water, so I ended up needing to go off-trail at a switchback to filter some water. While I was dying during the last mile, at about 11pm, I was losing hope, BUT my guide illuminated the home stretch:  Enter NEOWISE.   My comet friend helped me make it to Purple Pass.  And here is where I set up camp under headlamp.   The next morning was the hike out.  It was mostly downhill (not that steep) and fairly uneventful---I knew I'd have to navigate through the fallen trees again, but it wasn't tough.  After hitting the trail at 7:30am, I made it back to the trailhead just after 1pm (but I did go skinny dipping at one time when it was getting super hot!  I was fine with that since I had not seen a single soul on the entire 36 miles of trail.). [HD video of entire trip: https://youtu.be/RdnuAvuXwlQ ]