Wilderness fans lobby for ... a road

[Steve]

[The Seattle Times] In the Northwest, the battle for the future of wilderness is increasingly being fought where the rubber meets the road.

The roads in question are mostly gravel and lead into some magnificent pieces of wilderness. Case in point: the Stehekin River Road in the North Cascades.

A lot of you will remember the ride: A shuttle bus used to make semiregular runs from Stehekin, the picturesque community at the head of Lake Chelan, 23 miles up the river to Cottonwood Camp. From there, the splendor of wilderness literally surrounded you. Unforgettable alpine haunts such as the waterfall-festooned Horseshoe Basin were a short day-hike away — a five- or six-mile roundtrip.

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