08/18 - 08/25 - Lake Pend Oreille Gathering, 2007

[Seaboldski]

We will be joining the Pend Oreille cruise, at least for a few days. The slip for our Tomcat is in Bayview, right around the corner from Buttonhook Bay (at Farragut State Park). We’re thinking about going to the Wooden Boat Festival at Lake CDA on Saturday, so we may not join up with everyone until Saturday evening or Sunday.

A few thoughts from a couple of "locals":

1-If you need to get provisions I would recommend CDA/Hayden (Super One grocery right off of Hwy 95) on way to Bayview.

2-Buttonhook Bay (at Farragut), right around the corner from Eagle Boat Launch, is a beautiful place to dock overnight. We stayed there last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very calm protected water. State park flush toilets w/in walking distance. Swimming beach and showers a 1/2 mile by trail from docks. No power or water at docks.

3-If you fuel up at Farragut, make sure you use McDonald's Hudson Bay Resort, not the other marina. McDonald's is much cheaper, they also have pump out service for $2, or free with gas purchase.

4-It is a "day cruise" to Hope and Sandpoint from Farragut. Sandpoint is a great town with restaurants and shopping. A beautiful city park near the city marina. Would be a great place for a potluck picnic, if we could all tie up at the city docks.

5-We have not visited the Beyond Hope Resort (that Pat mentioned), but it has peaked our interest as well. A few weeks ago, I spoke with them, and they were unable to accommodate our 25-footer. May just have been the busy weekend, with Sandpoint Music Festival taking place. We will be cruising this weekend, and will try to stop and speak with them, maybe even stay there, and report back. It would be a good location, in addition to Farragut, as it is at the opposite end of the lake, and close to Sandpoint and Hope. It would be nice to have overnight spots on both ends of the lake. It is a big lake and cruising up to Sandpoint and back in one day is a long one (for my taste). Does anyone know about Willow Bay or Island View marinas?


- Steve & Lorraine from Post Falls, ID

[Pat Anderson]

Steve and other locals - I did a little Googling, does not look like LPO is well known for anchorages...where are the best places to anchor?

[Seaboldski]

Pat – Lorraine here. You may be right that LPO is not well known for anchoring. Unfortunately, we do not have first-hand knowledge to confirm that. Truth be told, Steve & I have not yet anchored our Tomcat.

As others have mentioned, one of LPO's features is its depth (1,158 feet). We have heard of, and seen, a few spots to anchor off shore and camp (undeveloped sites), one being Maiden Rock. We've been told this is one of the nicest spots to do so. There are also a few mooring buoy sites along the shore. These are identified on an LPO recreation map that we have been using. You can order it by calling (208) 265-8883, e-mail: info@terrapen.com, web site: www.terrapen.com. This is a very small operation, so if you want a map in time for the get together, I would suggest calling ASAP.

Chris or Donna, do you have any experience anchoring on LPO?

[tsturm]

[Byrdman]

Hummm.... Pick up new vessel at EQ on/around 16Aug.... run her a few days to shake down/check all systems... I gotta go east at some point to get back home...and the Catalina gig is out due to some of the usual delays in rigging a new vessell.... Gotta do some studying here for a bit.

Not ready to jump on the sign up list this morning...but this sure looks like fun and flexible travel times too.

Thanks for the pointer on this Stray Cat!!

Byrdman

[El and Bill]

One week from today, if the Creeks don't rise, there will be a group of CDorys at Farragut SP getting ready for some north country cruising. Any folks not signed up already, but tempted, come on over and do some fresh water cruising in beautiful country -- with Steve and Lorraine as our (new) local guides and Pat tracking down that great beer! El and I plan to remain in northern Idaho after that week, maybe head up to Priest Lake or farther north.

[Seaboldski]

In response to El and Bills’ recent post nominating as the local guides (how did this happen? ):

Steve & I just returned from a weekend cruise on Lake Pend Oreille. A little scouting mission for the upcoming C-Brats adventure. We are new to cruising and to this lake, but we are trying to do our part to help make this a fun cruise for everyone. Since we've never taken part in one of these cruises, could you all give us some feedback on what a typical cruise consists of? How far do people like to travel in a day? Do people like to eat in restaurants, do they like to bring most of their own food, and occasionally eat-out? What type of accommodations are expected -- private marinas, parks, etc? This is a busy season on the lake, as it is in most places, and having plans lined up in-advance is advisable, if not mandatory. For example, if anyone plans on camping at Farragut State Park on either end, the campgrounds have been full most summer weekends. Also, from what we can tell so far, anchoring is rather sketchy, and marina services for overnight stays are limited. What this tells us is that this isn’t a destination where one can just “wing-it” – at least not this time of year. Donna and Chris – also “locals” – do you have any other impressions or suggestions? Again, we are really “new” locals, and the lake and cruising are both new to us.

Based on what we have learned, we’ve put together a tentative itinerary. This is offered only because we do believe some advance planning is necessary. We are happy to make any needed phone calls/reservations with the groups agreement. Can everyone interested please look this over, and give us your feedback ASAP? Thanks, Steve & Lorraine

1-Saturday & Sunday evening: Dock space seems to be reliably available at Buttonhook Bay at Farragut (near Eagle Launch ramp) so this seems to be a good starting point or base for the cruise. These are “docks only”, so plan on being self-sufficient. This is one of the nicest spots on the lake for over-nighting at a public space – and it’s free. One can easily prepare for the trip from here, as full-service groceries and marina(s) are nearby.

2-Mon & Tue evening: Sandpoint - Great town with some marina services. I think we can get online and check availability of slips, and reserve. Sandpoint also has a very nice city park and beach area that would be a nice spot for a potluck. If we think this might be an overnight spot, we'd need to investigate, and line up reservations for slips. We would recommend Sandpoint as it really is a nice town and has the most “going on”.

3-Wed evening: Willow Bay - stopped there this weekend, hoping it was a good stopping point with full services, but it turns-out it is not in full operation yet. We did get permission to use the new docks and there is a restaurant there (a very good one). We have the manager's info, and he said to contact him next week about having a group use the docks (expectation is that we would eat dinner at restaurant). This location is beyond Sandpoint and down the Pend Oreille River a short distance. We enjoyed the cruise on the river and would recommend it.

4-Thur & Friday evening: Beyond Hope Resort stopped here this past Sunday (Pat had mentioned seeing their web site). Docks are pretty rough, but serviceable. There is a restaurant and very nice area to get off the boats, relax, and enjoy the view; restaurant also. Cost is $20 per night. They indicated they have openings the week of our cruise, but said that reservations are required -- they apparently book up into Labor Day.

Other possible “destinations”:

*Someone mentioned Whiskey Rock, which is not too far from Farragut, as a mooring/docking location. There is a small campground (six sites) with pit toilets near the docks. No services at the docks and I think the water may not be too calm here for sleeping -- we've heard from some people that they dock here and camp at the camp sites. We're not really prepared for tent camping ourselves, so would need to stay on our boat in any case.

*Garfield Bay – Not a whole lot here, restaurant, nice convenience store, and city park.
There is a marina here, but it is “for sale”, and not in the best shape. We’ve heard it may be in receivership.

*Beyond Willow Bay, we stopped at Albeni Cove Recreation Area (as far up river as you can go before reaching a dam) - Army Core of Engineers camping area with a small dock area and boat launch. Not really suitable for an extended stay of a big group, but there is a nice campground here with showers, for those that might be interested in camping.

[Chris & Donna Bain]

Anchoring in this lake is difficult. Back in the day, folks would anchor-up and fish with handlines for Kokanee salmon. They would carry hundreds of feet of line on huge spools for this. The mooring bouys (2) at Maiden Rock are exposed to the predominant South wind. However we have stayed there several times. The hiking is excellent, view excellent, swimming excellent. The confluence of the Clark Fork River and the resulting delta/islands would provide the most protected anchorage on the lake. This would be a no-services anchorage. Just you and the deer. Great wildlife watching can be had here. Watch the bottom as it does get shallow! We have also enjoyed staying at Whiskey Rock. A bonus here is the excellent cell phone coverage. There are mooriing bouys (3), dock space and a tight area for anchoring and a swimming beach. The Hope area has some protected spaces in the lee of the islands.
Keep a weather eye on the Western ridges, storm cells build up quickly and they will hide behind the ridges before coming quickly over the top. I have experienced wind changes so sudden and severe that sailboats are knocked down by the 180 degree change.
chris

[El and Bill]

Lorraine and Steve --
My -- you folks have been doing some great scouting for the group. Thanks. And please don't feel you are responsible for the group -- only that you are the (new) locals with more knowledge than any of the rest of us.

Generally, folks cruising around together are pretty independent -- in other words, we carry plenty of food, some proper libations, and an easy going attitude. And, of course, most are pretty independent souls and may wish to buzz off on their own for a dock or a town, some or most of the time. So, your ideas (and those of Chris and Donna) sound like great options and perhaps when we get together in Buttonhook Bay we can see what folks prefer to do -- that won't really be 'winging it', but also might be like herding cats to try to get general agreement until we're all jawing about it together. Think that will work OK? We're chugging across southern Idaho now heading to the NW to pick up Halcyon. See you soon, and thanks again for your good work scouting out places and getting information.

[Seaboldski]

El & Bill - That should work - informal is good. We will plan on making a few advance reservations for ourselves as we will have a geriatric dog with us that will limit some of our options. If anyone wants info/phone numbers on any of the places we’ve mentioned earlier, let us know. Thanks, Chris for sharing your knowledge of the lake.

All the best to you in your travels, and the same to everyone who will be making their way here for some northern cruising. Looking forward to meeting you all! We will arrive in Buttonhook Bay Sunday morning. If folks have already scattered, my cell is 208-660-6013

Lorraine
Stray Cat

[El and Bill]

We are on Halcyon in Stanwood WA getting her ready for the trip over the mountains. Tomorrow, am, engine servicing in Bellingham and Friday if all is well we hope to be underway over the Cascades. Looking forward to meeting all and doing some cruising in northern mountain lake water. Perhaps, Byrdman and Terry will be able to come over and spend some time in the fresh water en route home.

[Seaboldski]

Hey LPO cruisers. Change of plans here. We will be in the water starting Tuesday AM. We'll check Buttonhook Bay for C-Dory's, then head North. See you on the lake!

[Pat Anderson]

Greetings from rainy Sandpoint, ID!!!! First night at Buttonhook Bay, second night at Hope (don't know the name of the bay). Fished this morning with Chris on Mz. Kaye - strange deal, they pay YOU to catch fish here! License was $26 for four days, but the State of Idaho pays a bounty on Mackinaw trout (to protect Kokanee trout). So, my two fish yielded a $4 profit! Just had lunch at a restaurant in Sand Point, heading down the Pend Oreillle River for a little look-see. Thinking about heading off to Priest Lake tomorrow, plans are a bit in flux. Boats in flotilla are Halcyon (Bill and El), Daydream (us), Mz. Kaye (Chris) and Voyager (Jody). We may be joined by Dennis and Rae, who are new C-Dory owners who by coincidence were in Sand Point and saw the four boats coming in - their boat is in a slip at Hope. Great time despite the rain, but doggone we were hoping for hot sunny weather! Oh, well...

[SeaSpray]

Hi Pat,

Sorry to hear about the rain! I know you probably more than anyone was looking forward to warm weather with all the rain you have had.

I sure would have liked to explore that area but our vacation plans are for 3 weeks in the San Juans/ Gulf Island starting in 2 weeks.

Hope the group has a great time on the lakes there and I look forward to seeing pictures.

Is there any limit to how much you can make fishing?

Steve

[El and Bill]

I don't know about a limit on how much money you can earn turning in 'bounty fish' but Pat has just opened a new Idaho bank account!!

To see some pictures of the Pend d'Oreille cruise, click on www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/pend

We are anchored in a slough off the Pend d'Oreille River, just west of Sandpoint, ID tonight. The rain is lightly tapping on the cabin roof, Mozart is playing on the Internet on KVOD (Denver), and the Wallas is pumping out a light heat keeping us comfy and warm. All's well here on the Pend d'Oreille River.