Chelan to Stehekin

D

DuckDogTitus

New member
For various reasons, my brother and I are planning a Chelan to Stehekin trip soon. Fishing and hunting are on the agenda.

I've taken long cruises over a weekend, but I think this may be the longest one (60+ miles each way?) with the least amount of stops and support along the way.

I wanted to see if anyone here experienced in making the trip could provide me with some help for planning, suggestions, etc. things such as:

stops along the way (i know of one boat access only dock about 12 miles up, but that leaves me with another 50 ish miles to cover).

suggestions on emergency provisions/gear, etc.

anything else?

I'm brainstorming. Like I mentioned, I've done long cruises in the south sound and up in the San Juans but I feel like I had more support access in those places if I got into trouble.

I have been on Chelan a few times in the past and have seen how the waves can kick up a bit. we've fished it and explored, but I think i've only gone about as far as 15 miles up the lake from the Chelan park. I'm trying to plan this trip as kind of an adventure/expedition for us and I'm preparing for the worst.
 
Dustin, if you stop at the USFS station in Chelan (a log cabin structure right along the river drive -- turn left when the main road runs into the lake) , they can give you maps and much information. Also, the boat company further down the street where the ferry docks would have info. You can drive via vehicle all the way to 25 mile, where they usually have gas, and parking -- I'd call them first. If you stay on the port side of the lake going towards Stehikin, that is where most of the safe havens are. The most noteworthy is at Lucerne, called Refrigerator camp. If you want some coordinates, I can go out on the boat and see if my "lakes" chip shows any more details.

Leave early morning because in the afternoon the winds and waves pick up. They are usually worse up in the narrows near Lucerne. There is usually gas at Stehikin, plus a nice campground, plus rental rooms if you want comfort. I worked up at Holden Village for 2 summers installing water quality monitoring wells, and stayed at Stehekin during that time. Stehekin also has bike rentals to go further up Stehekin creek. They had a great bakery up the road a bit. There are vehicles up there in use that haven't been licensed in years.
 
DuckDogTitus":1l1j1igp said:
For various reasons, my brother and I are planning a Chelan to Stehekin trip soon. Fishing and hunting are on the agenda.

I've taken long cruises over a weekend, but I think this may be the longest one (60+ miles each way?) with the least amount of stops and support along the way.

I wanted to see if anyone here experienced in making the trip could provide me with some help for planning, suggestions, etc. things such as:

stops along the way (i know of one boat access only dock about 12 miles up, but that leaves me with another 50 ish miles to cover).

suggestions on emergency provisions/gear, etc.

anything else?

I'm brainstorming. Like I mentioned, I've done long cruises in the south sound and up in the San Juans but I feel like I had more support access in those places if I got into trouble.

I have been on Chelan a few times in the past and have seen how the waves can kick up a bit. we've fished it and explored, but I think i've only gone about as far as 15 miles up the lake from the Chelan park. I'm trying to plan this trip as kind of an adventure/expedition for us and I'm preparing for the worst.
Click to expand...

I've not taken my boat there but I have been to the N end a few times on the Lady of the Lake ferries and have looked at going there sometime in my boat. 60 miles in a 22 is not that big of a deal and there is fuel and food available in Stehekin. Food selections are somewhat limited. The restaurant in Stehekin at the lodge near the ferry landing (also the marina) was pretty good when I was there last (about 10 years ago) as was the bakery. The bakery has since changed hands (and maybe the restaurant has too) but both still have good menus. There's a little store (like you might find at a KOA campground) that has enough on which to survive (if I recall, basic sandwich fixings, some other simple items, maybe hotdogs, popcorn and some other junk food) but if you plan on cooking, you should bring your own food. Fuel is also available at 25 mile creek. Theres a boat launch and dock there also so if you wish, you don't have to do the entire lake going N. This link is useful for boating resources on Lake Chelan.

The wind can kick up in the afternoons and there's not a lot places to hide in the N end of the lake so it's best to try to time things for an early morning trip up in calm waters. Wind from the N is more common so the southbound trip is easier even if there is wind. You cel phone is useless in Stehekin and there are no ATM's so I'd suggest you bring cash (although they do take charge cards at the lodge). It's a REALLY beautiful place at the N end and the trout fishing is pretty good up there. If you have time (and it's open for fishing) the mouth of Prince Creek can provide some very large cutthroat. The best fly fishing day I've ever had in my life involved casting across the mouth with a beadhead fly. I landed about 15 fish over 4lbs and had a very hard time finding one small enough for two guys to eat for dinner. I think I wound up keeping a 2.5lb fish that I had to cut in half to fit in my backpacking fry pan. Near the N end there are a few places that one could beach the boat or anchor close enough to shore to get on land easily. You might also find this previous thread useful.
 
thanks Guys, I appreciate it. I just did some mapping of a few of my trips last year and realized that 120+ miles was done a couple times just on my San Juan trips. I think I'm a tad more apprehensive on this one knowing I may have less support and like you mentioned, cell reception.

Ron, I coincidentally found a post you had given me a couple years ago mentioning Lucerne and I already jotted it on my map as a potential holdover if we got caught in weather.

Roger, I definitely plan to fish. hoping to do all my fishing on the stehekin side of the lake this time. in the past I fished for Mak's closer to Chelan but I dont think I want to spend much time down there this time since the whole trip is planned for uplake. the cuthroats could be a blast, and i was reading up on the salmon too.

coincidentally i also just read that other thread you posted. good info!
 
I have made the trip to stehekin 3 times . I would recommend getting a dock permit from the park service there are several landings and you can use the docks at Stehekin also the one called purple point is well protected and is about 3 blocks out of town. enjoy the trip
 
realistically speaking, how long of a cruise is it for you guys from Chelan to Stehekin?

I figure at 15knots its a long hard ride. I dont know if I've ever pushed the motor straight at cruising speed for 4 hours before. any thing I should consider there?

when you guys made the long trip, did you have any issues with log debris? I came across a lot of that my last trip up.
 
Always lots of logs just like the strait of georgia. Never been in a hurry just enjoyed the trip. By the way fires in the canyons make their own wind.
 
Regarding the cruising speed and time -- I believe the lake is closer to 50 miles from recollections. Make sure the life vests are on cause the wind and problems can come up fast there -- when they are bad, you can see it coming -- called something like a "black line". Should be no problem, just watch water pressure/temp gage on the dash, and keep a sharp lookout for the logs. They often float parallel to the waves, and hide a bit. There should be some widlife viewing opportunities, often deer, bear, goats on the port side going up. Quite a few little creeks flowing into the lake, although with this year who knows. There is a hike-in lake at Lucerne called Domke Lake that is an easy hike of a mile or so. -- you might see the falls from it just before you get to Lucerne. The silvers have been very responsive to kastmaster lures that are silver with reflective blue on them (we did that fishing on windy days in the shallows on the Stehekin side of the Stehekin River inlet, letting the wind drift take care of the trolling speed). We also did well with rainbow colored wedding rings and ford fenders for some of the 1-2 pounders--- they can make 3-4 runs before you get them. Believe it or no, we would be eating pistachios and I think that when we flipped the shells overboard, it drew the fish to the lures. Never caught the fish unless the pistachio shells were hitting the water.The macks have been deep along the cliffs opposite Stehekin -- running within a few feet of the cliff line. We have also caught burbot right off the docks at Stehekin by casting out and letting baited hooks sink to the bottom and sit. All of it is trial and error.
 
thanks for the fishing tips, Ron!
the pistachios comment is too funny, but I bet $50 there will be a full stocked bag of pistachios on our boat now :mrgreen:
 
BTW, if you look at a topo map of the area, you will see several coves named such phrases as "Safety Harbor" or "Graham Harbor" or "Twin Harbor" all along the way from Chelan to Stehekin. Alto the lake doesn't offer much in the way of sheltered bays, I suspect these names indicate at least some protection when the wind comes up.
 
Duck Dog.
We took our 22 from the Chelan town site to Stehekan a few years ago and I will pass along what I recall. The suggestion to stop at forest supervisor's office is right on because along with information at that time you also had to buy a dock permit. We went in June because we were told that because it provides irrigation water, levels can drop through the summer. That was interesting because we saw depths of about 1200 ft at some points. As noted, we launched in town, which made it the longest possible trip on the water. We left with full fuel and with a Honda 75, had no problem making the round trip. There are at least 2 other launch points up lake, one on each side. There are several docks along the way, none with facilities, except maybe an outhouse. On the way up, we stopped at one for lunch and another nice one for the evening and it had short hike to a waterfall. There are nice docks at Stehekan, and enough to do to spend a couple of nights. There was a resturant when we were there, so we ate out one evening. You can a return easily in 4-5 hours, and we don't usually cruise very fast. A fun place to go. for us.
 
It has been quite a while since I was on the lake; studied it fairly well, and have been up on the Chelan Boat Company boats several times. (If you want more time at the up lake end, take the fast boat up - Lady Express, and the Lady 2 down.)

Not many anchorages that will keep you out of that wind. The forest service camp docks are a good alternative.

I have often seen small boats (our size), following the CLC boats as they break down the waves, (which can easy run to 3-5 feet with the down lake wind... A good lake storm will usually blow itself out in 3 days, making the option to follow the Lady II much more appealing.

Chelan is a beautiful lake, Deep, and clear. 25 mile Creek has a marina and used to have gas. theg 25 Mile creek State Park has a great ramp. The lake above (toward Stehikin) is a whole different lake than the downlake portinon (towards Chelan).

One thired of the bottom of the lake is below sea level for a max depth of about 1700 feet, if I remember right.

Enjoy,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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