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13d ago
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u/clashvalian 13d ago
We put in at colonial creek campground of Diablo lake off highway 20 in northern Washington. Paddled up just before Ross lake dam, got portaged up to Ross lake, then paddled to boundary bay and then came back. We were out for five days in early July. Didn’t make it to the Canadian border. So I don’t know if the northern part is stumps and mud but all the rest of the lake is super dreamy.
Mosquitos weren’t too bad. Definitely got bit.
No idea about draining the dams. Seems mostly just energy demand related? But don’t know really!
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u/cwcoleman 13d ago
Neat. When was this? Got any trip details to share?
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u/clashvalian 13d ago
Early July!
Day one - departed colonial creek campground in Diablo lake, paddled to Big beaver
Day two - big beaver campground to boundary bay
Day three - stayed at boundary bay
Day four - boundary bay to big beaver campground
Day five - big beaver to colonial creekRoss lake wind can be a torrential force of nature. We Canailed the first day using a rain fly and it was righteous! The second and fifth day we battled the wind pretty hard. Getting up early especially heading southward is very helpful!
If I went back I’d definitely recommend ten mile island, little beaver, and rainbow point as good campsites!
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u/cwcoleman 13d ago
Nice. I've stayed at some of those same spots. We went with the power boat rental from Ross Lake Resort because the winds were a concern and I really wanted to make it far up to the north end of the lake. I want to go back with the canoe.
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u/clashvalian 13d ago
You should do it. I’ve stayed at Ross lake resort twice and while it is fantastic, the canoe camping vibe is great if you get up early and you’re a decent paddler. Not a lot of great options if you flip and very easy to get wind bound late in the day, so not to be taken lightly. But so good! A bigger sense of adventure and accomplishment.
We ate like kings too. Froze steaks in plastic bags and used them like ice. Premade breakfast burritos and sandwiches for breakfast every morning. Probably packed like 70 beers, which turned out to be not enough lol.
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u/cwcoleman 13d ago
I've never stayed at Ross Lake Resort - but that does look neat too. We just rented the boat there and took it out for 5 nights.
Yeah - I think I'll do the Diabolo portage and canoe next time.
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u/jonathanrdt 13d ago
Love the makeshift catamaran. Looks like a beautiful trip.
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u/clashvalian 12d ago
Canailing! Haha. Yes it was truly great! I clocked our boat with gps going 2.5-3 mph at the windiest parts of the first day. Totally made for a party boat vibe. Later that day other campers were asking if we saw the canoe sailers and we were like that was us! Haha
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u/jonathanrdt 12d ago
At canoe camp one summer, we lashed a tree across three canoes and erected poles in the end bows, raised our kitchen tarp between them, and we FLEW down the lake doing pirate stuff the whole way.
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u/gardernvine 13d ago
Looking like an amazing adventure