Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

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C Buchs
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Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by C Buchs »

We've camped on the shores of Lake Merwin, Yale and Swift Creek on the south side of Mt. St. Helens lots of times, but now that we have the boat we want to anchor out somewhere for 2-3 days. Swift would be my first choice, but it is the farthest away. My brother in law says that Yale is too shallow and full of stumps in spots. So Merwin is my front runner, but I’m open to suggestions. If any of you have anchored out on any of these lakes/reservoirs or have experience on mountain lakes, can you give me advice?

Jeff
C Buchs
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by C Buchs »

We went for a drive Sunday looking for places to launch & leave the car. We’re looking at Merwin, Yale and Swift Reservoirs. This picture is from Yale Park:
Image
It was a beautiful drive! However, we didn't really find much :( Most everything was closed. Therefore, instead of working today I've been doing some research. I finally sent an email to PacifiCorps, they manage the reservoirs. A nice lady called me and said that they have “dispersed camping” sites. These were the key words I needed. They only have overnight camping on Yale and Swift. We can park our car & trailer for $5 per day. They have relatively private sites all around the lake that are only reachable by boat. Many of them have restrooms. A 2010 monitoring report with a catalog of the sites can be found here: http://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/p ... rt_A_B.pdf

Summer plans are brewing. Launched the boat yesterday. She’s in her slip and I’m itching to go sailing!

Jeff
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by Hamin' X »

I just checked Active Captain for info on these areas and they have nothing. Be sure to post what you find there for others to enjoy. Beautiful area.

~Rich
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by Chinook »

We've cruised and anchored out a lot, mostly on salt water but also quite a bit on fresh water lakes, both natural and reservoir impoundments. We've found a significant difference between anchoring in salt water vs fresh water locations. Salt water anchorages, particularly the popular and frequently used ones, feature bottom conditions which are conducive to setting and holding a well designed anchor. Locations with a reputation for poor holding, due to scoured bottom (strong current), rock or weed, are usually well known and referenced in cruising guides and on apps such as Active Captain. Charts also tell you the bottom type, so you can match your anchor to bottom conditions, assuming you have at least 2 styles of anchor. The bottom material in salt water locations has had a chance to develop over eons. In fresh water locations, especially reservoirs, most of these bets are off. Reservoirs tend to be relatively recent, often with stumps or snags on the bottom, and with terrestrially created soils which aren't necessarily the best material for holding an anchor. Sandy bottoms can be too loose, and topsoil bottoms can be too thin. A weedy bottom on both natural and artificial lakes can also be deceiving. On two occasions, once in a natural lake (Champlain) and once on a reservoir (Banks Lake in WA State), we dragged anchor not because the anchor failed but because the bottom failed. The anchor remained hooked but ripped up an enormous wad, which we dragged along in squall strength winds. And wind and storm conditions on smaller lakes can create rapid changes. All this said, I'm not against anchoring on fresh water lakes and reservoirs. Just saying that salt water anchoring experience doesn't precisely compare. For reservoirs especially, I think a good long shore tie line is a good bet, allowing a bow anchor to be set on a sloping bottom and the stern line tied around a tree. The long line can also moor a boat in the midst of a narrow arm, with the boat tied to shore, bow and stern, and no anchor used at all. And when using an anchor in reservoirs especially, a trip line and buoy could prevent losing an anchor which might foul on a stump or boulder.
C Buchs
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by C Buchs »

Thanks for the post about anchoring. Now that I've found out how to get launched and where to store the car, that is my next concern. Snags are a problem. Not only are there a lot left over from before the reservoir was filled (1953 Yale & 1958 Swift), there is a lot of debris from Mt. St. Helens’ eruption in 1980. As a matter of fact they still have booms out at the top of the reservoir collecting wood and pumice. Luckily the water is so clean and clear, you can see the bottom in 20 feet of water 8) I also plan to tie the stern off to a tree on shore.

I haven’t used active captain. I’ll spend some time creating a login so that I can post about my experience.

Jeff
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by Tomfoolery »

C Buchs wrote:I haven’t used active captain. I’ll spend some time creating a login so that I can post about my experience.
It's worth it. Lotta good info can be had, input from the experiences of members.

And it's monitored; I posted additional info on a bridge that showed lower on the chart than I knew it to be (by 15 ft), because the chart shows the center, arch span, which is longer and lower than the straight spans that flank it. The highest outside span is much higher, especially since the bridge is sloped, too.

I posted that it would clear a 56 ft mast plus antenna at high water, and the words were changed a little to something like "It has been reported that . . . ", so I know someone is moderating it. Gives things a better chance of not being posted by a putz who's trying to make trouble, or whatever.
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by C Buchs »

We spent two nights on Swift Reservoir. We arrived in the evening and tucked into a nice spot out of the wind that was blowing from the west. We tied off to stumps on opposite shores of a little cove on the south side of the lake. There wasn't anyone else around. We could walk out the stern onto the beach and jump off the bow. Perfect :)

Image
You can just see Mt St Helens peaking over the hills.

At night we released some of the stern line and pulled up the bow line. This got us off the shore, in case the wind changed. The wind didn't change until 11 the next day. We were lounging around, cleaning up after breakfast when it started to blow right off the lake to us. I didn't react for the first half hour or so. By then the stern of the boat was bouncing off the beach. It took most of my crew of four to hold the boat while I retied the stern line to a different stump. The boat bobbed until about 2 and then the wind changed back to the way it was when we arrived. We kayaked, swam, fished and even pulled the tube around the lake. The next day we tried to get packed up by 11 so that we would miss the wind change. It almost worked. We battled the beginning of the wind getting out and it was tricky, but we made it.

Before we got back on the trailer. We explored the lake. It's 320 feet deep close to the dam and that is now the deepest water that I have swam in. The North side of the lake is accessible by road. There are a few spots that you could camp, but nothing great and not as private. On the south side there's an island where most people camp. There are also two major inlets with lots of little coves to hide in. Make sure that you are tucked in back out of the wind. I signed up for active captain, but haven't made an entry yet. I will soon.

We have camped out on the Columbia River, short distances from our slip. We also made a trip to Banks Lake near Grand Coulee Dam and stayed in a slip. This was our first time camping out in an unfamiliar area. We didn't bring the mast, so no sailing. The winds were stronger than I'm used to sailing in, but if I can talk the crew into it, I'll try it next time. All in all it was a great trip and I recommend it to anyone.

Jeff
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by NiceAft »

The caption under the photo explains that you can just see the top of Mt. Saint Helens in the background. Well, she sure isn't as tall as she used to be :D

Ray
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by C Buchs »

NiceAft wrote:The caption under the photo explains that you can just see the top of Mt. Saint Helens in the background. Well, she sure isn't as tall as she used to be :D

Ray
Out on the lake you can't even see Mt. St. Helens. There's nice views of Mt Adams though.

Jeff
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by Do+fus1 »

Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula looks like a nice lake to sail on. Went by there a couple of weeks ago and it had a nice wind blowing, this is one of our future destinations.

https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/ ... escent.htm
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Re: Anchoring Out on Lake Merwin, Mt. St. Helens

Post by Retcoastie »

One trick that I got off my dad years ago might be useful in your lake anchoring. We started going to Lake Cumberland right after they closed the gates of Wolf Creek Dam. Lots of stumps and loose material then, and still some there yet. My dad always carried about 12 inches of heavy chain with a bolt thru one link. This was his anchor retriever. When a anchor became lodged, and they did, he would tie a strong line to the chain, loop it around the anchor line, and bolt the ends together. Then, pulling the anchor rope tight he would lower the chain with the strong line. The chain would follow the line down and invariably slip over the shank of the anchor. Then he would pull the chain in a direction opposite to the direction the anchor was set in and the chain would slip up to the flukes. Then the anchor could be remove from what ever it was hooked to. In the 60-65 years I have been boating I have always carried a short chain. This one is in a plastic peanut butter jar stored below the battery. I have done this trick maybe 5-6 times in all those years and it has always worked. I have never had to cut a line or lost an anchor. (Your mileage may vary.)

Ken
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