Attendees (thus far):
Seanwins
Black November
Dietrich
Pasha
Meantree
D.Riley
DrGonzo
Be at the Seattle City Light ferry dock on Diablo Lake in plenty of time to make the 3 pm ferry on the 20th of August. That means have your stuff unloaded and waiting at the dock's edge for the ferry to show. If you miss it, the next ferry isn't until 8:30am the next day. The ferry costs $10 each way, so have that amount on hand in cash when you board the ferry. The ferry will carry us up Diablo lake to the dock at the base of Ross Lake Dam. We will be met by a truck which will carry us to the top of the dam. The truck costs $8 roundtrip. I believe you pay this fee at the resort, which does take cards. The resort does not have an ATM.
At the resort we will pick up our two boats, get loaded up, and start ferrying stuff to the campsite(s). Right now we have reserved, as a group, 1 motorboat and 1 canoe. This will allow us to paddle around and have fun in the canoe, as well as allow us to fish from the motorboat. The boats are costing us $390 for the whole 4 days, and we will be splitting the cost evenly between all of the folks that want to use them. We will be ferrying people and gear (for those who chip in) between the campsite and the resort as needed. With the current attendance list it looks like it will cost $55 per person. That price will decrease as more people sign on.
If you don't want to use the boats at all, you can get out of the boat fee, but that means you are walking in and out and not fishing from them. If you would like to hike in instead of taking a boat, there are trails available around the lake that can get you to the campsite.We will be staying at Big Beaver campsite, as it is relatively close to the resort (5 mi) and has a group site. I think the group site may only hold 12 - 15 people though, so we may end up divided between a few sites in the same campground. We can still get together at one fire though. The campsites all have bear boxes and vault toilets. In the past they have been well stocked with toilet paper, but I wouldn't gamble on it, so bring a roll of your own. Water: Pack it in or filter it there. If you don't have a water filter or purification method, someone else can probably cover you, but ask now so we know.
Feel free to bring a cooler or team up with a buddy and bring a big one. After talking to the resort a few times, it doesn't sound like the packing in will be too strenuous. I'm bringing a cooler for my bacon, eggs, beer, etc.
BRING BUG SPRAY. It's not super buggy, but being bitten once by a horse fly sucks.
Costs:
Tugboat fee: $20 ($10 each way)
Truck fee: $8 (one time)
Boat Rental: $55 (probably less)
Backcountry Pass: $5 (per campsite)
Check out the Ross Lake Resort website for more info. http://www.rosslakeresort.com/index.html
Fishing: Most (90%) of the fish taken from the lake are taken from boats trolling wedding rings about 15 ft deep. I tried it from the banks last year and didn't get a nibble with any of my tried and true tricks. I will be bringing my fishing gear with me, because we will be able to troll this year. Bring a copy of the fishing regulations, as they are pretty specific. (Single, barbless hooks, etc. I messed up and got a hefty fine last year.)
