Day 10: Pateros to Lake Chelan State Park

August 25, 2011

I got up at 6:35 when the sun started shining on the tent. That never happens when camping under the forest canopy.

My last stop in Pateros was to brush my teeth in the bathroom at the city park. I got on the road at 8. It was already pleasantly warm.

A few miles down the road I stopped at the park overlooking Wells Dam. Like most of the Columbia river dams it's a "run of the river" dam, a simple structure that raises the river to create a "head" of water that drops through turbine runners. Without floodgates, the dam cannot control how much water is stored or released. The reservoir is useful for irrigation and recreation, but not for flood control or seasonal water storage.

The original turbine runners were replaced a few years ago and one of the 10 old turbine runners is on display at the park. It's big! And this is one of the smallest dams on the Columbia.

One of the original 1960's turbine runners on display at Wells Dam.

During a 2007 bike tour I stopped at this park and discovered that my bike had a broken frame. That tour ended prematurely at Chelan.

This Columbia river map shows the U.S. dams but neglects to show the river in Canada.

The Columbia river valley in central Washington is a different universe from western Washington. It's hard to comprehend how quickly lush forest gives way to desert east of the Cascade range.

Columbia river in semi-arid Central Washington.

A few miles south of Wells Dam I took the US 97A split to Lake Chelan. A 550-foot hill (probably a glacial moraine) separates Lake Chelan from the Columbia river.

Looking down on the Columbia river after taking the split to Lake Chelan.

In the town of Chelan I got groceries, cash, and bought a ticket for tomorrow's boat tour to Stehekin. I didn't spend much time in town because I wanted to get to the state park as early as possible to get a campsite.

Southern tip of Lake Chelan at the town of Chelan.

he road stays close to the shore for 12 miles from the town of Chelan to Lake Chelan State Park. The first two miles is mostly lodges and resorts. Then mostly homes. The region has a lot of homes, but I think most are vacation homes.

50 years ago Chelan was world-famous for its apple orchards. But in recent years most of the apple orchards have been replaced by vineyards which are more profitable.

Lake Chelan's famous apple orchards have been largely replaced by vineyards.

I arrived at the state park at 12:25 PM and found that the campground is already full. Apparently this campground is fully booked for the year on January 1 when they start taking reservations for the new year.

The park does have hiker/biker camping for $6 per night, but it's in the day-use picnic area. I'm not allowed to set up my tent until 6 PM, and it must be gone by 9 AM. Not a very hospitable arrangement for a cyclist staying two nights in order to do the boat tour.

I discovered that my toiletries bag was missing. Apparently I left it behind at the bathroom in Pateros. Fortunately I was able to buy a bar of soap at the snack bar which I used for showering and washing clothes.

I spent the afternoon people-watching, reading, and resting in the shade. I was well stocked with groceries, but laziness got the best of me and I mostly ate from the snack bar instead.

Lake Chelan State Park has half a mile of lakefront walk-in tent sites. Forested on this side of the lake.

After 6 PM I set up my tent in a place that has a view of the Lake. The picnic area was noisy with children playing until dark.

Today had a high of 88F, a bit cooler than yesterday. The park has abundant shade, so it was very pleasant. With a steep hill to the west providing shade, the evening was noticeably cooler than the previous evening at sun-baked Pateros.

Looking across Lake Chelan to the town of Manson, on the arid east side of the lake.

The water at Lake Chelan is much clearer and cleaner than the water at Lake Pateros. Lake Chelan is a glacial lake, the third deepest lake in the United States. The south end of the lake is relatively shallow, so it gets warm enough for swimming.

A small number of power boats and jet skis significantly degrade the experience for all other visitors. Loud noise wasn't the worst part. The main problem was that the wind blew their unburned gasoline exhaust fumes in the direction of the beach. Who wants to lay on a beach smelling gasoline fumes all day? Two-stroke boat motors should be banned!

The natural outlet of Lake Chelan is the Chelan river flowing through a steep canyon down to the Columbia river. In 1927 a dam raised the lake level 21 feet and diverted the outlet water through a tunnel to a hydroelectric plant 350 feet below near the Columbia river. The Chelan river only flows freely when runoff exceeds the capacity of the tunnel.

Today was a very easy rest day. I spent most of the afternoon sitting in the shade.

Distance: 32.3 mi. (52 km)
Climbing: 1283 ft. (389 m)
Average Speed: 10.5 mph (16.8 km/h)
Hiking: 2 mi. (3.2 km)

Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 481 miles (774 km)

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