Our Road Trips

5/31/14

I have been wanting to make the trip we took yesterday for a long time. When you read maps like I do, you see things on maps that are pretty intriguing. Hells Canyon, through which the Snake River flows between two states very far from home pretty much cover the intrigue part, hearing folks say they wouldn't want to do it doubles the intrigue. So when I was out here in 2005, it was July and I thought that the water flow would be low, making the rapids ordinary and it would be hot as heck down in the canyon, so for that and simply a lack of time, I passed on it. I visited Lewiston on that trip, but the Snake looked pretty docile, so I was convinced my decision was right. So when we started planning for this trip, the Hells Canyon was high on the list to get done, and the timing was going to be right. When I saw all the snow out this way last winter, I knew the rapids would be ripping...yeehaw!

We were up early, had to be there by 730 am, but the boat left only about a mile away. 14 brave souls and the Captain and his daughter, acting as the mate, set sail with a Jet boat on an adventure at 8 am. South we went, against the strong current, for an amazing 98 miles. We made two stops, once for a lite breakfast and once for lunch, then continued south to within 6 miles of the Hells Dam, after passing the Salmon River mouth, which averages an amazing 11,060 cubic feet per second discharge at this point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmon_River_(Idaho)

Lots of rapids along the way, wildlife here & there, and amazing scenery. We finally reached a set of rapids the Captain didn't feel comfortable with, so we turned around. Going with the current heading north was another issue. The rapids play havoc with the boat, creating holes while in mid air...we all got wet several times. But nobody seemed to mind too much, it was a beautiful day. We made a potty stop on the way back, at Pittsburgh Landing, which was just south of the Salmon and almost directly west of White Bird. We cruised on back, arriving back 10 hours after we left. It was an exhilarating adventure. I decided people will try to put a home anywhere, and the power companies try to give them electricity, no matter how ridiculous the location. I kept wondering just how they got the poles set and how they strung wires...always something to look at and marvel at. But we also saw several homes that do not have either electricity, water or sewer. Not sure why folks would want to live like that. Several were for sale...can't imagine why :).

We decided to just hang out on Sunday and rest up. We have a really nice place here at Hells Gate Campground, great place to just hang out. The last few days were pretty long and we have our big adventure to Alaska in a little over 2 weeks. But we are ready...so stay tuned for more.

Steve & Barb Larson