We took an air boat ride on the Snake River through Hells Canyon. At 7,993 feet deep, Hells Canyon is the deepest canyon in North America. Our ride took us from Clarkston upriver to the Hells Canyon Dam, 122 miles south.
We launched at 7 a.m. in order to have time to boat over 200 miles, stop for breaks, and explore historic homesteads along the river.Forest fires made the day hazy. The temperature approached 100 degrees.Our boat carried 11 passengers and three crew members (the owner and his two daughters).Our first stop was at Cache Creek Ranch, now a National Park property but once a sheep ranch of over 6,000 acres.One of the buildings housed a volunteer caretaker (assignments are for a month) and exhibits about the ranch and the area.The yard surrounding the house had a variety of fruit trees including pears.Apples (You can see our captain and crew at the picnic table setting out a continental breakfast.GrapesRoot cellerInside the root cellarThis structure was built for gold mining but the boat carrying the rock crusher sank. Copper was mined in the canyon as well but the quality of the copper and gold ores were not sufficiently high to be productive.Dave spied a bear as we sped by. A little further on was a group of Rocky Mountain big horn sheep. We also saw beaver, bald and golden eagles, turkeys, great blue herons, geese, osprey, and deer.There was a temporary traffic jam when we stopped at Kirkwood Ranch, also a National Park property, but the other boats soon left. Permits are required for boating and rafting in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Farm equipment on display. The previous owner raised sheep on the ranch and served as governor of Idaho and U.S. senator.CabinTurkeysJane is on the way to a picnic lunch prepared by the Captain’s family.
Canyon views
The rapids got bigger the closer we got to the dam.
Divide CreekArriving at Hells Canyon DamHells Canyon DamBasalt columns and volcanic flows in the canyon.
The last highlight our captain pointed out was petroglyphs at Buffalo Eddy.
How did you do on that boat ride Jane? Most looked pretty calm but that one video looked like a lot of rushing water. It must have been an interesting day….but hot.
Jane did fine on the boat with the assistance of her friend meclazine hydrochloride just in case–she didn’t want a repeat of the disastrous whale watching cruise in Seward! The boat was always moving so there wasn’t that awful being-stuck-in-swells experience, except when Dave spotted the bear and the captain idled so everyone could see it. There were LOTS of rapids and spray–we put our phones away for safe-keeping.
August 4, 2022 Vermont’s oldest geocache was closer to our campground near Albany, New York than our campground near Montpelier, Vermont so we treated it separately from other Vermont geocaches. Besides, it was harder to Read more…
2 Comments
Susan · August 9, 2021 at 7:38 am
How did you do on that boat ride Jane? Most looked pretty calm but that one video looked like a lot of rushing water. It must have been an interesting day….but hot.
Jane Appel · August 9, 2021 at 12:20 pm
Jane did fine on the boat with the assistance of her friend meclazine hydrochloride just in case–she didn’t want a repeat of the disastrous whale watching cruise in Seward! The boat was always moving so there wasn’t that awful being-stuck-in-swells experience, except when Dave spotted the bear and the captain idled so everyone could see it. There were LOTS of rapids and spray–we put our phones away for safe-keeping.