Hell’s Canyon and the Clearwater River
Water was our binding agent today, connecting our options for exploration to the history of the Corps of Discovery and the hearty homesteaders that settled and called Hell’s Canyon home.
Dawn broke with rippled salmon-pink clouds above the canyon walls, a warming sight for our second day of explorations. Some of us chose to visit a number of Lewis and Clark sites in Idaho along the Clearwater River. Included were stops at Treaty Camp, Canoe Camp and at “The Heart of the Monster.” The colors of fall reflected in the river as they did nearly 200 years ago, when the Corps of Discovery traveled westward on the Clearwater towards the Snake.
Others chose to explore Hell’s Canyon by jet boat. With the aid of two 420-horsepower turbo charged Cummings diesels, Captain Dan Fleshman navigated us safely 55 miles upstream on the Snake River. It was hard to imagine paddle wheelers making their way up this churning river. Thanks to the Wild and Scenic River Act, signed by President Gerald Ford on Christmas Eve in 1975, we had the opportunity to experience the wild flow of the river at places with names such as “Deer Head Rapid” and “Wild Goose Rapid.” We traveled south on a river that flows north, at speeds of approximately 35 m.p.h. upstream. At this pace, our jet boat drew only 14 inches of water, allowing us to climb the succession of rock-lined rapids, as shown in the second photo.
Our voyage was punctuated with historical notes of the river and the homesteaders; the pile of granite sills intended for Lewis and Clark State College, the loss of the Imnaha paddle wheeler and the slightly suspicious circumstances surrounding it, the stone wall so painstaking laid for a mail-order bride that never came west, the centuries old Nez Perce trail on the grass covered slope leading down to annual fishing sites on the Snake River.
We turned northward and headed downstream at Big Chief Rapids. After a brief stop at the Sea Bird, we took a short excursion by motor coach and met up with the remainder of our intrepid shipmates at the Nez Perce Historical Site. Here, an interpretive ranger introduced us to the site, the fine arts and crafts, and the roles of men and women in Nez Perce society.
As we made our way back to the Sea Bird, the colors of the western sky mimicked the hues of the morning, bringing our day full circle, as we proceed on in the watery wake of Lewis and Clark.
Water was our binding agent today, connecting our options for exploration to the history of the Corps of Discovery and the hearty homesteaders that settled and called Hell’s Canyon home.
Dawn broke with rippled salmon-pink clouds above the canyon walls, a warming sight for our second day of explorations. Some of us chose to visit a number of Lewis and Clark sites in Idaho along the Clearwater River. Included were stops at Treaty Camp, Canoe Camp and at “The Heart of the Monster.” The colors of fall reflected in the river as they did nearly 200 years ago, when the Corps of Discovery traveled westward on the Clearwater towards the Snake.
Others chose to explore Hell’s Canyon by jet boat. With the aid of two 420-horsepower turbo charged Cummings diesels, Captain Dan Fleshman navigated us safely 55 miles upstream on the Snake River. It was hard to imagine paddle wheelers making their way up this churning river. Thanks to the Wild and Scenic River Act, signed by President Gerald Ford on Christmas Eve in 1975, we had the opportunity to experience the wild flow of the river at places with names such as “Deer Head Rapid” and “Wild Goose Rapid.” We traveled south on a river that flows north, at speeds of approximately 35 m.p.h. upstream. At this pace, our jet boat drew only 14 inches of water, allowing us to climb the succession of rock-lined rapids, as shown in the second photo.
Our voyage was punctuated with historical notes of the river and the homesteaders; the pile of granite sills intended for Lewis and Clark State College, the loss of the Imnaha paddle wheeler and the slightly suspicious circumstances surrounding it, the stone wall so painstaking laid for a mail-order bride that never came west, the centuries old Nez Perce trail on the grass covered slope leading down to annual fishing sites on the Snake River.
We turned northward and headed downstream at Big Chief Rapids. After a brief stop at the Sea Bird, we took a short excursion by motor coach and met up with the remainder of our intrepid shipmates at the Nez Perce Historical Site. Here, an interpretive ranger introduced us to the site, the fine arts and crafts, and the roles of men and women in Nez Perce society.
As we made our way back to the Sea Bird, the colors of the western sky mimicked the hues of the morning, bringing our day full circle, as we proceed on in the watery wake of Lewis and Clark.
