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by Ken Mink
HELLS CANYON, Idaho -- Perhaps the very name "Hells Canyon" prevents many people from visiting this generally underappreciated majestic piece of isolated American landscape.
Visions of blistering hot bare canyon walls, rattlesnakes, tumbleweed and howling coyotes may not conjure up the kind of scene many tourists would prefer. Indeed, there is a little of all of this in Hells Canyon -- but there is much, much more. Such as:
- The clear blue-green waters of the wide Snake River, which, well, snakes its way about 100 miles between the skyscraping walls (which in some places tower to over 7,000 feet and eclipse even the height of the Grand Canyon).
- Incredibly beautiful rock formations, some dating back, according to experts, more than 200 million years.
- Occasional glimpses of wildlife, such as cougar, elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, American bald eagles, etc.
- Closeup looks at early American Indian rockwall art, called petroglyphs. In some areas you can actually run your fingers over the drawings of bighorn sheep, horses, men, etc.
- A chance to hike dozens of miles along the canyon walls alongside the river. *Wonderful views of the flowers and fauna which provide colorful bursts all along the canyon.
- A chance to visit with the colorful cowboys who run cattle and horse ranches scattered along the canyon rim. Many of the cowboys are the real thing, looking much like refugees from a Clint Eastwood movie, complete with six-gallon hats and strapped-on pistols.
Hells Canyon is enough out of the way that it is never overrun with tourists, thus adding to its charm.
The canyon borders Idaho, Oregon and Washington and runs about 100 miles from the Snake River Dam to Lewiston, Idaho (directly across the river from Clarkston, Wash.). There are river excursion companies in Lewiston-Clarkston, providing jetboat river tours year around. One of them, Beamer's, also serves as the official U. S. Postal Service boat, delivering mail to ranches once a week. Tourists can book a ride on the mail boat and even personally deliver the mail to riverside mail boxes if they wish ($220, including lodging and food). The boats, which seat 45 comfortably, are covered with glass, keeping riders out of the wind, but still providing excellent views. Riders have the luxury of seeing water spray in rainbow hews as high as 10 feet as the boats maneuver through the class 1, 2 and 3 rapids at speeds of up to 35 mph. Several lodges along the canyon provide rustic overnight accomodations, if desired. A night in the canyon is a special experience, with millions of silver stars sprinkled across a black velvet sky.
The upriver area is basically inaccessible except by boat. River cruises are offered in several options, including overnight jaunts with food/lodging provided, and range from $25 to $200 per person, depending upon the season and the extent of the trip. Those who would like to see the river on a more up close and personal basis have the option of taking a $25 river raft trip (or use kayaks) for a five-mile stretch.
Literally dozens of sandy beaches, sandwiched between ancient lava formations, provide unique sites for picnics or a place to stretch your legs. Hells Canyon is the locale for a couple of the darkest pages in American history.
This was where U. S. troops in 1877 forced Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce Indians off their land, ordering them to cross the flooded Snake River at Dug Bar to reach the Lapwai Indian reservation. Soon thereafter, the Indians engaged U. S. troops in a three-month 1,700 mile running battle that ended in Montana, just a few miles from the Canadian border. That was when Chief Joseph issued his famous statement, "From where the sun now stands, we shall fight no more.'' The first part of the phrase later was used as the title of a full-length feature movie about the Nez Perce plight.
In 1887 another tragedy occurred in Hells Canyon when a group of five horse thieves seeking to steal gold murdered a band of 31 Chinese men who were trying to eke out a living panning gold on the river at Deep Creek. They chopped up their bodies and threw them into the river, with body parts showing up several days later in the Lewiston-Clarkston area. Three of the murderers fled, never to be incarcarated. Two stood trial, but were acquited in what many called a travesty of justice.
Those who like to fish are also offered fishing excursion trips (complete with gear and tackle) and a chance to bag steelheads or sturgeons of up to 300 pounds.
The derivation of the name Hells Canyon is not clearly established, but according to a book called Snake River of Hells Canyon, most of the early explorers called the gorge Box Canyon or Snake River Canyon. An 1895 edition of McCurdy's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest told of a steamboat trip up the Snake River: ``. . . she then bounced off, swinging into the midstream and, like a racehorse, shot into Hell Canon (sic) . . ."
Geologists say the ancient rocks in the canyon came from underwater volcanoes when the canyon was actually part of an island group in the Pacific Ocean some 150 million years ago, rising to the surface when the earth's tectonic plates collided.
The canyon does not have many skyscraper vertical walls, with much of the canyon a steep V-shape.
The Snake River begins in Yellowstone Park and flows more than 1,000 miles, forming the borders for Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Congress in 1975 passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, designating 31.5 miles from Hells Canyon Dam to the Upper Pittsburgh Landing as "wild" and 36 miles below Pittsburgh Landing as "scenic."
The twin towns of Lewiston and Clarkston were named for the famed explorer team of Lewis and Clark. The explorers camped at the Lewiston-Clarkston area in 1805 on their way to the Pacific Ocean, and again in 1806 on their way back. The Lewis-Clark team explored several miles of the river while in the area. Lewiston was the first capital of Idaho, but some riders on horseback stole the official state designation papers and seal and moved them to Boise, which then became the capital.
The discovery of gold in the area about 1850 resulted in a large influx of fortune-hunters, but the gold proved to be too paltry to support the prospectors. But later finds of copper and other minerals did prove worthwhile.
The river depths run from 2-3 feet to over 100 feet. The jetboats that ply the stream amazingly displace only about 12-14 inches of water, easily skipping across the most volatile of the white water sections.
John Jones of Lewiston is one of the jetboat riverboat captains, having sailed the river more than 3,000 times in his 26-year career. "This is a river and canyon like no other,'' he says. "The beauty and the geology of this place is truly amazing. There are cattle and horse ranchers stuck away in there miles and miles from the nearest civilization. They love it and I love it."
If you go:
Getting there: The easiest access to the Hells Canyon area is from the twin cities of Lewiston, Idaho-Clarkston, Wash. They are located about 118 miles southeast of Spokane, Wash., the closest largest airport. However, the Lewiston Airport does serve shuttle flights from several areas. If driving, the area is served by U. S. 195, U. S. 95 and U. S. 12.
Lodging: There are plenty of motels/hotels in Clarkston-Lewiston, including the new Quality Inn on the river at the boat excursion starting point.Tours: The Beamers jetboat tours, some involving overnight stays at the Copper Creek Lodge on the river, include several runs per day at varying rates. 1-800-522-6966. www.hellscanyontours.com.
Temperatures: The Hells Canyon area is in a very temperate geographic location, with summertime temperatures usually in the 80s and winter temperatures in the 50s-60s. The unusually warm climate has caused the Lewiston-Clarkston area to be known at the "Banana Belt."
Clothing: If you plan to do any hiking, bring boots or hiking shoes and long-sleeved shirts or jackets. There are briars and brambles along many trails.
Food: There are numerous good restaurants in the Lewiston-Clarkston area.
This story was published on 01 Aug 2002.
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