Hells Canyon River Trip

August 18, 2015

 What a fun day!  We started out by driving  17 miles over the mountains from our campground to the boat launch area at Pittsburg Landing.  The road was gravel most of the way, very windy, steep, and single lane most of the time!  The speed limit was 25 mph, so it takes about 45 minutes.  But the drive was worth the destination and the views from that  road were pretty amazing too.    

Here is a picture of the boat we went on.  There were 24 people on our boat.  It had three 315 diesel motors for a total of 945 horsepower, so we had no trouble cruising right up and over those rapids.  We went over Class 1 to class 4 rapids.  

Hells Canyon on the Snake River is the deepest canyon in North America.  The highest mountain in Hells Canyon is He Devil Mountain at 9,393 feet above sea level, and the canyon plunges 7,913 feet.

  

Our first stop was at a museum along the river.  I took some photos of of the inside.  Outside were the deer in the yard.

We also saw lots of river rafters along the way.  Some were day trippers while others took 3 day excursions.  They were fishing and the river was busy.

   

We went over lots of rapids, lots of fun.  On the way up the river it was fun and easy with that huge motor.  We didn’t get went, but on the way back the boat captain had lots of fun with us and drenched us several times.  I don’t have pictures of that because I didn’t want to get the camera wet!  They made us put on life jackets when we hit the class 4 rapids, but we were very safe the whole time. 

We stopped just short of the Dam and had lunch.  These are pictures from the observation center.

 

On the way back we spotted a bear who was giving us a show.  He came right down to the rocks on the edge of the river.  

It was a fun trip, glad we did it.  Would recommend it if you are in the area.