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Other Issues PERMIT is required from May 28 to September 10. Part of the 4-Rivers Lottery. Enter lottery by Jan 31 each year or try to pick up a cancellation. HC receives the least permit pressure of the 4-Rivers and getting a cancellation usually isn't too hard. Off season trips can be nice too. http://www.fs.fed.us/hellscanyon/things_to_see_and_do/snake_river/permits.shtml

Fun Facts The site of my first river beatdown. I was 16 and thought rowing into a huge hole sideways would be fun.

   Run Description

This is the classic overnight trip on the Wild and Scenic Snake River through Hells Canyon. It is an incredible experience in many ways. There is excellent camping, fishing, hiking, and wildlife watching. The scenery is fantastic as this is the deepest river canyon in North America. It also passes through 3 states if you do the full run. The launch spot at Hells Canyon dam is in Oregon. You are then floating on the border between Idaho and Oregon. Pittsburg Landing is in Idaho, and Dug Bar is in Oregon. Downstream from Dug Bar you cross the WA/OR border and now the river forms the Washington/Idaho border. Heller bar take-out is in Washington.

The rapids are generally widely spaced pool-drop. Most are class III with a few exceptions, most notably Wild Sheep Rapids and Granite Falls. Both of these drops come early in the trip Wild Sheep is 5 miles from the put-in and then Granite just a couple miles further. They are big class IV drops with a variety of routes, and scouting will generally reveal a clean line and plenty of opportunities to go BIG.

Wild Sheep can be scouted on river left and the easiest line is generally starting left on a green tongue and then heading right at the bottom. Granite can be run right, left or middle. Left is often easiest. Right in the middle at higher flows (around 20-25k) the "Green Room" appears, an enormous green wave with a huge trough that can make a fully loaded raft look like a pool toy. A couple more rapids of note include Waterspout and Rush Creek(III-IV). Waterspout is more difficult at lower water water. At some levels the current wants to push you towards a nasty rock/hole on the left. Rush creek is fairly straightforward, but at higher levels develops a HUGE hole on river left.

The 10 mile section of river from Wild Sheep to Rush Creek is the best section of whitewater on the trip and includes Wild Sheep, Granite, Bernard Creek (3 seperate rapids), Waterspout, Rush Creek and a few other class III. Make sure to allow plenty of time for this section to allow time to scout, set safety and take pictures.

Things to be aware of on this trip:
RATTLESNAKES - watch where you step
POISON IVY - especially in the first 15 miles or so which is then replaced by:
PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
HEAT - in the summer it really can get hot as hell here. Stay hydrated and find shade whenever you can.
JET BOATS - You'll be sharing the river with power boats. In the upper canyons you generally only see the big commercial tour boats, who are usually courteous and watch their wake while passing. On the lower river you'll see a lot more private jet boaters and a much wider variety of boater courtesy. When you apply for a permit you can look for non-motorized launch dates now.
"TIDES" - The dam operators adjust the output each day to adjust for power consumption. Generally the hotter it is the bigger the change is... more people in Boise using their AC = more power needed, and the peak is generally in the early afternoon. When the peak gets to you is delayed also by for far downstream you are, and it can vary quite a bit. It is fairly common to have a flow of 9000 in the morning and 17,000 later in the day. The biggest concern is how you tie up your boat for the night. You may have to tie your boat up real high at night, but by morning be able to walk behind it and have to drag it back out to the water.

Pittsburgh Landing is the takeout for the Wild section of Hells Canyon. You can also continue on to Dug Bar for another 20 or so miles (I've never taken out here, and I understand the road out sucks) or do the full meal deal and take out at Heller Bar, WA... which will give you many more miles of beautiful canyons, many miles of flat water and a few good class II & III rapids. It will also give you the experience of boating through 3 states on one trip.

Other items of note: As stated before, the wildlife watching is fantastic, so bring a camera and binoculars if you got 'em. On this river I have seen numerous mule deer, black bear, golden eagles, bald eagles, bighorn sheep, river otters, mink, rattlesnakes, nighthawks, bats, skunks, racoons, a huge herd of elk, steelhead migrating up falls in side streams, various raptors, heron, various waterfowl... and that was just in one camp. What a mess. OK, not really. Also worth noting: Know the lingo...Since this river serves as the border between states instead of river-left or right those who run the river regularly refer to "Oregon" and "Idaho" sides.

There are many historical site worth checking out along the way too, including the Kirkwood ranch, which has a museum. Be sure to pick up the river guide that they sell at the put-in, which lists camps and various sites. Last time I checked it was about $7.

Regarding Levels: The great thing about this river is it's never too low. Moderate levels around 8000-15,000 are easiest. It can definitely be run higher than the listed top level of 25,000... but it becomes very powerful at higher levels and is no longer a "3-4" run. At higher water levels the major rapids should all be considered a half to full class harder.


More info can be found here:
http://www.fs.fed.us/hellscanyon/overview/index.shtml


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mowhitewater Wiggins Nanook megspk	Trip Name Trip Date	Trip Report Title Date End of Season Hells Canyo... 9/9/2011