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Hells Canyon
Idaho's lowest elevation point is a good place to start our
study of its desert. This is, of course, at Lewiston, where the
Snake River leaves Hells Canyon at Hellsgate, is joined by the
Clearwater, and makes its exit from Idaho.
The Snake in Idaho is truly a desert stream. Its
tributaries--the Clearwater, Salmon, Weiser, Payette, Boise,
Owyhee, Bruneau, Malad, Raft, Portneuf, Blackfoot, Henrys Fork,
and Salt Rivers--all have a desert character when they join the
Snake.
Two hikes in this section follow the Snake itself,
and are at low elevations. The Billy Creek hike is in Idaho Fish
and Game's Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area, twenty miles
south of Lewiston. The Pittsburg Landing trail is in the Forest
Service's Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
Two more hikes are just off tributaries to the Snake,
and are at medium elevations. Whitebird Battlefield is next to
the Lower Salmon, while Rocky Comfort Flat is above Wildhorse
River.
The final hikes are ridgeline hikes between four
and five thousand feet. Dodson Pass is on the divide between
the Weiser and Payette Rivers, while Fort Simons Ridge is high
above the Snake in the Craig Mountain WMA.
The drive takes you into some of the BLM's least
known land, the Crane Creek/Willow Creek country. Another drive
(in the Rocky Comfort Flat hike) leads to Sheep Rock, the best
overview of southern Hells Canyon.
The BLM's Pine Bar Recreation Area, on the Lower Salmon near
Cottonwood, is a nice place with a short, Level I+ hike you can
make year around. To reach the hike, follow signs south of Cottonwood
on US-95 to Weis Rockshelter. Continue to the bottom of the Grave
Creek Road, marveling at the beautiful side canyons which are,
unfortunately, on private land, and turn left (east) to the Pine
Bar Recreation Area.
From the end of the road, you can see your hike.
The Salmon bends to the southeast just upstream from Pine Bar
Rapids. Protruding into the river is a bunch of white rock, and
at its tip, standing above the river, is a dark rock. That is
where you'll find the Coast and Geodetic Survey bench mark shown
on the USGS Fenn map. To reach the rock, walk on road which quickly
becomes trail and then dies at a sandy alcove. Climb from there
and then descend to the rock. Watch for bighorns on the canyon
walls above.
You could certainly continue upstream, but the going is extremely
rough! There are campsites at Shorts Bar, about 2 3/4 river miles
from road's end.
Willow Ridge is east of Weiser and west of Squaw Butte. The
author started to hike its northern end, but was turned back
by recent grazing. You might have more luck at its south end,
or from the north with better timing. Southern access points
are near Coonrod Gulch, northern access is from McFadden Road
(see the Willow/Crane Drive).
The Brownlee-Oxbow area of Hells Canyon is fun to visit in
early or late spring. Drive over to Brownlee Reservoir from Cambridge
on ID-71. You can canoe across Brownlee Reservoir to the Oregon
side from Idaho Power's Woodhead campground, and find primitive
campsites. If you continue north to Oxbow Reservoir, and cross
back into Idaho at Copperfield, you soon reach Hells Canyon Campground.
Near there, the Kleinschmidt Grade climbs up to Cuprum. This
road has been much improved, and no longer merits its horrible
reputation, although it remains very steep.
The best route in later spring or early summer is
to drive to Cuprum (passing Rocky Comfort Flat), go DOWN Kleinschmidt
Grade (watching your brakes on the way down), and return via
Cambridge. Use the Payette National Forest map for guidance. |
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