Hells Canyon Wilderness, Snake River, OR

Dates

May 27th - Jun 2nd 2012

Service Project

Fence removal

Free Days

Exploring Snake River, relaxing, hiking, fishing, photography, possible boating

Accommodations

Backpack camping

Trip Rating

Strenuous : Hauling rolled barbed wire, .1 mile backpack, very short day hikes

Leaders

Clarence Elstad
Toni Williams

Equipment

Established in 1975 as the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, the Hells Canyon Wilderness is split by the mighty Snake River, one of the deepest gorges on earth, and is composed of 213,906 acres of high mountain peaks, ominous canyon rim-rocks, breathtaking vistas, and quieting solitude. At lower elevations on the Idaho side, dry, barren, steep slopes break over into the Snake River canyon. In the high country are the towering peaks, rock-faced slopes, and alpine lakes of the Seven Devils Mountain Range - said to be named for a vision of seven dancing devils that appeared to an Indian lost in the area.

On both the Oregon and Idaho sides the higher elevation areas are characteristic of rocky slopes and grasslands laced with 'stringer canyons' and groves composed of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine. The lower elevations are dominated by grassland benches with steep canyons and ravines dissecting the isolated Oregon-side. Species of interest that you might see in the wilderness are Rocky Mountain elk, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, mule deer, and chukar.

Our service project returns to an area we last brought a group of volunteers to in 2007. We'll be removing no-longer-used barbed wire fence from a bench about a half a mile above the Snake River. Volunteers will meet at a boat ramp on the Idaho side of the border and be ferried to the Oregon side where we'll establish base camp for the week in the forest service bunkhouse or set up tents outside the bunkhouse. The forest service may shuttle the group by boat down the Snake River, should we finish off the initial half mile of fence. This is an ongoing effort by the forest service to remove old fence from the river corridor to enhance the wilderness quality.