To Find Spring Backpacking Weather....go into Hells Canyon!

Every year since 2006 Ryan and I have gone to Hells Canyon for our first backpacking trip of the season. It is warmer down in the canyon and reminds us that spring is not far behind in Moscow!

The dirt road down into Hells Canyon.

We drove through a big cloud on the way into Hells Canyon!

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Dirty suebee! I love my car. I am so glad Ryan talked me into this particular Forester among all the ones we looked at in Portland last August because it never lets us down and takes us so many awesome places!

When we got to the trail head everything was very wet and misty. Once we hiked for a few miles everything cleared up and it ended up being a beautiful weekend.

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Nice rock trail/slope. Climbing out of the Pittsburgh Landing valley area.

Pittsburgh Landing on the Snake River
The trailhead is in the the valley in the distance. This is the last view of the valley we have on the trail before it winds behind the cliffs.

The views in Hells Canyon are spectacular. Especially when there is a certain hawaiian backpacker leading the way.

Ryan and I above Kirkwood.

It's such a pretty place!

Grace Jordan, a homesteader from the 1930s, wrote a book about Kirkwood! It's called "Home Below Hells Canyon," click HERE to read more about it! It is a good book. A snapshot of life on a sheep ranch in the early 1930s that I enjoyed very much.

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These are the original buildings from the 1930s. The far building is the main house (complete with concrete tub made with ancient ash from Mount Mazuma), and the closer building is the old bunk house, but now it is a museum with old farming artifacts and interesting local facts.

This is the sign down by the river that all the jet boaters see when they go flying by!

Some of the old farming equipment on display at Kirkwood.

Daffodils

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We brought glow sticks from the dollar store with us for entertainment!

Can you smell dinner cooking?

Actually it's just hot water for dinner, but I love the jetboil just the same for all the warm meals it has provided us with.




Candle lantern and Burts Bees Res-Q!

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Waiting for the sun to shine into the canyon in the morning. It hit our campsite around 10 a.m!

Pretty pink flowers on the trail homeward.

One of the long stretches of trail along the canyon walls before it dips into a valley full of flowers again.

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A few of the wild animals we saw in Hells Canyon:

These guys were right alongside the dirt road we took through the Nez Perce national forest into the Hells Canyon Rec area.

Don't step on the snails!!!


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This was my Easter present from God.



These little dudes were one of the last things I saw on the trail out of Hells Canyon. So curious about us but obedient to their masters and stayed put where they were told to. They remind us how much we want our own little trail dogs someday. One day the stars will align and we'll be trucking down the trail with furry pals. Until that day I can look at pictures of all the dogs I have met on trails over the past years and oogle at their cute little faces.

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Hells Canyon trip: BIG SUCCESS!

Where will the next trip be?

Oregon coastline in June?!

Stay tuned.