This weekend we took a trip out to Northeast Oregon along the Snake River. Our specific destination of choice was Hell’s Canyon, the deepest canyon in North America!
Friday night we camped at Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area just past Pendleton on I-84. The view of the forest made up for the road noise.
Dinner was camp-stove pizza! It was a fun experiment, but our technique needs work to say the least. But hey, look out for our upcoming recipe book “Outdoor Cooking Disasters with Susie & Tim!”
Saturday morning, we stopped into Baker City for the farmer’s market, but it was closed. Luckily, BELLA Main Street Market was open where the owner shared her wonderful story of Baker City’s steady population over a hundred years, twenty-five of which she spent in that very store. Her positive outlook on the local community and the tourists that pass through it was contagious. She invited us to a wine release that night, offered us samples, and told us how her favorite colorful wax seals on the release bottles were the ones she messed up. If you’re ever in the area, buy a bottle to support her fantastic business.
After that we headed toward the Snake River via Hwy 86. We wanted to explore the high-walls of the canyon, so we drove up and up and up N. Pine Rd (NF-39) to the Hell’s Canyon Overlook.
We drove as far as we could through the forest roads, up to a half-mile shy of McGraw Lookout where we couldn’t pass the roads. We hiked the rest of the way to the decommissioned fire tower, then extended up NF-110 until it dead-ended. A few steps further, and we made it to an overlook where we could finally enjoy a beer and snacks in the expansive view of our surroundings.
After the hike, we found a wonderful mountain-top dispersed campsite with a panoramic sunset view.
It was veggie hot dogs with wild onions for dinner. Chilly night, but wonderfully clear dark-sky stars.
Sunday morning we tortured the Honda Accord on the way back down the mountain on a very rocky and technical road, but we made it!
We started the canyon drive on the Idaho side through Oxbow. The canyon walls were skyscrapers from the base, and the climate was dry, arid, and hot. It reached the nineties by mid-day, and the sun cut through the air like a knife. The drive from entrance to end took us about an hour and we stopped to grab a dispersed camp site at Big Bar Camping area. At the end of the canyon was the visitor’s center, but it was closed. Luckily for us, the attendant, a cinnamon black bear cub, was around to keep us occupied.
We hiked a short trail into a portion of the canyon where roads couldn’t be laid and we decided to go for a cool-down dip in the Snake River. The water was frigid and refreshing. We ate our sandwiches and watched the rafters brave the rapids one by one.
After that we explored the Hell’s Canyon Dam. We gained perspective on how anglers treat the local environment with respect to litter. We also observed initials welded into the metal on the staircase.
It’s fun to see the impressive engineering monument of the dam in front of us relative to the especially small token some of the laborers devoted to themselves. An osprey nested atop an emergency flood siren, ironically sirening to its companion for fish.
Those were the main agenda items for Sunday. We headed back to set up camp, enjoy some refreshments and wait ever-so-patiently for the sun to crest the top of the canyon to cool us down.
It was then that I realized I was intensely allergic to whatever grass was overgrowing the perimeter of our camp site. Not much sleep was had!
Monday morning we left the canyon for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest! We spent the day exploring the local towns, houses, farms, and doing small hikes here and there. We ran into snow, ate our sandwiches and snacks, and found another spectacular and isolated dispersed campground next to a small creek. I got the hatchet stuck in a log, we made a fire, and we relaxed into that comfortable feeling that we could do this forever.
Tuesday was the big drive back! We stopped into Walla Walla for the first time where we learned they have lots and lots of wineries! More wineries than I’ve ever seen. Also, shout out to Andy’s Market for being the cutest local grocery store I’ve ever seen. Go there for yourself!
On the way out of Walla Walla we stumbled upon the old Umatilla Chemical Depot, an Oregon State Guard facility that we learned used to be a munitions storage facility during WWII. Turns out they stored and destroyed massive amounts of armaments there including chemical weaponry like VX nerve agents. Interesting to learn about!
No Susie and Tim road trip would be complete without stopping in at at least one new craft microbrewery, which for us was Burnt Field Brewing in Boardman, OR.
Thanks for reading!