To Hell and Back: Women's Service in Hells Canyon, Idaho

If you’re 18 to 35, you may be able to go on this trip for $300 off the listed price, thanks to the Sharon Churchwell Fund. To sign up and get your discount, or to make a donation to the fund, please call 415-977-5522. Donations are tax deductible. For a full list of Sharon Churchwell trips and other opportunities for young travelers, visit our trips for young participants page.

The Trip

Hells Canyon, created by the Snake River, is the deepest river-carved gorge in North America, and covers more than 650,000 acres. This dynamic landscape was home to early settlers and even earlier Native Americans. Nez Perce artwork in the form of petroglyphs and pictographs decorates the rocks and cliffs in Hells Canyon and their house pits sit in “neighborhoods” along the banks of the Snake River.

This trip will allow us to enjoy the unique opportunity to experience true backcountry wilderness with other adventurous women but without the usual exertion of backpacking to get there. Transportation to and from our camping area will be via jetboat, covering approximately 20 miles on the Wild and Scenic Snake River from Pittsburg Landing, Idaho. Our campsite may require several short uphill treks to haul personal gear and commissary equipment from the landing to the campsite. 

The trip is run in the spring, prior to the start of the crowded rafting season, so we will experience the remote Snake River Valley filled only with the natural sounds of flowing water, wind, and the myriad of birds that call the canyon home. In addition to the abundant wildflowers in bloom, we may get a glimpse of spawning steelhead trout, bighorn sheep, or even a bald eagle.

The Project

The Sierra Club has run service trips to the Seven Devils area for more than 25 years. A Forest Service wilderness management specialist will supervise our work and stay at camp with us for the duration of our trip. These service trips provide the Forest Service with an opportunity to accomplish essential maintenance projects that due to budget cuts and decreased staffing would not otherwise be possible. As such, the trips have become integral to Forest Service plans for backcountry maintenance. 

We plan to do trail work primarily along the Snake River National Recreation Trail, but may work connecting trails as the project demands. Each workday could include trail work that extends up to six miles out from our campsite. Trail work may include brushing, tread work, and rock work using non-mechanized tools that will be provided by the park service and must be hand-carried as we work.

Day 1: The trip begins with dinner on Saturday evening at Pittsburg Landing. We will camp together in the campground, enjoy a simple dinner, and get to know one another. Directions and meeting details will be provided to registered participants. Our meeting time should easily accommodate those traveling from the East Coast on Saturday morning. There are several lodging options in nearby towns for those wanting to arrive earlier. 

Day 2: After enjoying a leisurely breakfast and packing our lunch and gear, we will board the jet boat for our ride through approximately 20 miles of impressively rugged canyon scenery, including whitewater rapids and steep canyon walls, on our way to our camp. Once there, we will set up our campsite, evaluate our work projects, and get settled into our home for the week.

Days 3-7: Tentatively, we will plan to work four days with one day off in the middle of the week. On each workday, we will generally start each day around 7:00 a.m. with about an hour to eat breakfast, pack our lunches, clean up, and then head out for a full workday, usually ending around 4:00 p.m. At the end of the workday, participants not assigned to that day's cook crew are at leisure to fish, hike, rest, or pursue other interests. Cook assistant duties and other camp chores will be shared by all on a rotating basis. The itinerary for each workday is subject to weather, work project, and the collective level of energy of the group!

The day off provides a chance to read, write, relax, dry out, fish, explore the hills and nearby trails, snooze, and play. Fishing is very popular on the Snake River. If you plan to fish, be sure you have an Idaho fishing license. They can be purchased at sporting goods stores in Idaho, or online from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game: https://id.outdoorcentral.us/id/License/Welcome.

Day 8: On Saturday we will eat breakfast, break camp, load up the boat, and return to Pittsburg Landing.

Getting There

When the roads are clear, Pittsburg Landing is about a 1.5-hour drive from Riggins, Idaho. If the roads are not clear, allow an extra hour or two. While it is your responsibility to arrange transportation to the trailhead, the leader will distribute a participant roster well in advance so that participants can coordinate travel plans from the airport to Pittsburg Landing. The nearest major airports are in Boise, Idaho to the southeast, and Spokane, Washington to the northwest.

Accommodations and Food

Each person will be sleeping in the tent that he/she brings on the trip. Due to the delicate riparian zone that we will be working and camping in, all human waste will be packed out. The Forest Service will provide a suitable latrine for our campsite. There will be no bathing or shower accommodations provided. Participants are asked to consider the footprint they will leave when deciding which tent and gear to bring. Larger tents not only impact more ground area; if they are too tall, they may not provide enough warmth at night and may require additional tie downs in high winds, and thus have more impact to the surroundings.

Come with the attitude that food is part of the adventure. Food weight and quantity must be carefully calculated and all waste carried out at the end of the trip. Our meals will simultaneously satisfy appetites and be a social gathering after a day's work or play in the wilderness. The menu will be a healthy, nutritious, high-energy, backcountry cuisine. Meals will be vegetarian friendly, meaning we will enjoy a variety of meatless protein alternatives, but there may be some meat available at some meals. Sustainable and locally sourced goods are provided when possible and practical, but cannot be guaranteed. Before applying for the trip, folks with food allergies, dietary restrictions, and/or strong preferences must contact the leader and cook to see if reasonable accommodations would be possible within the limits of backcountry cuisine. The first meal will be dinner on day one, while the last meal will be breakfast on day seven. We will have a group commissary, with everyone taking turns assisting with meal preparation and clean-up afterward. 

Trip Difficulty

The work on this trip will be strenuous and we may be hiking up to 12 miles (round-trip) while conducting the trail work. Working and hiking 12 miles is different from simply hiking 12 miles, so you’ll need to be in good physical condition. Those with cardiac conditions may find this trip unsuitable due to the strenuous work, the rugged terrain, hiking distance, and limited access to emergency care. Minor, controllable medical conditions, however, should not keep you from having a full, enjoyable experience. The work will involve lots of bending and some lifting, and use of clipping and brushing tools. Tread work tools may include shovels and Pulaskis. Prior knowledge or experience in trail work is not necessary. Training and guidance will be provided and there will be tasks suitable for various skill levels.

Poison ivy is prevalent in this riparian habitat and we will have to be watchful and take care to avoid it. Although precautions will be taken to mitigate any exposure, if you have a severe allergy to any of the poison ivy, oak, or sumac types of plants, you may want to avoid this trip.

If you have any questions about the trip difficulty or suitability contact the leader before signing up.

Equipment and Clothing

The Forest Service will provide the work tools and a latrine.  Trip members will bring their own backpack, tent, and personal gear including work gloves. Roller bags are not recommended, and a backpack is preferable to a duffle bag to carry one’s gear for the short walk from the boat landing to the campsite. The Sierra Club will provide the food and cooking equipment, but you will need a hard plastic container (with a watertight lid) for lunch as well as cutlery, cups and bowls, and at least two one-quart water bottles. You will also need a water-filtering system, since we will be getting our drinking water from a nearby creek.

In April, warm, clear, dry days are typical, but rain or even snow may occur at this time of the year. On clear days, temperatures are often in the 60s to 70s, although temperatures on cloudy, wet days may be in the mid-30s to low-40s. A good rain parka and rain pants are a must! To be ready for the variable weather conditions, plan on using the layering technique with your clothing. Participants must have three-season clothing and a warm (preferably synthetic) sleeping bag, as a spring snowstorm might bring nighttime lows in the upper 20s. A complete packing list will be sent to registered participants.

References

Maps: 

• Hells Canyon National Recreational Area (HCNRA) map available from Hells Canyon National Recreation Area POB 832 Riggins, ID 83549 
• USGS Map "Heaven’s Gate" quadrangle map, available from http://mapsport.com 
• The Northwest Interpretive Association (nonprofit) carries maps and books on the area. They can be reached at: http://www.discovernw.org/mm5/merchant.mvc? Screen=SFNT

Books:

• Snake River Guide. 
• United States Department of Agriculture, Wild and Scenic River Guide. 
• Barstead, Fred, Hiking Hells Canyon and Idaho's Seven Devils Mountains.
• Carrey, Johnny, John Carrey, and Cort Conley, Snake River of Hells Canyon.
• Jordan, Grace, Home Below Hells Canyon. Tucker, Gerald, The Story of Hells Canyon.

Conservation

The Sierra Club is an environmentally focused entity. We are concerned about conservation and sustainability of resources, both locally and globally. Our outings seek to empower participants toward greater understanding, advocacy, and participation in the goals of the Club.

Budget cuts have decreased Forest Service Maintenance staffs, and as a result, some of the area's trails have become overgrown and fallen into disrepair. Previously the area was maintained by seasonal employees, but these positions have been eliminated. Trails that fall into disrepair create safety hazards for those trying to enjoy the National Recreation Area. Our volunteer labor helps the remaining limited staff to accomplish some needed trail maintenance. In order to conserve the natural beauty of the area, all trail work is done using non-mechanized tools that must be hand-carried as we work. 

Protection and enhancement of native species habitat is a major issue, too. The health of bighorn sheep and mountain goats require isolation from domestic sheep. For this reason, the grazing of domestic sheep in the river valley was discontinued in the early 1990s. Additionally, sturgeon, salmon, and steelhead trout populations are endangered by Snake River dams and by non-native fish. Potential breaching of the Snake River dams has been considered at the federal level. Control of noxious, exotic plant species requires a yearly spring campaign in Hell Canyon. Our forays into the more remote areas of the canyon provide Forest Service personnel with an opportunity to gauge the effect of a variety of conservation efforts.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.