Lower Salmon River (ID)- Whitebird to Heller's Bar on the Snake, Aug. 13-17, 2006

Lower Salmon River (ID) - Whitebird to Heller's Bar on the Snake, Aug. 13-17, 2006


Trip Itinerary (copied over from 2003 with added day):
Day 		Camp 			Bank 	Miles                               
->Put-in	Hammer Creek 		Left	0.0
1		Below Schwartz Bar 	Left	~8 (smaller camps not on BLM map)
2		Snow Hole Scout Beach	Left	29.5
3		Below Wapshilla		Left	~45
4		Lower Cottonwood	Right	58
<-Takeout	Heller's Bar		Left	72.6

Credits:
U.O.N., Olympus C-740UltraZoom Digital Photography by William F. Smith (3.2 MP, 2048x1536, 10X optical 38-380mm)

Last Update 11-Sep-06

Lower Salmon River (ID) - Whitebird to Heller's Bar on the Snake, Aug. 13-17, 2006

Please be patient while the pictures load...

The view from White Bird Hill summit

Day 1 - The 1:30pm launch from Hammer Creek. Jerry is already gone fishin...

Log jumpers

Day 2- Morning at first camp

Looking back at one of the many technical drops on the Lower Salmon at low water

I brought an umbrella to get some shade when there's no wind. The river map on my yellow dry box disappeared during some later winds. Oh, well...

Scouting Snow Hole rapid

Camp #2 is at the Snow Hole scout beach. We set up Varyl's $20 tarp and winds later collapsed it

Day 3 - Julie - sequence thru Snow Hole

Julie thru Snow Hole

Jerry - sequence thru Snow Hole

Jerry thru Snow Hole

Regroup below Snow Hole. Varyl was right behind me, so I didn't get her pictures

Close-up of high elevation 'teetering' rock formation

Floating along

A commercial group of Orange Torpedoes is catching up...

Varyl and Julie float along in the steady current

Jerry also has a shade umbrella

Varyl decides swimming in the 70 deg. water is a good way to cool off. Super-biner inset. First trip I've been on where someone decided to give out group gifts. Thank you Varyl

Camp 3 panorama (below Wapshilla). The winds blew the tarp down again

Mountain close-up

The scenery from under my umbrella sipping my daily 16oz. Miller Lite

Varyl bonds with a frog :)

Day 4 - Julie approaches Slide (which was barely a riffle at low water)

Julie and Jerry clear Eye of the Needle, the last rapid before the Snake confluence

Zooming in on Julie below Eye of the Needle 96mm vs 380mm (38mm base)

Ancient mining equipment

Exploring an old copper mine (Pullman)

End of mine. Note dynamite holes

Jerry and Varyl back at entrance

Just to prove I'm here. Note the dry line from my life jacket. I was soaked in the Eye of the Needle

We shared the beach with a commercial outfitter. The mine side trip is pretty standard for all

Day 5 - Pulling away from Lower Cottonwood after a night of rain and the tarp blowing down yet again. The tent was packed away damp, and the sun returns as we depart for the long flat water stretch ahead

About the only wildlife I saw on the way down was these mountain sheep

Snake Lake is getting hotter and slower. I'm thankful the wind is almost non-existent

Heller's Bar take-out in the distance. Sure hope my vehicle shuttle made it there (it was)

The confluence with the Grande Ronde is just above Heller's Bar

Looking back up Snake Lake as I pull into Heller's Bar to pack up and head home...

On the way home - a stop at Palouse Falls State Park (200 ft. high)

Palouse Falls panorama

Palouse Falls close-up

Palouse Falls WMV Movie #1

Palouse Falls WMV Movie #2

USGS Flow - CFS

Idaho Power - Hell's Canyon Flow

USGS stage comparison - this year the flow change was not as dramatic as the 2003 trip. Only amounted to about 9" spike at Lower Cottonwood camp

The Shuttle Service we used...