Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 12 - June 1, 2026

 UP THE SNAKE RIVER 

A few days ago, Karen got an email from the  boat tour company telling her our trip had been canceled. Not enough people signed up for the half-day trip we’d booked and paid for. So, they offered to upgrade us to the full day trip for no extra charge.

That meant an earlier start and a later return, which equaled a very long day on the river. We went 85 river miles up the Snake River, and 85 river miles back between 8:00am and 6:00pm.

Lewis and Clark did not travel on the Snake River. When they checked it out on their way west, they quickly realized they could never navigate the raging torrent that flowed through Hells Canyon. 

Instead, they came down the Clearwater River, which joins the Snake River here in the Clarkston-Lewiston area. Our boat trip began this morning when we took a right turn at the confluence of the two rivers and went up the Snake River.

Just a few miles away, we came up on a cliff of exposed basaltic columns (similar to The Devil’s Postpile in Eastern California or the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland). Our guide told us they are visible now because during one of the last ice ages a gigantic glacial lake (Lake Bonneville) flooded the canyon.

Further along, we pulled up to a rocky bank and saw some 2500 year old petroglyphs. They seem to tell a story about a successful hunt. One of the reasons they still exist is because they are only accessible from the water and they are protected by the property owner.

After a couple of hours, we made our first rest stop at the Heller Camp cabin. 

From there we entered the area where the Snake River is ‘free flowing’, which means the dams have less effect and there are rapids. Not far from here we also came to the border of three states: Idaho on the left bank, Washington and then Oregon on the right bank.

Hells Canyon becomes much steeper and more narrow from this point. 

Along the way we saw several groups of bighorn sheep. Most of them had young lambs with them.

We passed a place called Cougar’s Bar, which is a rocky sand spit that is (possibly ) the only place on the Snake River where some of the Lewis and Clark explorers set foot. They sent out a small party from the nearby Clearwater River to search for salmon and ended being guided here by members of a local tribe. Kind of like Gilligan and The Skipper, what was supposed to be a half day’s trip ended up taking much longer. Although they found the fish, the several days hike back to camp was very hard on the unrefrigerated salmon.

There are enough people living within Hells Canyon to require mail service. The only way to get in and out is by boat or by air (there are a couple of small airstrips that accommodate bush pilots). We passed by the weekly mail boat on our way upriver.

At the 85 mile point, we stopped at the Historic Kirkwood Ranch to eat our sack lunch. It’s hard to believe this very remote location used to be a ranch. Now, there is a volunteer caretaker (they rotate every 30 days) living there. If you’re interested, contact the U.S.Forest Service. You pay your own way to get there, and you bring your own 30 day supply of food and clothing. Plus, you get to clean the public toilets, mow the lawn and cheerfully greet all visitors.

Here are a few items featured in the small museum at Kirkwood. 

And a metal grommet from the late 19th century. These were used by steamboats to winch themselves up through the rapids.

The return trip downriver was much quicker, relatively speaking. We were riding in a 30-35 person jet boat. It handles like a large version of a wave runner. Powered by two eight liter diesel engines, it uses impellers and nozzles to move it forward. This allows for a shallow draft since there are no propellers. The captain steers the boat with a stick, rather than a steering wheel. We made some pretty tight and steep turns going down through the rapids.

We made one rest stop on the way back. Cache Creek Camp is maintained by volunteers, just like Kirkwood. There is a small vineyard, a mini-museum and a root cellar (whose only light comes from a small opening in the roof - see selfie taken inside).

Not far from the end of our trip, we passed a cliff with a distinctive white band of sediment. Our guide told us this is ancient ash produced by a huge volcanic eruption that took place over in Oregon at a location known today as Crater Lake.

Finally, we docked behind our riverfront hotel at about 6:00pm. I don’t know how Lewis and Clark did it day after day for more than two years. No cell service, no hotels, no restaurants…

NEXT: Anaconda, MT

Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 11 - May 31, 2026

 FORT WALLA WALLA; BACK ON THE LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL; GUESS WHO WE RAN INTO?

Today was mainly a travel day to get us to Clarkston/Lewiston on the Washington and Idaho border. We started off by visiting the Fort Walla Walla Museum.

It is the site of a U.S. military fort built in 1858. No original structures are left, but there is the military cemetery that dates from the 1850’s. The museum features farm machinery and artifacts from the past 125 years of Walla Walla history. It’s O.K., but as Karen would say, “if you’ve seen one wheat thresher, you’ve seen them all…”.

A life-sized replica of a 33 mule team pulling a thresher.

An exhibit on the history of the nearby (and still continuously operating) maximum security Washington State Penitentiary.

Cheerleaders from

Walla Walla High School Class of 1926.

The military cemetery.

After our morning dose of local history, we were ready to hit the road. We got back on Highway 12 east. This route follows, in a general sense, the 1806 return trip of Lewis and Clark.

Once again, we were surrounded by miles of lush green wheat fields. When we got a few miles west of the town of Dayton, the fields gave way to steeper slopes with only a few farms. 

Here is where we stopped at Lewis and Clark Trail State Park. You can camp in a tee pee in a couple of selected campsites. 

We were here to see (at least one of us was) the historical marker showing where the first campers stayed.

Just up the road is Dayton. Everything’s closed on Sunday, so we checked out the local courthouse, railroad station, and moving pictures theater.

The road continues east up an increasingly narrower valley to the town of Pomeroy. It was also closed up. But, it had a courthouse, too! 

And, a Lewis and Clark exhibit.

In a nod to mid-20th century highway kitsch, it also featured some nostalgic roadside curios.

Further east, Highway 12 climbs Alpowa Summit before dropping down toward the Snake River and the towns of Clarkston and Lewiston. The topography becomes more barren and rugged as you get near the cliffs lining the river.

In a coincidence of travel plans, it turns out that our friend, Bob Mytkowicz, flew into Lewiston last night to begin a nine day riverboat cruise. He’ll be going west down the Snake River and then the Columbia River to Astoria, among other stops. We met up with him for dinner tonight before he leaves in the morning.

NEXT: Jet boat tour on the Snake River

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