5. Hell's Canyon

Here's my next installment on things to be thankful for in America.

Hell’s Canyon, the deepest canyon in North America, takes second fiddle to the Grand Canyon, not because it lacks in spectacular grandeur, but because fewer people know about it and its access is more limited. The wild freedom of both canyons is amazing but I am especially thankful for Hell’s Canyon because there I can escape the every day and all of my life it has been fairly accessible to me.

As a young man I would hike into it, vaguely familiar with its history because I lived in the adjacent canyon of the Salmon River. I was oblivious to possible dangers of dehydration or snake bite, partly because where I lived the climate was similar and partly because I was young and stupid. The beauty of the canyon from the peak of Heaven’s Gate is truly awesome and most of that melts away as you descend into the canyon afoot. It becomes more intimate, at first wooded and then brushy and then simply grassy until you approach the Snake River.

The designation of wild and scenic river has always baffled me with the Snake River at this point because prior to even entering the state of Idaho the river has been dammed, but here in the canyon it truly is scenic and it regains much of its wild nature that man has attempted to snatch from it.

I had never actually taken a jet boat ride into the canyon until well into my middle age and now I have done it twice. Jet boat rides are always with a group of people and they are usually not locals because, like me, locals do not want to pay that much money to see their back yard. But both times I have gone I was taking British friends to see what I consider one of the wonders of the United States. Even with the tourist crowds of a jet boat (always small and intimate groups), I have found that at the stops people will hike up a stream and leave the others or they swim in the river and let their thoughts escape the modern trappings we have given ourselves. My hope is that the canyon retains its wild character forever and that the only exploitation it ever gets is the few tourists of the adventurous type hiking down into it on a Bear Grylls adventure or the more moderate type taking a jet boat trip into its wilds where they all can experience a getaway and a reunion with themselves that reminds them of the sublime and our individual part in that much larger whole. If you want a canyon experience with little key chain trinkets you can always get that in Arizona…