# Hells Canyon information.



## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

visit the youtube and watch the granite/wild sheep rapid vids to pre-scout the lines. for my first trip,i knew where i needed to be from the vids and just did a 'read and run' for them both. your mileage may vary from youtube but worth a look.

the rest of the run is pretty straight forward and i found myself looking for any extra 'trouble' i could find to keep it interesting ww wise. doesn't mean you can fall asleep at the oars but straight forward stuff.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

How much does runoff affect these rapids or is it pretty much dam controlled? Is it at peak around the end of May or still ramping up?


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

Gremlin said:


> pretty much dam controlled?


yep.


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## ICUNAKEDRN (Jan 27, 2012)

upshitscreek said:


> yep.


Ahh this would then lead me to believe that the flows are probably close to the USGS averages....typically.


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## BlueTurf (Mar 9, 2013)

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_029251.pdf

This might help. Third graph down. 

Last year I used the book that they give you at the put in, but it is best described as 'thin'. There must be better options out there. Perhaps a River Maps? I have one for the MFS/Main Salmon and it seems serviceable. 

I have only run it at around 15000. From memory, at that flow (and lower I think) for the 2 class 4's I advise what my brother-in-law (he guides Hells) calls the Oregon Sneak. Start river left and end river right. Waterspout can get tricky in lower water and there is a pour over (Rush Creek? Brush Creek?) on river left that might get you if not paying attention. I have little experience but did OK buy listening and watching others. 

One last thing, you should definitely scout Wild Sheep and not just to look at the rapid. The scout is on river right and if you look up from the rapid the view up Wild Sheep (at least that what I think it is) canyon is pretty incredible. Others must have liked the view as well because if you turn around and look at the cliff behind you there are some cool pictographs. Very cool spot. 

Oregon Hole is my favorite camp site. Watch out for poison ivy. 

I've not been below Pittsburgh. Have fun!


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## ICUNAKEDRN (Jan 27, 2012)

Thanks for the campsite plug...and all other information Blue.


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## JustinJam (Mar 18, 2009)

Pulled a june 24th. How hot is the end of june? Hot or smoldering hot? I did the Grand last year at the end of June. Launch at Lee's ferry was 112. That was hot.


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## BlueTurf (Mar 9, 2013)

It could be hot, or not. 

Chances of the hottest weather increase into July with late July/early August the hottest IMO. 

I launched in the middle of June a couple years ago in full splash gear on an overcast and misty day. When we woke up the next morning there was snow on the peaks. I could also easily see it being 100 at launch in late June. Over 110 would seem unlikely to me. But with Idaho in June you never know what could happen. 

Not sure if that helped or not.


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

If you fly fish take a pole, e-mail me off line if you want a little more fishing info.
Last year I did it in mid July, 5 days down to Pittsburgh it was hot but not intolerable. Beautiful river, fun rapids, scout and you will be fine.


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## Wiggins (Sep 26, 2009)

Don't get the Rivermaps guide book. It is literally just topo maps of the river with no information.

Kyle


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## Katboater (Apr 21, 2009)

My favorite camp is Saddle Creek. Everyone has gone over the two main rapids but I wouldnt forget about Water Spout. It has the potential to jump up and bite the unsuspecting.


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## Rojo (May 31, 2012)

*Shuttle from Hell, Litererally*

The biggest hazard we have encountered on the Hell's Canyon run is the gal at Scotty's Store that controls the Shuttle service (monoploy).

She was Psycotic and really tried to stop our trip from even launching.
See the detailed writeup in this "Epic Fails" Thread.
http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f11/epic-fails-grand-canyon-or-otherwise-45657-3.html

.


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

Rojo said:


> She was Psycotic


yeah, "crazy bitch" is about as polite as i can describe her.

she got into it with the group in front of us because the TL didn't say "please". :roll:


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## Fash (Jul 21, 2010)

upshitscreek said:


> yeah, "crazy bitch" is about as polite as i can describe her. she got into it with the group in front of us because the TL didn't say "please". :roll:


For the one experience I've had with her, I remember there being an issue with keys that I considered pretty minor but that she seemed very worked up about. On the other hand, we were there just before closing on a very rainy evening and she let us crash under the porch so we didn't have to set up tents in the rain and offered us coffee in the morning.


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

Fash said:


> For the one experience I've had with her, I remember there being an issue with keys that I considered pretty minor but that she seemed very worked up about. On the other hand, we were there just before closing on a very rainy evening and she let us crash under the porch so we didn't have to set up tents in the rain and offered us coffee in the morning.


I have never had a problem with her. That being said, she does like to see that every t is crossed, every i dotted with no surprises.


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## mts3212 (Aug 25, 2013)

I have not had a problem with Scotty's shuttle service, and will use them again this summer. That said, if you are looking for an alternate, All Rivers Shuttle out of White Bird, ID does Snake river shuttles too. I've used them three years in a row for my Lower Salmon trips, no complaints so far.


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## malloypc (Jun 6, 2009)

Rojo said:


> The biggest hazard we have encountered on the Hell's Canyon run is the gal at Scotty's Store that controls the Shuttle service (monoploy).
> .


One trip we were had some issues with the shuttle lady but it worked out and following trips we made sure to have everything perfect before walking in.

Biggest issue for me on a Hells trip was dealing with a crazy turkey during a layover at Kirkwood Ranch a couple years ago.
The bird imprinted itself on our group and would not leave regardless of many seemingly cruel motivational acts. 
This turkey actually attempted to swim a Class II rapid with a group of us that went for a bob!


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## codycleve (Mar 26, 2012)

we have gone at the end of july, beginning if august the last two years... yes it's hot but we all love to swim and I think it's a great time to go... the fishing is awesome. we do a fish taco night with fresh bass... we also take a sturgeon rod for at camp.. a lot of camps have good sturgeon holes... also sturgeon rock is a good stop to jump off the rocks and swim for a while... stop and look at wild sheep and granite for sure... the green room might be open for you so make sure to look.. like said before start left sneak right... waterspout is not an easy scout but there is a large rock left of center and a big hole on the far right as you enter... go just left of the big hole and then try and work right or it gets a bit bumpy. also be mindful of where you park your boat and set up your kitchen at night... you can end up with a foot of water in your kitchen and then in the morning your bout is 10 feet from the water.. so try and put it over some nice soft gravel... we scout wild sheep from left granite from right... there where hundreds of huge spiders everywhere last year... not sure what they are but they are really big...


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## codycleve (Mar 26, 2012)

also a note with the shuttle driver... She is pretty type A... just send one person in at a time to deal with their shuttle. she does not like a lot of people mulling around while trying to take care of buisness.. respect that and you will be fine.. she gave us a bottle of wine last year.. Just have your ducks in a row and fuel up before you drop in there.. last summer they had a bad lightning storm and it knocked out their pumps...


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## pbowman (Feb 24, 2004)

while it is true that Hells Canyon is dam controlled, it is also possible to get big water at that time of year. 2012 was a decent water year, while the peak that year was before your launch date it was well above the control limits of the dam: 
http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis...3290450&begin_date=20120301&end_date=20120701

2011 was a big year, with peak right around your launch date:
http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis...3290450&begin_date=20110401&end_date=20110801

one option for shuttle that I have heard of recently is to jet boat back up. two friends that have done it said it was about the same cost as the shuttle service, and was really fun to see the canyon backwards.


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## BlueTurf (Mar 9, 2013)

I was with a group that did a jet boat shuttle back to the put in last year. We shuttled up from a campsite not quite to Pittsburgh who's name escapes me at the moment. The cost was about $20 bucks per person higher than the shuttle would have been in memory serves. It was worth it in my opinion. 

One thing to keep in mind is jet boat capacity. We had 5 boats (16' cat, 14' Hyside, 14' Aire, 14' Maravia and 18' Riken) and about 12 or 13 people. Eight full size boats may be too much for the large jet boat. Be sure to confirm with the jet boat operator that you all will fit. 

It was super cool running the rapids in reverse. I also have some friends that have done a jet boat shuttle on the Main Salmon. They did it at the start of the trip from the take out though so they saw the rapids before they floated them.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

pbowman said:


> while it is true that Hells Canyon is dam controlled, it is also possible to get big water at that time of year. 2012 was a decent water year, while the peak that year was before your launch date it was well above the control limits of the dam:
> http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis...3290450&begin_date=20120301&end_date=20120701
> 
> 2011 was a big year, with peak right around your launch date:
> ...


So around May 23rd it looks like it could be anywhere from 15,000 to 70,000 cfs regardless of the dam. What is the limit for the jet boats to shuttle back up?


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## whiteh2o (May 8, 2006)

Curious as to how much jet boat traffic one can expect runnin Hells Canyon?
Have done the jet boats out of Spanish bottom and really liked that run. Hells Canyon in reverse would be very cool. Thanks.


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