Joseph Whelan - Ameritrekking Adventures

Ameritrekking Adventures

Visiting Hells Canyon in Idaho

By

Joseph G. Whelan

Copyright 2017 by Joseph G. Whelan

All rights reserved.

Hells Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon.

Joe Ameritrekker

1: Whats It All About?

Ability to see the cultural value of wilderness boils down, in the last analysis, to a question of intellectual humility.

Aldo Leopold

We are all citizens of history.

Clifton Paul Fadiman

(1904-1999)

If they don't have highpoints in Heaven, I'm not going.

Jack Longacre

(Founder, Highpointers Club)

H ello! If youre new to the Ameritrekking and Highpointing series of books and booklets, Welcome! If you and I have met before, however indirectly, Welcome Back!

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I ll explain what this little booklet is all about in just a moment but first I wish to be completely upfront and make the following ...

!!!!! FULL DISCLOSURE !!!!!

... which is that this short story is taken essentially word for word from a full-length book entitled Ameritrekking and Highpointing: Discovering America the Beautiful . Therefore, if you already have that book, there is no need to buy this booklet.

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A nd now, here are quick explanations of Ameritrekking and highpointing. What are those things? Whats it all about?

Ameritrekking is a word I made up. It began in 1995 when my employer told me to start using up months of accumulated vacation time. I talked my way into three weeks off all at once. I used the time to see the country by car. This became the first book in the series, Ameritrekking and Highpointing: Discovering America the Beautiful . Along the way I realized that something above and beyond a long vacation was happening. That something I eventually called Ameritrekking. The next year I took another three-week trip and a pattern was established. Its been over 20 years now and Im still rolling around. So far Ive driven over 100,000 miles and been to all of the states in the Lower Forty-Eight. Ive spent over twelve months on the road. After each trip I wrote up an extensive report based on notes and pictures taken along the way. Lastly I rewrote the reports to create what I hope is a series of entertaining tales about a beautiful country. That is Ameritrekking.

Highpointing is a word somebody else made up. A highpoint is defined as the highest natural geographic point in a state. Each state has a highpoint, even lowly Florida. Every state is unique and so is every highpoint. Some are mountains while some are not. Some are accessible by wheelchair (once you drive to them) while some require a significant investment in mountaineering equipment and training even to attempt. I have been to 45 of the 50 highpoints. I live at an elevation of 13 feet above sea level in Florida, within walking distance of saltwater, and have few illusions about my abilities. I am not a mountaineer. Nevertheless I managed to climb higher than I thought possible and maybe reading about my journey will inspire you in your life. That is highpointing.

Highpointing involves a lot of travel, much of it by car. Even if you decide to fly youll find that in most states airports and highpoints are far apart, so you end up driving a long way anyway. Ameritrekking and highpointing are two different hobbies but they complement each other well, especially if you embrace the idea that the journey matters more than the destination.

It was between my first two highpoints on the first Ameritrek that I went to Hells Canyon, located in parts of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. I was mainly in Idaho, which is why I titled this booklet Visiting Hells Canyon in Idaho but its a big area and theres more to it than what I saw. According to Wikipedia, Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America. At one point the vertical distance from top to bottom is 7,993 feet. Although there are a few developed areas, Hells Canyon is generally not as accessible as the Grand Canyon. Hells Canyon remains one of Americas wildest places. For those who push on, it has its adventures and I had one. Keep reading and see for yourself.

Its now been over two decades since these things came to pass and looking back over that span of time I honestly cant say that the highpointing was better than the Ameritrekking or the other way around. They were both worth doing and today the recollections of each are warm and fuzzy in some vital but indescribable way.

They form a mental bank account on which we draw in leaner times.

Edwin Way Teale

(On memories)

Chapter 2 in this booklet first appeared as Chapter 19 in the book Ameritrekking and Highpointing: Discovering America the Beautiful . There are occasional references to things in the full-length book that may seem out of place here. I left those references in so that you can see exactly what youll get in the big book. The events described took place in August 1995. You may wonder how I can be so specific about a trip that happened many years ago. The answer is simple: I wrote the details down in a notebook at the time, and when I returned home I wrote up a much more comprehensive report while the memories were still fresh.

This booklet is not a visitors guide to the area, although you should get a feel for what its like. It is Joes JOE, his personal Journal of Experiences. Another visitor may have similar experiences, or totally different ones.

There are better ways to visit Hells Canyon than the way I went about it. I should have given myself more time to deal with that beautiful but remote place. I regret not doing so. My excuse is that I was short on time. If you read the big books youll see that this is a common problem in Ameritrekking. America is bigger than my vacations were long, which is a nice problem to have, although its still a problem. But short visits are better than no visits. I was learning by doing. Im still learning. I hope you enjoy the story and if you ever go there yourself, may you profit from my example.

2: Hell

May your every wish be granted.

Chinese curse