Backpacking Hells Canyon

The morning brought a steady downpour of rain. We had arrived and camped at the Freezeout Trailhead the previous night. Our bags were packed and we were ready to go but we decided to wait out the rain in the car. After a couple of hours the rain finally let up. We hit the trail which was still quite wet and muddy. The trail took us up a series of switchbacks until we got up to Freezeout Saddle which offered sweeping views of Hells Canyon down on the other side. There were still lots of clouds lingering in the air but at least the rain had mostly subsided. We headed on down into the green valley on the other side. The hills were a beautiful emerald green. The trail weaved through the contours of the canyon and provided wide open views of the green canyon walls. As the day progressed the clouds let up a bit and we got some sun breaks.

In the late afternoon we arrived at our camping destination near Hat Creek. Near the creek was a large bench with green grassy meadows and pine trees. We set up our tent in the stand of large pine trees and took in the open views of the meadow and the mountains rising from the other side of Hells Canyon. I took some pictures in the evening before returning to camp for dinner. It had been a great days hiking through some remarkable scenerey and I was glad we had the whole next day to relax and take in the views.

The clouds had returned overnight and we awoke to an overcast morning. After having breakfast, Sam and I ventured out into the large green meadows and hiked out on a scenic ridge. There were occasional sun breaks that would allow beams of light to illuminate portions of the canyon. It was such a grand and unique landscape. There were serious Sound Of Music vibes going down and we frolicked accordingly. Eventually a thunder storm ended our fun and sent us retreating to our tent to wait out the rain.

Evenually the rain went away and the sun came out in the late afternoon. Sam and I returned to the scenic ridge and took more pictures. The canyon was even more beautiful in the dramatic evening light. We heard the beautiful call of a Meadow Lark and spotted it on a nearby rock. It was a magical evening and the shadow play on the canyon walls made for some great photos.

On our final morning, I awoke early and explored a different ridge to take some sunrise pictures. It was a beautiful clear day. The Sun slowly rose, illuminating the massive canyon. I followed the ridge quite a ways until it started descending rapidly. I found a great vantage point where I could finally see the Snake River far below and I took some panoramic shots. I returned to camp snapping shots the whole time.

It was hard to leave the beautiful bench but I was also stoked to hike out and enjoy the great sunny weather. We said goodbye to the picturesque grassy meadows and headed back towards Freezeout Saddle. The weather was sunny and warm as we followed the windy trail through the emerald canyon.

Some clouds formed as the day went on, and provided for some dramatic photos. We were hit by a brief rain shower right before we started to climb up to Freezeout Saddle. The rain dissipated and we made it back up to the saddle. This time the sun was shining bright and I took a nice panorama shot as a keepsake. After enyoying our final views of Hells Canyon we returned down the many switchbacks to the trailhead. This hike did not disappoint. In 22 miles of hiking we only saw one other person. Hells Canyon provided amazing scenery and real solitude. We will definitely come back and explore more in the future.