Columbia and Snake rivers

[craig333]

On my sorta short list is a trip up through Oregon, Washington, Idaho and back through Nevada. What I'm wondering is does it much difference if you travel upstream or downstream?

So many routes I could go. A hard one to lay out on a map but I just watched a pbs special on the Scablands in Washington. I'd never even heard of them before. So much of the West I need to explore.

 

[Wallowa]

Craig,

I would stay very flexible in the timing and route selections. Why? In Idaho, Oregon and Washington you will need to hopefully be able to dodge wildfires; not the fire but the smoke. That of course is a TBA and it changes daily. The other is temperatures. I would initially figure out what season I wish to see what, where and then "follow the season" either direction; North or South. If late spring I would go South to North but in Fall North to South. Follow the geese!

Me, I also plan to avoid heavily travel areas and routes. Like Yellowstone; instead would do the Wind River Range or the Gravelly Range.

Phil

 

[Smokecreek1]

Craig- My sister/brother-in law live up in the Pasco, Wa area, and say that the state pretty much shut down everything including boat launches, parks, cg's and just about everything, so make sure you check the web site before you go . I should note that most of the state CG's are pretty good, especially the big ones on the coast, and check both the Or and Id and the Fed web sites to get status up there. Or has several just off the freeway type overnight cg's that probably are still open(?) that may work for an emergency stop..Have fun, me I'm still heading for the Sheldon, and Hart Mtn areas (probably along with the rest of the world) as soon as things open up!

Smoke

 

[PaulT]

In the planning stages, browse “The Nick on the Rocks” short subjects for some ideas.
https://www.nickzentner.com/pbs-nick-on-the-rocks-1/

He teaches geology at CWU and produces interesting short videos, assuming you like rocks.

Paul

 

[Cayuse]

Depends on what you want to do as you travel the route. If you want to add some side excursions like the Magruder Corridor or Lolo Motorway to the north in the higher elevations then you'll want to hit those areas in mid-late June at the earliest most years so you could start earlier at Astoria and work upstream or start later and work downstream.

Like Phil mentioned, fire season will be a big issue so I'd try and time the mountain travel in Wyoming and Idaho as early as possible going either direction. The scablands will get hot and dusty in the summer and can also suffer from smoke.

Good luck with your planning!

Bob

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

On my sorta short list is a trip up through Oregon, Washington, Idaho and back through Nevada. What I'm wondering is does it much difference if you travel upstream or downstream?

So many routes I could go. A hard one to lay out on a map but I just watched a pbs special on the Scablands in Washington. I'd never even heard of them before. So much of the West I need to explore.

Craig we did the Lolo pass area in late Aug on our way to Glacier.
By that time the area isn't as crowded as it's a big rafting area.
Several good campgrounds close to the summit along the river.
had a great time.The camps were almost empty.
Frank

 

[AWG_Pics]

Craig,

Until 6 months ago, I had a job doing Columbia Basin fish, wildlife and ecosystem restoration that took me to many of the nooks and crannies of the four northwest states. And I have recreated and lived in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Utah pretty much all of my life. If you have questions about specific areas, PM me and I will share what I know about them.

Depending on what you want to see there are some interesting and less than interesting ways to get there. To see the scablands at their most impressive, try going to Ephrata, then NE to Soap Lake, then stay on state 17 North to Coulee City.

Have fun planning.

Tony

 

[Vic Harder]

In the planning stages, browse “The Nick on the Rocks” short subjects for some ideas.
https://www.nickzentner.com/pbs-nick-on-the-rocks-1/
He teaches geology at CWU and produces interesting short videos, assuming you like rocks.

Paul

These are awesome!

 

[craig333]

Never too early to start planning. Oregon might make more sense to do the coast on a separate trip. Could do the Owyhee on up to the Snake. So many options.

 

[LuckyDan]

I’ll second the the seasonality/temp factor in making a decision. Luckily, and rather dependent on where you are along either River, you can divert into National Forest or higher elevation BLM and beat the heat a bit. After that upstream or down wouldn’t make a lot of difference IMO. That is unless you have a compelling reason to finish in Nevada then I’d opt for upstream.

 

[craig333]

This started with the thought of visiting Jarbridge NV. Then I thought, well why not keep going. Then I read a story about a Berkeley professor who visited the Columbia River back in the horse and buggy days. And, now that I'm retired I can finally take a trip and not worry about how long it is.

 

[LuckyDan]

Retired???!!! Congratulations. About to be there myself. I actually posted here about receiving my thank you for your service and now hit the road papers. Circumstances delayed their filing. The project that facilitated my prolonged servitude is wrapping up so it won’t be long now.

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[Smokecreek1]

Here is a thought Craig, since you are bouncing around that wide area, do something I have started and never finished -follow the Lewis and Clarke Trail-lot's of local, county, state and fed cg's ,things to do and things to see. There are lot's of books out there that describe the trip and would give it a loose framework with plenty of opportunity to go explore. Jarbidge-now there is some wild country, you may not want to come back , until winter hits, that is-bring lots of gas. Ain't retirement grand!

Smoke

 

[craig333]

Interesting idea Smoke. I went ahead and ordered a guide.

 

[DavidGraves]

Do try and keep an eye on fire season...we were once returning down from Lolo pass and got held up while they refilled choppers from the river along side the highway...over our heads...very smokey and a bit frightening....as in should we really be here ???

David Graves