Lower Salmon R in Idaho: rugged but hospitable

Courtesy of my job and the relative cheapness of hitting the river for a meeting instead of hitting the conference room, a group of river rats took to the Lower Salmon. Me included - paddling on the duckie (a formal name for it is an IK - inflatable kayak), rowing in a cataraft, or dunking my head off the oarboat. And yes! We did have a meeting!

The rock is exposed at the river, and according to a geology brochure distributed by the Forest Service, there are two distinct classes of rock exhibited on the Lower Salmon. One is the basalt shafts pictured here behind Kevin and John, formed from the geologically recent Columbia/Snake River lava flows. (You can also see evidence of the scouring floods that hurtled down the Salmon River corridor when Lake Missoula's ice dam released incomprehensively large floods that molded the entire eastern half of Washington into rolling hills.) The other type is an ancient, exotic rock that migrated east 200 million years ago from the Aleutian Islands area, "slamming" into the western rim of the continent and pushing inland. It marks a major fault line in the earth's crust. Seven Devils Mountains in Idaho is composed of this material - gives 'em that spooky dark look.

Volcanic Eruption!...and then food

It's 10:00AM on Saturday. Natalie calls. We're going hiking in Mt. St. Helens. Meet at Winchel's donuts and head up together. Deal.

I have postponed my Adams climb because my leg is not feeling so good. So what better way to heal than...go hiking. By 12:00 Rebecca and I are at the donut place, ordering a'plenty. The drive up is very scenic and the day is perfect for hiking; crisp, cool, low humidity, all the things I like in a day.

We get to Johnson ridge and are treated to a new view of the lava dome, with clouds of steam emenating from it.
Apparently it just experienced a 3.1 earthquake an hour before we arrived. At its current rate, it will completely rebuild itself in 42 years.

Science geeks everywhere rejoice.

After a few moments inside the observatory, a viewing of the movie, and a look at the seismographs recording the recent activity, we head out for some hiking.


The trail was a short one; down to a viewpoint of the mountain and back to the observatory. Just around 4 miles total, but plenty for us to take in view after view of the valley below.

On the left is the valley floor and the remnants of the Toutle river, where pyroclastic flows (coolest word ever) tore through the valley and erradicated the landscape around the river. There used to be a forest all throughout the valley.


Overlooking Spirit lake with a view of Mt. Adams, where some friends were climbing that very day. There are still dead trees floating in the lake, which is a few hundred feet higher than it was before the 1980 eruption that filled the 150ft deep lake with debris.

After our short hike we ate some food, converted Brady and Natalie to buy Trader Joes peanut butter filled pretzels as soon as they got back to PDX, and headed down to the hummoks, which are giant debris piles of mountain left on the valley floor after the eruption.


The hummoks trail was interesting mainly because a completely new forest was growing out of this barren landscape. Near creeks and streams flowing into the Toutle, trees and moss were plentiful. A good sign the forest is regenerating itself. Along the trail you can see huge piles of debris, some with tree trunks sticking vertically out of them.

After the hiking, and a coyote sighting on the way back, we stopped and ate tons of food at the local diner. Sorry, no pictures of the huckleberry cobbler.

Champoeg is the birthplace of Oregon politics. It is pronounced "sham-POO-ee."

on Saturday, Nick and I took our friends' dogs Blondie and Osito to Champoeg State Park. this historical park was lovely, right on the river, and was established to commemorate two events:

(1) the 1843 vote of 52-50 to organize the Oregon territory under America instead of maintaining a commercial quasi-independence under the British Hudson's Bay Company (want to know more? it's fascinating);


(2) the destruction of the entire town of Champoeg - named after a Native American word for a root? - by a Willamette River flood. the plain where the town stood is flat, with posts to mark the old streets. eerie.

a miracle: i put a bag with my wallet, nick's wallet, the cell phone, and other dear and important items on top of the car when we left the park. in the hubbub with the dogs, we drove at least 15 miles of backroads and some major roads and managed NOT to lose the bag. it was heavy enough to stay put? or maybe the bike rack frame fenced it in? whatever it was, we did a jig and a prayer when we discovered the bag on top of the car in the parking lot of Pasquale's.

we waited outside Pasquale's in Newberg (thanks for the fantastic veggie pizza), playing our new Oregon Trail trivia game in the parking lot. if you remember the ancient computer game Oregon Trail, this game will bring back some really confusing memories as your mind tries to make its 4th grade computer truths ("never ford the big rivers to keep the kids alive!") compatible with its adult knowledge of western history. i will give $10 to the person who can tell me what place on the Trail was the most mentioned in pioneer diaries.

Read a couple nerdy love-y memories about the electronic Oregon Trail (one, two).

the pizza was a 100% necessary prerequisite for the ultimate destination: the 99W drive in! Kentucky's drive-ins have nothing to fear from this tiny setup, but the popcorn - and admission, for that matter - is still half the price of an indoor movie theater. the spirit of the drive-in owner, who got on the mike to cajole us to the concession stand, to remind us of a midnight showing of willy wonka next week, or to mother us into our best exiting behavior - he was the most endearing part of the experience.

Osito uses his wicking tongue for drag when he runs.














Blondie has one of the most beguiling grins I've ever seen on a dog.