We stopped at Little Lost River Rest Area to read noticeboards describing the geology and history of this strange part of Idaho. One noticeboard revealed that more nuclear reactors (over 50 in total) had been built in the area since 1949 than anywhere else on the planet. Among other things, the Idaho National Laboratory was engaged in cleaning up the environment after the nuclear reactors. As for Little Lost River itself, when it had some water, it flowed north-east before disappearing into the ground in sink holes (the water eventually reappeared and fed into the Snake River). A young man cleaning up the rest area said to me, “The reason the Little Lost River has no water in it, and to the best of my knowledge has had none in these parts for 12 years, is because ranchers and farmers drain off so much to irrigate their land. And because ranchers and farmers have so much power locally, no one challenges their ‘right’ to the water.”
Little Lost River Rest Area, Idaho
“The surface of the Moon as seen through a telescope” is how geologist Harold T. Stearns described what came to be known as Craters of the Moon in 1923. Stearns saw a place where “the dark craters and the cold lava were nearly destitute of vegetation”. A year later, Craters of the Moon National Monument was established to preserve “a weird and scenic landscape, peculiar to itself”.
The craters of Craters of the Moon National Monument are volcanic in origin, unlike the craters on the Moon itself that are the product of meteorite impacts. But a volcano did not create the craters in this part of Idaho; the lava derives from a series of deep fissures, known collectively as the Great Rift, that cross the Snake River Plains. Beginning 15,000 years ago, lava welled up from the Great Rift to produce the vast ocean of rock that exists today. The most recent eruption occurred only 2,000 years ago and geologists believe that similar events are likely in the future.
We arrived at the visitor centre and, after picking up a few leaflets about the national monument, drove along the excellent short loop road and the even shorter roads leading to trails or overlooks. We saw craters, spatter cones, cinder cones and lava fields. I ascended Inferno Cone (6,181 feet high) for stunning views over the national monument and beyond, and we both completed Broken Top Loop Trail with a short detour to Big Sink Overlook. The trail was excellent because it gave us the chance to engage intimately with the landscape. We overlooked a massive lava flow known as the Blue Dragon because of the brilliant blue colours in the lava and the fact that the spiny surface reminded the early explorers of a dragon’s skin. We also saw globs of once-molten rock called bombs, a pressure or flow ridge, part of a lava tube system and young pahoehoe lava flows. “Pahoehoe” is a Hawaiian word meaning “ropey” and the name describes very accurately the appearance of the lava after it has cooled and solidified.
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
The distance from Ketchum to Stanley was about 60 miles. Between the two settlements was only one other, a dot on the map called Obsidian about 12 miles from Stanley. We were in a remote area, but the road was excellent. The views of the mountains and forests were sublime and the late afternoon visibility was perfect. We ascended the valley of the Salmon River. The valley was sometimes very narrow, but it occasionally widened to create meadows full of wild flowers not dissimilar to yaylas in Turkey.
Near Galena Summit, Idaho
We arrived at the Snake River, which had been dammed to form the Brownlee and Oxbow reservoirs. We entered Oregon when the road crossed the Brownlee Dam and remained in Oregon for about 15 miles as we drove north beside the Oxbow Reservoir. We crossed the Snake River again in the small settlement of Copperfield, re-entered Idaho and turned onto part of the Hell’s Canyon Scenic Byway, a delightful 27 mile stretch of road that ran along the east shore of Hell’s Canyon Reservoir before terminating at the visitor centre just beyond the dam. The scenery was stunning from start to finish, but the traffic on the road was very light.
From the visitor centre, it is easy to access the Snake River as it flows north through the continuation of the canyon unimpeded by a dam lower down. However, people who enter the river at this point are in wilderness for about 100 miles with only one chance, at Pittsburgh Landing, to return to what passes as civilisation in this remote region.
Hell’s Canyon Reservoir, Idaho
Given how the valley of the Salmon River was so narrow in the vicinity of Riggins, the town was largely linear. Riggins was little more than Main Street wedged between the river to the east and the valley wall to the west.
Salmon River Valley, Riggins, Idaho
We had no intention of travelling far from Riggins, but wanted to take in some of the delightful scenery nearby. We drove beside the Salmon River along Forest Service Road 1614 until the paved section ran out, after which we walked along the gravel because the valley was so beautiful. The road crossed from one side of the river to the other, thereby providing pretty views along the valley and up the creeks feeding into the Salmon from the south and north. A few isolated houses, small campsites and RV parks were the only human intrusions. It turned out to be a delightful early morning excursion.
Salmon River, near Riggins, Idaho
Salmon River, near Riggins, Idaho
Next, we drove a short distance south of Riggins and turned onto Forest Service Road 517. The road eventually led to Seven Devils with stunning views of three states and the two deepest gorges in North America. Because the road near the top was gravel and quite difficult to negotiate in only a 2WD vehicle, we never made it all the way to Seven Devils, but what we saw was extremely rewarding.
Forest Service Road 517 began to ascend almost as soon as we left Highway 95, but for a few miles, the valley was just wide enough for some arable farming to persist, then meadows provided pasture for livestock. The small ranches and farms were soon a distant memory, but houses lurked among the forest trees for as long as the road was paved. Most of the houses were made with wood and were quite small. Just beyond the last house, the asphalt concluded and gravel took over, but the road was quite flat and the ascent very gradual for a considerable distance. The worst thing was the switchbacks encountered about half way to the top. By now we were in dense forest, but there were magnificent views through gaps in the trees, especially at switchbacks or other corners. Among the trees were many wild flowers, perhaps our favourite of the day being bear grass.
Eventually we arrived at a badly rutted section of the road and agreed we had got as far as we could risk driving the car. As luck would have it, a short walk along the road took us to where the forest gave way. We were extremely high up on an alpine meadow that looked exactly like a yayla in north-east Turkey. This was the ideal spot to conclude the adventure. The meadow dropped away into a deep gorge. The grey and blue mountains all around us were smudged with snow. Hilary got out of the car to sing a few verses from “The Sound of Music”. Yes, it was that sort of place. Sublime mountain scenery could not fail to raise the spirits, even if life already felt excellent.
Forest Service Road 517, near Riggins, Idaho
Forest Service Road 517, near Riggins, Idaho
Forest Service Road 517, near Riggins, Idaho
Near the highest point on the highway, we pulled over to look at White Bird Battlefield, part of the Nez Perce National Historical Park.
Long before Meriwether Lewis and William Clark ventured west, and long before Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the so-called “New World”, the Nez Perce, who call themselves the Nimiipuu, lived on the prairies and in the river valleys of parts of what are now the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. For two centuries, the New Perce were exploited, persecuted and killed so that whites and other Americans could appropriate the land once essential for their way of life. The Nez Perce still exist, but the ones who survive have also suffered from attempted assimilation.
Nez Perce National Historical Park, which comprises of 38 sites in the four neighbouring states just identified, commemorates the legends and history of the Nez Perce and their interactions with others, be they explorers, fur traders, missionaries, soldiers, settlers, gold miners, loggers or farmers who moved through or into the Nez Perce homeland.
White Bird Battlefield, Idaho
East of Lowell, the Clearwater River changed into the Lochsa. We were now some distance along the Wild and Scenic River Corridor and, to confirm how wild the surroundings were, no settlement existed to the east of Lowell until we arrived in Powell Junction about 60 miles away.
Lochsa River, Idaho
The USA: Landscapes and Urban Spaces 