This write-up is based on a single trip in March when the discharge fluctuated between 4500 and 8000 cfs. At this flow, all rapids were wide-open splashy wave-trains with very few dangerous hydraulics. At lower flows, the rapids reportedly become more rocky and technical, with the potential to wrap boats.
As some the guidebooks say, the Owyhee river flows in the spring and early summer through a desert canyon with dramatic walls and spectacular rock formations. For six miles, the river flows through a valley with minimal gradient and multiple channels containing class I rapids at best. Cattle watch as you drift by. This stretch could be run very easily at night, and extreme optimism is essential to maintain group morale. Eventually, the canyon begins and the river cuts through a short-lived but steep-walled gorge. Class II rapids begin in the gorge. The canyon opens up again and the river finally gets away from the inhabited areas.
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Photo courtesy of Momentum River Expeditions.
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Around mile 23 is the only hot spring that doesn’t get flooded out by high water. On river left, you can see the small wooded dam that creates a small pool to soak in. Camps are available both up and downstream.
About a mile below the hot springs, the hoodoos start popping out, with the spectacular formation of Pruitt’s Castle, on river left. The area offers some great scrambling, but beware: the rocks are predominantly volcanic ash and are unsafe for climbing. Rapids continue and verge on class III. After several miles, you can stop at Potter’s Cave on the right. Potter’s Cave is just a massively undercut cliff that is unsafe for camping under, but fun to check out. It can be recognized by a large cliff outcropping visible from half a mile upstream. The cliff is cut by a narrow gorge, and the cave lies on the downstream side of the gorge.
Rapids take on a more Class III character downstream, as the canyon develops it’s most dramatic character of the lower section. Rapids are fairly straightforward, and can easily be boat-scouted. Whistling Bird, one of the first class III rapids, features a sweeping left turn. Montgomery, which some call class IV, lies at the heart of the gorge. This rapid only deserves such a rating if the water is either extremely high or super low, and you are running it on a paco-pad trying to propel yourself with telekinesis. There is a move to make in order to avoid the river-left wall, which may be undercut. However, the rapid is class III. Camps are abundant within the gorge, and it would be a beautiful place to spend the night. About 2 miles after the gorge opens up, Jackson Creek enters on the left. A short hike up the creek brings you to yet another spectacular rock formation to explore.
The canyon stays open for the rest of the float, and rapids are seldom more than class II+. The first take out opportunity is about a mile below the BLM property at Birch Creek on river right. If the road to this site is impassible, you can continue on to Leslie Gulch, 20 miles downstream. However, this option requires 10 miles of flatwater rowing once you reach Lake Owyhee.
I only can make mention of the seeing sites that I actually saw. This is a great canyon for hiking and exploring. You mostly have to follow game trails (cattle tracks) to get anywhere, but the possibilities are endless. I’d say most of the good stuff is probably between the above mentioned hot spring and Birch Creek, though I haven’t seen the lowest section. Crank out the first twenty-some miles the first day, then take it slow and enjoy the canyon.
-Written by Dan Thurber |
