5 Day Wine & Food On Snake River/Hells Canyon

If staying in Wallowa at the Mingo Motel we will pick you up at 6:15 am. If staying in Enterprise we will pick you up at the Ponderosa Motel in our shuttle van at 6:45 am. The breakfast orders you placed the day before will be handed out and coffee will be provided. Travel to Hells Canyon Dam Launch site (3hr drive from Minam) with a bathroom break at the Hells Canyon Overlook. Meet your guides, go over safety talk, and load into rafts between 10 and 11 am. Lunch will be served riverside. Enjoy awe inspiring geology, spot wildlife. Run some of the biggest whitewater of the trip, first up Wild Sheep Rapid. Stop to scout Granite Rapid and view Nez Perce pictographs. Arrive in camp between 3-4pm. We will gather the group to discuss camp etiquette. Enjoy an evening of camp time: swim, hike, play games, relax! Approximately 6pm: Wine and Hor D’oeuvres. Approximately 7 pm dinner presented by our team.

Wake to the smell of fresh brewed coffee and stunning canyon views. Meander to the kitchen where coffee and tea will be waiting around 6:00am. Leisurely breakfast will be served between 7 and 8 am. This will be the normal camp routine for the rest of the trip. Our guide crew will break down camp and send the gear boat downstream. Launch on the river between 9 & 10 am. Visit the historic McGaffee Cabin. Today’s fun rapids will include Bernard, Waterspout, and Rush Creek. Arrive at camp between 3 and 4 pm to enjoy another evening riverside. Play, swim, hike or just sit back and enjoy the view. Each evening will be a similar routine to the first.

Repeat morning routine of coffee, breakfast, camp breakdown. Today we get to hike to Suicide Point and view Bonneville Flood deposits from a view point, stop at the historic Kirkwood Ranch, see ancient Mt Mazama Ash, run more rapids, take a swim and enjoy the views. Today we pass Somer’s Creek where Grant’s great, great grandparents lived during the late 1800’s until the early 1940’s. Arrive at camp between 3 and 4 pm for another great evening with some fantastic food.

Morning routine followed by another day of fun whitewater. Today we pass Dry Creek, one of the places Grant’s parents lived and worked in Hells Canyon. We’ll take a short hike to Deep Creek to see ancient Nez Perce pictographs and remnants of a Chinese miner’s building. Pass Dug Bar, the historic crossing point for the Wallowa band of Nez Perce. Arrive at camp between 3 & 4 pm for another evening of merriment and insanely good Walla Walla wine and catered food from AK’s Mercado.

Morning routine followed by a hike to the remains of the Imnaha motel and copper mill site. Embark on rafts until we reach the mouth of the Salmon River where we will strap the rafts together and motor out to Heller Bar. Lunch will be served on the raft or riverside today. Arrive at Heller Bar between 1 and 2 pm. We will shuttle everyone back to the Ponderosa in Enterprise (2 hour drive) or if you had your vehicle shuttled to Heller Bar, you can begin your travels.