Further along the Snake River we come to Hat Point in the Hells Canyon National Recreation
Area. I have been wanting to see Hells Canyon for years, and in fact, tried to see it a few years ago to no avail. I stopped at a “viewpoint” back then and took pictures of…nothing, really. Not a glimpse of the river could be seen, although a helpful informational sign assured me that the river was there, 6000 feet down in the canyon whose bottom was invisible from the viewpoint.

So, this year I armed myself with a completely new rig. This enabled me to get up the road to Hat Point, and to camp once I had gotten there. As you can see, it was very smoky there. But there, totally, completely, gloriously visible, is….THE ACTUAL SNAKE RIVER, ACTUALLY RUNNING THROUGH HELLS CANYON!!!! 8000 feet below Hat Point, I finally saw Hells Canyon. OK, it looks the way the smoggy LA skyline did in the 1960’s, but there it is. I threw a party to celebrate. Everyone on the guest list (which included me and my cat) attended, and everyone was very impressed with Hells Canyon.

It’s there! The river! Despite the brown glop, you can still see the river!

The party was held in this venue, which we got for the reasonable price of $0:

The nano-house, which I also call The Tortoise

Although not invited, these citizens of Hat Point loomed over the party, casting a damper over everyone’s spirits. Is it just me, or do they look……….joyless? Being a tree must be tough at Hat Point.

On the way down from Hat Point the next day, we took a brief respite from plummeting down the 16% grade (with scary drop-offs, one lane and no pullouts) to see another, less smoky view of Hells Canyon.

For all of you intrepid travelers out there who also yearn to see Hells Canyon, let me emphasize that I cannot recommend that anyone in a rig bigger than a pickup truck drive the road to Hat Point. Once the top of the 7-mile, 16% grade is reached, the road is good, but the grade is NOT FOR RV’s.

Giant Cloud of Brown Glop Over Hells Canyon