Trip Report: Hells Canyon 2015

[Saph]

Last week, we made our annual trip to Hells Canyon, and we were lucky enough to be joined by Harriet Aiken and her 4 goats.
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We left the Pittsburg Landing trailhead on a warm March morning. Six miles later, we arrived at Kirkwood Ranch, in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

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We had the camping area virtually to ourselves, a nice surprise for this time of year, as it is a popular low-elevation destination for hikers.    
The following day, we did a day hike around Suicide Point, out to Big Bar and back, a round trip of about 8 miles.

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We hiked out the final day.

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Most of the vegetation along the Snake River (including the ubiquitous poison ivy) hadn't leafed out yet, but the goats managed to find enough grass to nibble on.
None of our goats have begun shedding their winter coats yet, so there was plenty of panting going on, despite the relatively mild temperatures (highs in the low 70s). Luckily there were several streams for them to drink from along the trail.

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We gave everybody a few breaks to enjoy the views from various precipices in this vast, ruggedly steep country.

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Tallies for the trip-- nights on the trail: 2. Rattlesnake sightings: 0. Tick sightings: 1. Butting contests: 2 (each instance ending in the instigator having a "time-out"). Final outcome: lovely company, a great "shakedown cruise" and an excellent start to the 2015 backpacking season!

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Great post!

[IdahoNancy]

Everyone looks great. Harriet's goats sure have gotten big since I met them all at the 2011 Rendy in Weippe. Lovely area, thanks for the pictures.

[Nanno]

Wonderful photos! I especially love the one where the goat is conked out on his side in camp.

[Saph]

Hahaha, Nanno! That there's Ernie, the "free goat" we got from the neighbors a little over a year ago, because they didn't want him any more. If we hadn't taken pity on him, he most likely would have ended up in someone's freezer. He's just turning 3 this year. Not only is he a real sweetheart, he's actually turning out to be a pretty decent packer, go figure! . He is obviously still a youngster and he can be quite the lovable clown.
   

[Charlie Horse]

I love trip reports. This year, lets all try to do more of them! I'm hoping to have a big goat packing year with lots of adventure.

Also keep in mind that the Goat Tracks magazine loves to get trip reports for content.

[Duck-Slayer]

Awesome post, I'm ready too get my goats out also, we just got back from a walk down the road and back, hopefully this summer will be filled with great post like this,
Matt

[GPW]

Great pictures and post!