Hell’s Canyon
The moon hung in the sky above Castle Rock as the sun worked its way towards river level, painting the sculpted basaltic mountain with first morning light. Reminiscent of a Mayan temple, each formation was carved by time to fit upon the one below. Dark green vegetation hid in cool moist valleys contrasting with the flaxen hillsides. From the moment that it was bright enough to see, we discovered an abundance of life. Several dozen mule deer grazed the grassy slopes where cattle could not reach. An osprey surveyed the calm water beneath its perch. We waited patiently for the golden warmth to wash over the canyon walls and finally warm our cheeks.
We were tuned in to rocks today. Whorls of columnar basalt, palisades and fans were a patchwork quilt. Abandoned cliff swallow nests were the stitches holding them together. A feeder dike, once a conduit for volumes of molten magma, sliced through a v-shaped valley. Ancient hidden terranes escaped from the confines of a thick basaltic cover and revealed themselves, tossed skyward by faulting forces. A prominent limestone exposure marked the entrance to the Hell’s Canyon Recreation Area. Borne upstream by a speeding jetboat, we slid by polished sandstone, mudstone and argillite layers. Plutonic quartz diorite, carved by humans long ago sat on the shore, staked like cordwood. We stopped to gaze upon petroglyphs painstakingly etched in glossy ebony-colored rock varnish near the water’s edge. Golden eagles soared above. Bighorn sheep worked their way from ledge to ledge bound for late afternoon refreshment. Dozens of ewes and growing lambs paused in their transit to puzzle at our presence.
In late afternoon the staff at the Nez Perce National Park welcomed us. Through their eyes we were afforded a glimpse into their culture and life in this world of mountains and rivers. Here the landscape changes little with time but human lifestyles have changed greatly in so short a time.
The moon hung in the sky above Castle Rock as the sun worked its way towards river level, painting the sculpted basaltic mountain with first morning light. Reminiscent of a Mayan temple, each formation was carved by time to fit upon the one below. Dark green vegetation hid in cool moist valleys contrasting with the flaxen hillsides. From the moment that it was bright enough to see, we discovered an abundance of life. Several dozen mule deer grazed the grassy slopes where cattle could not reach. An osprey surveyed the calm water beneath its perch. We waited patiently for the golden warmth to wash over the canyon walls and finally warm our cheeks.
We were tuned in to rocks today. Whorls of columnar basalt, palisades and fans were a patchwork quilt. Abandoned cliff swallow nests were the stitches holding them together. A feeder dike, once a conduit for volumes of molten magma, sliced through a v-shaped valley. Ancient hidden terranes escaped from the confines of a thick basaltic cover and revealed themselves, tossed skyward by faulting forces. A prominent limestone exposure marked the entrance to the Hell’s Canyon Recreation Area. Borne upstream by a speeding jetboat, we slid by polished sandstone, mudstone and argillite layers. Plutonic quartz diorite, carved by humans long ago sat on the shore, staked like cordwood. We stopped to gaze upon petroglyphs painstakingly etched in glossy ebony-colored rock varnish near the water’s edge. Golden eagles soared above. Bighorn sheep worked their way from ledge to ledge bound for late afternoon refreshment. Dozens of ewes and growing lambs paused in their transit to puzzle at our presence.
In late afternoon the staff at the Nez Perce National Park welcomed us. Through their eyes we were afforded a glimpse into their culture and life in this world of mountains and rivers. Here the landscape changes little with time but human lifestyles have changed greatly in so short a time.
