Its name comes from the most unlikely source. The solitude that surrounds it is immense.
And the ever-changing river corridor scenery is, perhaps, unparalleled?
A just right El Niño winter weather pattern where the storm track punishes California sometimes rewards whitewater rafters with both perfect water and weather on Oregon’s Owyhee River.
Flowing 280 miles, the headwaters of this river originate in northern Nevada with the Owyhee’s name derived from an original spelling for Hawaii. The two far-flung areas are connected by stories of Hawaiian trappers from the North West Company who were sent to explore the region but never seen again.
It’s not hard to imagine someone perishing amidst its vastness after setting eyes on miles of “Marlboro Man” country above the river that has cut its way across Malheur County.
Less than 33,000 people populate Malheur County’s 9,900 square miles — just 3.21 humans and untold rattlesnakes per every 640 acres. By comparison, Spokane County has just over 300 people per square mile — and we even have some elbow room.
Over several decades of river rafting that now stretch back 44 years, many stories emerged about the Owyhee. Most of them were about trips where descriptions were punctuated alternatively by wind-driven sideways snow one moment and sunshine the next.
Plus, it’s a thousand-mile round trip!
Tossing the dice back in 2019 on my first trip to the Owyhee we hit the jackpot with five days of temps in the high 60s and low 70s, just one passing rain shower and flows just right for those new to the river.
Rafting the best of the rivers in the West often require permits, but securing those through the yearly lottery has lately become a chase involving seemingly Powerball-like odds.
Chances of landing a launch on Idaho’s Selway River, for instance, are 1-in-174 as of a couple of years ago and getting slimmer all the time.
On the Owyhee, however, it is Mother Nature who directs river traffic. And she’s been just stingy enough in recent years so as not to spoil the experience. Between that first trip and our most recent expedition, the first two weeks of May have yielded a 50-50 shot at ample flows.
Enveloping the Owyhee canyon is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of public land left in the lower 48 states. Gazing across this vast high desert and endless rangeland makes one wonder just what did travelers along the Oregon Trail think as they pondered how to cross it with real horsepower and no four-wheel-drive?
The entire Owyhee is full of both geologic and pioneer history. Its rugged landscapes are products of the Yellowstone Hotspot that caused eruptions which created fortresses of basalt and the colorful canyons we experienced.
Trips start from a wide spot in the road — Rome, Oregon along U.S. Highway 95 — in the center of cattle ranches and hay fields and the true definition of the middle of nowhere. Along the river’s path are still scattered remnants of pioneer homesteads that beg the questions why there and how’d they find lumber in the treeless expanse?
The first trip down a stretch of just over 50 miles of the Owyhee was spent learning just what the river offered and building a yearning to hopefully someday return.
The takeaways this time were different from 2019 in many ways.
Maybe just from the fact that 10 of us were either in our 60s or 70s. We were purely grateful to be able to have another shot at the rapids and the many stunning vistas like Lambert Dome and Iron Point Canyon with its towering sheer walls.
Seven nights sleeping under the stars is a wonderful experience, even when some of the “comfort” goes away early following a catastrophic cot collapse. Having stunning glimpses of the Northern Lights without a man-made light anywhere in sight was a bonus.
Arguably the best reward was this journey galvanized old friendship and allowed new ones to be forged.
— Paul Delaney is a (semi)retired Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at [email protected].
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