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| We saw a bear during our float in Minam Meadows |
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| With 7 days of food our packs were a tad heavy... |
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| We ate morels almost every day! |
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| The snow level dropped some while we were out |
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| Minam Meadows....yes please! |
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| A cold and rainy departure |
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| Shredding the Knar |
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| Kirk has a unique way of portaging |
I was trying to tell from the couple of pictures where you started: Bowman trailhead through the Wilson Basin and North Minam Meadows? I don't remember that view from any of the main Minam meadows and the water looks too small to be the main Minam as well.
ReplyDeleteI am assuming you did more packing than rafting given the flows, amount of wood, rapids, etc on the upper river? I would love to hear more details.
Grant Richie
www.fishingandhiking.com
Wow. So you hiked 25 miles upstream to Red's, then hiked another 12-13 miles up to the North Minam Meadows and floated/walked/floated back? You guys were putting in some miles. I am assuming you inflated the packrafts to get across the river at the parking area before you started your hike upstream?
ReplyDeleteI spent last week hiking the entire Minam drainage and was a little surprised when I ran onto your blog on the packrafting forum. I started on the Lostine river at Two-Pan, hiked through snow up to Minam Lake which was mostly ice still, and then hiked the river out to our store at Minam. Part of my trip was scouting to run the very upper river. Above Lowry Gulch is unrunnable in my opinion unless you have a death wish. The easiest/best option would probably be beginning at Elk Creek as others have done and working your way down. I was hoping to do that section in a packraft this year, but it will probably have to wait until next year. We received new Feathercraft made, Baylee River Runner self bailing packrafts at the Minam Store this week and I will be testing them out on the Minam from Red's Horse Ranch back to the store this coming weekend. I did a test run down the Wallowa in them yesterday and was very impressed.
Grant
Yep, we like to hike... :)
ReplyDeleteThe river was raging when we first crossed the ford, yes,we had to boat across to start.
The Lostine looks amazing, we drove up there to check it out after we were finished, it would be a stout run, but the great thing about packrafts is you can pick off sections and then just walk around whatever is in the way.
We went to stay in the Teepees at Rim Rock Inn after our trip and were looking at Joseph Creek, really wanting to check that out, and then we got home and did some research on it and saw your post about packrafting...that looks like an amazing canyon!
The new owners at the Minam River Lodge are great, Melissa cooks awesome meals, you should stop in while you are there!
Have fun,
Renee