Hells Canyon R2R2R

[Chip Collins]

Hells Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim, from Windy Saddle Camp ground (Idaho) down to the snake river (swim across) climb up (on the Oregon side) to Hat Point, OR. 

Greg Burnett and I will be attempting to go R2R2R early on Friday morning (9/4/2015). I have been able to find one other account of this crossing by Mike James and Steve Graepel. Their writeup gives some details as 42 miles and 18,000 feet of gain. Their time was approx. 36 hours. They missed the river crossing (a swim) and had to stay the night out on the trail. there write up can be found here: trailrunnermag.com/people/740-go-to-hells-canyon

Greg and I will provide Spot signals at the start, the river (both sides if there is a GPS signal) and at Hat Point and on the way back. More to come. I am not sure if others have done this (I'm pretty certain other have, but could not find any reports). This seems very worthy of a FKT and a place to share the report. We will be just trying to get through it and hope if we finish, others might follow with faster times. 

Chip Collins

[Chip Collins]

No go. The road to Windy Saddle was closed due to fire. So, we headed to Hat Point on the Oregon side and spent the day doing recon. It was well worth it. It will be a bigger project.

[Pete Meighan]

Thanks Chip Collins for starting this thread. Also inspired by the effort of Mike James and Steve Graepel, I will be attempting the Hells Canyon R2R2R as a solo unsupported attempt shortly (likely the weekend of Sept 26th 2015). Although I will be hitting the same main checkpoints as detailed by Graepel's write up (i.e., Windy Saddle, Hat Point, and the "rim proper" on both the Idaho and Oregon sides; link above), I'll be taking a different approach. I plan on setting out from Hat Point OR and mostly staying on established trails (rather than going over country from the Dry Diggins L.O. to the lower half of the Bernard trail). My only planned deviation from "established" trails will be to take Goat Pass from Sheep Lake (rather than using the Seven Devils Loop trail to/from Windy Saddle). The entire attempt will be recorded via a SPOT GPS messenger unit (link posted here prior to this attempt), and multiple GPS watches (I've had too many failures with my Garmin Fenix 2 to trust only a single GPS watch). I hope to accomplish this in a single push, but I will be prepared to bivy down at the Snake if I am unable to do the return crossing on the same day.

[Steve graepel]

God speed fellas!

[Pete Meighan]

I just wanted to confirm that I will be attempting the Hells Canyon R2R2R (as detailed above) on Sept 26th. I plan to set out at 4:00 AM (PST). Here is my SPOT link:

share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0r04L1xuhE95noHh8lIcQyHsFSdlAc1i2

[Chip Collins]

Let us all know how it went. If you want to compare notes on this shoot me an email at [e-mail]

[Steve Graepel]

Sept 26, 2015 20:10:37 GMT -5 Chip Collins said:

Let us all know how it went. If you want to compare notes on this shoot me an email at [e-mail]

Congrats! If you are in Boise, would love to hear the story over a beer.

[Pete Meighan]

No congrats warranted. At least not for a successful completion. The Little Granite Creek trail evaporated ~2 miles from the rim. I was on the edge of putting myself in a bad situation, so I turned back. I spent my return to Hat Point thinking about my time spent in the canyon, and how I will approach it differently next time. Although I didn't successfully complete the R2R2R, it was one of the best experiences I'd ever had. I put together this video to commemorate it (link below). I'll post a detailed trip report within the next few days.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9IOD9hkT5Y

[Pete Meighan]

BTW Steve, tons of respect for your successful completion. You and Mike are badass. I live in Pullman WA, but pass thru Boise a few times a year. I'd take you up on that beer/stories my next time thru.

[Chip Collins]

Great job on getting past the river. Nice work.

[Pete Meighan]

Thanks Chip. Most of my pack weight was devoted to getting across the river. I was probably being overly cautious, but it felt necessary since I was doing it solo.

[k2runner]

Great video. I'm getting ready for this in a few weeks. I did a R2R2R using the Bass trails, Grand Canyon last year swimming the Colorado and this looks like a step up.

[Pete Meighan]

Last year, I tried—and failed—to set a new FKT on this double crossing of Hell's Canyon (Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim). The only documented completion of this—to my knowledge, and to the knowledge of the interwebs--was by Mike James and Steve Graepel (see above). Their route back-and-forth across the canyon encompassed 42 miles—with a significant amount of bushwhacking—and ~18,000 feet of climbing. This trip took them approximately 36 hours. This Saturday, I’m going for the FKT again (as a "solo unsupported attempt"). My "A" goal is to complete it in 18 hours, which depends upon making the 2nd Snake River crossing before dark.

Nearly every day after I stepped out of the canyon, I’ve thought about how I’d approach things differently next time. This year, I feel mentally and physically more prepared. Friday, I'll post a SPOT GPS link that you can use if you'd like to check on my progress during the attempt. Afterwards, I'll post my link to Strava and show pictures (and probably video). Looking forward to the challenge.

[k2runner]

Best of luck this time. We changed our plans and did a Grand Teton traverse. I'd love to get the Beta from you after this. We are looking at doing Hells on Labor Day weekend. But want to go from the high point on South Rim, He Devil or She Devil, not the Windy Saddle Trailhead.

[Pete Meighan]

Thanks k2runner. I'll have plenty of info to share when I return.