Chasm

Wednesday March 17 2010

You can see the two canyon notches here: Hart Creek on the left, Little Hart Creek on the right. When we do the Hart Creek Homestead ride, we ride right up to the Little Hart notch on the downstream side, before we turn off and climb around and up onto the ridge above it.

Often we'll see an eagle or two flying around in this Little Hart Creek canyon. There's supposed to be a historic nest in the Hart Creek notch. We've never ridden to or around that one.

Today we drop down behind the Little Hart Creek notch on the upstream side. The notch looks quite tame and unimpressive from the this side. Here it's a wide drainage. There's no water coming down here now.


As always, Jose likes to stop and take in the view.




Between Hart and Little Hart Creek canyons is a box canyon.

It's a rocky climb to the top. The top is a broad plateau, with a view down the entire Hart Creek drainage, all the way to the distant Snake River. As if on cue, we see a golden eagle flying around.

We ride toward the rim of Hart Creek Canyon.


Holy cow!


It's like the Grand Canyon of Owyhee. It's amazing the power of water can carve such a deep gash in the earth. Some of it so dark and deep I can't see the bottom. I can hear the water running far below. I can see part of a waterfall. The only word I can say for five minutes is - WOW!








Jose didn't even graze because he was fascinated by the view.




This is looking downstream toward the Snake River. Hart Creek and Little Hart Creek join below us (right around Suz's butt).


Looking upstream at Little Hart Creek notch, behind which we first descended.


You won't find the Grand Canyon of the Owyhee marked on a map, and there's no easy way to get there by vehicle or on foot or on horseback. Probably best to keep it our secret anyway.