I took my first trip down the Owyhee River in the mid-80's. Typical of early season Owyhee trips, the weather was cold and wet. In fact, some form of solid precipitation fell on us each day of the trip. One morning I woke up and found an inch or two of new snow on my wetsuit, which I had unfortunately left outside my tent overnight.

On that first trip down the river, I realized that I was in a special place. We saw no other people, no footprints, no campfire rings, and no sign that anyone had come before us. Some of that has changed now as the river becomes more popular, but the Owyhee is still a remote and wild place.

Access points to the river are few and far between. I realized that if we were to get into some sort of trouble, we were on our own. There are no ranger stations, no residences on most sections of the river, and walking out is probably not an option.

The Owyhee country is a large empty space on the maps of Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada. The river drains over 8000 square miles of desert highlands in these three states. Most of the runoff comes from snowmelt during April and May, but warm rains frequently cause huge runoff events in March and even in February. Unlike most Idaho rivers which are primarily snowmelt driven, peak flows on the Owyhee are typically caused by rainfall events, making the river much less predictable than its high mountain counterparts.

I will always have fond memories of the Owyhee; the scenery, the whitewater, and the history. But most of all I will remember the Owyhee for its wildness; it is a special part of the West which has not been "tamed" and probably will not be, at least in my lifetime. I hope its wonders will be preserved for future generations as well.