The Cleanest Line

Photo: Jim Little: The Owyhee River flows 346 miles from northeastern Nevada before dumping into the Snake River on the Oregon/Idaho border.

Most people have never heard of the Owyhee Canyonlands, let alone pulled over to visit. On a map of Oregon, it’s that mostly blank expanse in the southeastern corner of the state near the Idaho/Nevada border—a place most would call nowhere. Rome, Burns and Jordan Valley are the nearest towns of any note. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge—site of a recent 41-day showdown between a group of armed, anti-federalist “occupiers” and the federal government—is the most recognizable nearby landmark for those who follow the news. Out in this part of the world, the green flow of the Owyhee River is the main attraction.

The river is named after Hawaiian trappers who headed downstream in the early 1800s never to be seen alive again. Rafters and kayakers who drive a hundred miles and more from Boise, Bend and points beyond can float its waters into a deep desert gorge to experience the solitude of a place so far removed from the glow of civilization, its black skies afford some of the best stargazing […]

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