#HellHikeAndRaft Day 2: Dry Diggins Lookout, Hibbs Cow Camp

Miss out on #HellHikeAndRaft Day One? Click here.

Tuesday morning, I woke up to the sound of Russ’ snoring and to the sound of coffee being made. There was ice on our tent from condensation. It was cold and windy; the fog was being swirled around on Shelf Lake. And it was beautiful.

Today, we were planning on hiking up to Dry Diggins Lookout for a glimpse of Hells Canyon, and then off to Hibbs Cow Camp where we would be staying that night. We ate some delicious omelettes made in Ziploc baggies, and munched on leftover peach cobbler.

We hiked past Basin Lake and the series of Bernard Lakes, complete with floating lily pads. We stopped at the junction to Hibbs Cow Camp and dropped our packs to continue up and up to Dry Diggins Lookout. The view from Dry Diggins was incredible. We waved to Hells Canyon and the Snake River. Snapped some photos, or maybe a lot. Poked around inside the lookout, which was only staffed during fires until it was abandoned after the Baldy Fire, and then we were on the way down again.

Hibbs Cow Camp was located under the trees next to a babbling spring. Appetizers were smoked salmon, jalapeno jelly, cream cheese and crackers. Fish People Seafood and beer bread followed as the main course, and we finished off with peanut butter brownies for dessert. Also, we played a lot of fetch with Tubbs, the fetch dog.

The night was cold, but I still slept pretty well.

Total mileage for the day was approximately 6.6 with 2,280′ of elevation gain.

If you missed out on #HellHikeAndRaft Day One, click here. Stay tuned for the other four days, and don’t forget to check out everyone else’s content!

• Adam Nutting
• Scott Gauvin
• Tara Oster
• Shannon Croom
• Val Joiner
• Jes Zaneis
• Trevor Joy
• Russ Beebe
• Wendy Newland
• Jeff Howell
• Annie Yearout

Last updated on February 23, 2016.