High water

Barb and I took a short vacation to Orofino and vicinity. The river just outside our hotel room just touched flood stage this morning as we left. The hotel wasn’t in any danger but there might be a few low areas around town that might get damp. It is expected the waters will go down this evening and again touch on flood stage tomorrow morning. Yesterday we drove upstream and did some hiking and took pictures of the high water on the Lochsa (Nez Perce word meaning rough water) and Selway rivers.

At nearly this same time last year we did a relatively slow float down the river in canoes and kayaks. Islands we went around last year and beaches we stopped at were completely under water yesterday.

Here is a sample of what we saw:

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4 thoughts on “High water

  1. Yeah, up on Pend Oreille, the lower part of our yard is already underwater. Our lower fence should be swamped tomorrow, and they’re expecting another 2 feet before the end of the month; at which point our greenhouse and garden will be fully swamped, with the flood about 20 feet from the porch. That will be a couple inches over the historic high water mark.

    Thankfully we’re on a moderate slope, so the house itself wouldn’t be in danger even if it goes 2 feet over the historic high water mark.

  2. I think I could sit and stare at that river all day. Looks very different from the last time I saw it.

  3. @Alan This was 50+ miles upstream from Orofino. It was impressive in Orofino too but not as stunning as on the Lochsa.

  4. In Utah, my family and I would walk past a nearby river, to see how high (or “low”) it’s getting.

    Just a couple of weeks ago, we had to make a trip to Idaho, and we had opportunities to see high water and flooding in various places in Idaho and Cache Valley. Seeing the high water is fascinating, and I sort-of want to see it get higher…but I also feel sad about the farmers and homeowners who have to deal with the flooding.

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