Palouse In 36 Hours

Canoeing

Two Moscow canoeists took advantage of weather, detailed planning and swift flows April 25-26 to paddle 162 miles of the Palouse River in 36 hours, 17 minutes.

Mike Kinziger, University of Idaho assistant professor in recreation, and UI student Cameron Curtis, paddled an open canoe from Laird Park in Idaho to Lyons Ferry State Park on the Snake River.

“No one has ever made the trip that fast,” Kinziger said.

Plenty of paddling experience, two years of planning and even aerial research preceded the trip.

The first day, the pair floated 95 miles to just north of Winona. They had to portage through Colfax.

They carried food and camping gear the first day, then ditched packs for a grueling second day, when they traveled 67 miles to the confluence with the Snake. They were slowed by a five-hour, 11-mile portage around the dangerous gorge area between Hooper and Palouse Falls.

“Anyone planning a long trip on the Palouse would want to pull out at Hooper,” Kinziger said.

The pair used no outside support, he said. “We didn’t have any mishaps, even though there was plenty of Class II and III water.” , DataTimes