Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Day One: Satus Pass, Ceilo Falls Outlook, and Horse Theif Lake State Park

Today was day one of our journey and we got off to a little big of a late start. Between loading up supplies and gathering gear, we didn't leave Heritage until about 11:30 am. While we were waiting at Heritage, Steve Rigdon (Yakama Power) and Paul Ward (Yakama Nation Fisheries) came and talked to us about the human implications on the Yakima Valley and surrounding area. They spoke about salmon populations in the Yakima River, as well as the Wetland restoration project on the reservation. After their talk, we loaded up and headed out. , Literally, five minutes after we left, Monet Becenti forgot her phone and we had to turn around. We FINALLY hit the road and traveled along Satus pass towards Oregon. Along the pass, each van counted the number of wild horses we saw. My van counted about 260 just along the roadside.

We continued through Goldendale and made our way to the Celilo Falls Overlook. While there, we spoke about the dramatic changes made to the Columbia River during World War II. These changes have had a devastating affect on the Wasco, Warm Springs, and Paiute Indian Tribes that relied on the Celilo region for trade and commerce. Not only has the Columbia River Dam system created problems for the Indian Tribes of the region, but also the landscape itself. What used to be a region of a magnitude of majestic falls is now a wide, flat river. Today, the river at the Celilo area has become a more suited to wind surfing and sturgeon fishing rather than the salmon fishing and fur trade of the old days.

After the somber experience at Celilo, we traveled down the Columbia to Horse Thief Lake State park. We had lunch there, and passed out backpacks, water packs, and headlamps. A little while later, we went on an extremely hot hike to view the petroglyphs surrounding the area. The petroglyphs were created by the people of the area thousands of years ago and have stood the test of time and are still in amazing condition. Each set tells the story of an individual family.

After our hike, we made our way to Warm Springs, OR. In Warm Springs, we stayed in the Agency Long House. We set up our sleeping bags and went to sleep. Personally, it was difficult for me to sleep because I'm not used to hearing other people sleep and snore throughout the night, but it turned out okay.

Overall, it was a very hectic day, but was a great learning experience. 

No comments:

Post a Comment