More Main Salmon!!!

On the Main Salmon this year, the Skipper trip was on July 24th. Here at WRO everyone looks forward to this trip each year. Skipper Tonsmeire is family and comes out every year for a Middle Fork or Main Salmon trip. When Skipper organizes a trip you know everyone he invites is going to be a lot of fun! This year we had a great crew of both family and friends. Skipper brought his daughter Elizabeth and girlfriend Susan with daughter Clara. Greer Radcliff, who has been on several trips with us, rowed is own boat this time and did great. Greer and girlfriend Adair also invited some of his family which were a great addition to the group. Veronica Herndon, a great friend and long time guest here at WRO, brought her nephew. Veronica and Skipper are both members of the WRO Grand Slam Club! We also had Mac Tonsmeire and his family as well. It was great to spend some time with them. Safe travels to Mac Tonsmeire on his current tour in Afghanistan. We are all be thinking of you at WRO! Skipper also invited Fairhope, AL friend Richie Parsons and daughter Rachel. Richie provided some great campfire entertainment with his guitar. Another Fairhope friend, Jim Veal and daughter Madelyn, were also fun to have along. Jim always had a good joke and a great sense of humor.

This group shot was taken at one of the homesteads along the Salmon River. The Francis Zaunmiller homestead is one of the interesting historical sites of the Main Salmon. In the late 1800′s through the 1900′s there were some real characters living in the Salmon River Canyon. Francis being one of these for sure! Check out a short video of Francis on YouTube to get to know her!

Like most of the 2011 summer, we had great water for the middle of July. For myself and Henry it was great because we turned the corner off the July 19th Middle Fork trip onto this one. Anytime you can stay on the river for 11-days straight for the Middle Fork Main Salmon combination life is good! This is a multi-day classic of North America.

When we came around the corner at the Buckskin Bill Museum we saw a couple bighorn rams on the hillside. After looking closer we saw there were eight different rams hanging around together. It’s a special occasion to see a nice herd of rams just off the river.
There were a good number of takers for the rappelling and rock climbing on this Main Salmon trip. Greer’s nephew Webb and Madelyn Veal both put forth an awesome effort in the rock climbing. Madelyn made it all the way to last few moves at the top. For anyone that has been there, you know that the handholds start to get pretty small, few, and far between. Webb was able to push through and make it to the top. We usually have very few people, if anyone, make it to the top each summer. Nice work Webb! I think he may have even earned $50 from Hutch who was providing a little extra incentive.

Henry got some good GoPro footage throughout the week that I used to put together the short video below. Also check out the new motion graphic we are using for our internet videos. Enjoy!

With the season now over, I am now finding time to sort through more photos and video from the 2011 season. Also it is clean up time around the shop. Cleaning and washing all our rafts is quite the chore at the end of the season. Check back for the next posting soon. I have some great shots of a historic wooden scow on the Main Salmon in September, definitely going to want to check those photos out!

~ Seth Tonsmeire

Main Salmon in August

The Main Salmon is such a great place to be in August! The water has warmed up to a great swimming temperature. It is still very refreshing, but on a hot summer day it is just the ticket. The beaches make for easy camping and it’s just a great river trip for the whole family!

On August 1st we had a great group, a mix of families and adults. The group started with Mac Thornton and his family of four. Mac had joined us on a Middle Owyhee trip a few years back as a kayaker and decided to bring his family back for a Main Salmon this summer. Mac’s brother Larry joined the party as well. After everyone invited a few friends and Mac invited another family, we were quickly up to 16 people on the trip! Everyone did not know each other previous to the trip, but everyone did have some connection with the rest of the group. It turned out to be a really fun group!

In this group there were some outstanding kayakers! Jumping right into the inflatable kayaks, and doing very well at it. There were definitely of few people that joined the Salmon River swim team that week, but that will happen. Also it’s part of the fun! The kayaks are the craft of “high adventure” and are often a quick favorite for those looking for a little extra excitement. The kayaks were definitely a highlight for this group! Other highlights for the group were hiking, rappelling, the hot springs, historical sites, the paddle boat, campfire time, and just spending family time and visiting with old friends!

There are more photos from this trip on the WRO Flickr gallery, as well as a few on the facebook page. I also put together a short video from some of the GoPro footage. The video is in HD, so remember to give it time to load. Andre takes the cake with the best shot in the video! Watch him take a wave to the face in slow motion. The expression on his face made me laugh every time when editing the video. Enjoy!

Thats all for now, but more to come!

~Seth Tonsmeire

July in Idaho

For our July 19th Middle Fork Salmon date the water was still great for all the rapids, but had also slowed down enough to significantly help out the fishing. Great whitewater, fishing, hot springs, hiking, relaxing around camp, inflatable kayaking, paddle boating, beautiful waterfalls, and just being out in the wilderness with friends and family made this a great trip for everyone!

We had a great bunch of people this week on the Middle Fork! A mix group from all over. David Bohm brought his two sons Joe and Eric. The Bohm crew has been on multiple trips with WRO and are always great to have back. Many fish were caught at the hands of this family. Mimi and daughter Rebecca, also part of the Bohm group were really fun the have along. Mimi was great in the inflatable kayak! Rebecca was a strong player in the paddle boat as well as the kayaks, and always had a smile on her face! Big Cal, Jeff, and Meghan brought a lot of great river experience to the trip and were a true pleasure to have along. Jeff playing the guitar around camp was awesome. Paul and Anthony were great to have along as well. Anthony kept Henry challenged with evening chess matches throughout the trip. Ted and Trillis were a couple of Idaho locals from Challis that joined us for this one. Ted said the Middle Fork was on his list for 28 years and was super excited to finally get it checked off. At the end of the six days Ted was ready to continue on down the Main Salmon on an 11-day trip!

Hope you enjoyed some of the photos from this great trip! There are many more photos that can be seen on our Flickr gallery. There is also a WRO facebook gallery with photos from this trip as well. Below is a short video I put together from some GoPro action footage Henry and myself took throughout the trip. Enjoy!

More photos and videos coming soon from other summer trips.

~Seth Tonsmeire

June Water July Weather!!!

Fire Island Camp photo: Seth Tonsmeire

Well summer finally decided to show up in Idaho! With the huge snowpack and the cool spring, we are now running on June water with July weather, which is a real treat. We launched on July 3rd at 5.5 ft on the Middle Fork Lodge gauge. Last year we launched with that flow in early June! The water is clear and the rapids are awesome right now. The fishing is also starting to pick up as well. This is going to be an incredible year for late July and August trips on the Middle Fork Salmon.

Go Pro Action Shot photo: Seth Tonsmeire

For this July 3rd trip, we had the Baker family and friends trip. A trip we always look forward to here at WRO. Having taken many of this crew on previous river trip, it feels like a trip with old friends from day one. The Baker family first started coming on trips with WRO in 1996, and have been coming back ever since! With talk of an Alsek or Tat trip in 2013, the Baker family will also be added to the WRO Grand Slam Club. This was their second Middle Fork Salmon trip on July 3rd. With the higher water levels though, there were many comments about how the river seemed totally different from last time.

The weather was incredible! Hot and sunny for almost the entire trip. The second to last day we did have some cloud cover, but it was welcomed after serval hot and sunny days in a row. The hot springs were a huge hit as always with this crew. We took serval short hikes to water falls in the lower canyon that were definitely a high light for everyone! Wine around the campfire in the evenings was also a very much enjoyed by the group. At 5.5 feet the rapids are great, and the Middle Fork has waves for miles and miles. Much of the upper end and well as the Jack Creek Canyon section were continuous wave trains of good fun. Velvet, Pistol, and Cove Creek were definitely some of the biggest rapids of the trip, providing good excitement!

Chair Circle at Survey Camp photo: Seth Tonsmeire

More photos from this trip can be viewed on the WRO Flickr Gallery. If you would like to download any of the photos, that can be done from Flickr as well. If you are a member of Yahoo, you can even order prints from Flickr. Enjoy! Check out the video below from the trip as well. There is also a facebook gallery of some of the best photos from this trip. Feel free to share with your friends!

More trips are coming up in the near further, so check back for more WRO updates on the blog.

Thats all for now!

~Seth Tonsmeire

Spring Time

Rafts Entering Bruneau Canyon photo: Seth Tonsmeire

Spring has finally hit Idaho in full swing. Wildflowers are in full bloom, trees are budded, many seasonal birds are showing up, the snow is receding, and the rivers are on the rise! Snowpack in Idaho is still well above average across the state. It always depends on how the snow comes off, but it is looking like a year for great water late into the summer months.

Bruneau Canyon photo: Seth Tonsmeire

We ran our first trip of the season last week on the Bruneau River. With water levels pushing into flood stage we decided to go to plan B and skip the Jarbidge section and put in for the Bruneau only. When rafting in the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness you always need to be ready for plan B. The Owyhee and Bruneau Rivers are some of the most beautiful and intimate river canyons in the west, and remain that way because of their logistical complications. Those who work through these challenges are rewarded with the ultimate wilderness experience!

Desert Sunsest photo: Seth Tonsmeire

After pushing through the class V put in of the Bruneau River road the trip was under way. Taking away the upper section of the trip allowed for more time to hike and explore the impressive Bruneau River canyon. By the time the group reached Five Mile rapid, the whitewater finish the last day, the water had dropped below flood stage, but Five Mile rapid still provided much whitewater excitement!

“I’ve been on 53 different remote rivers in my life and let me tell you: If you ever want to take a trip with river outfitters who are safe, knowledgeable, affable, fun, and awesome cooks, try floating the Bruneau River with Wilderness River Outfitters. Like me, when your trip is done, you’ll have more than enough memories from just this one river to decorate your mental scrapbook for the rest of your life.” -Mark Lawson 2011

Further North, people have started running the Middle Fork and Main Salmon in the last couple weeks. Those rivers are starting their rise to the spring high water peak. The Owyhee and Bruneau rivers in the Southern Idaho desert are on their way down now, but still have great flows for rafting and definitely above average for this time of year! With much snow still piled in the mountains, these southern rivers are looking to run later than usual this year.

Over the next couple weeks we will start getting into the main part of our river season and are looking forward to seeing everyone planning on joining us for this great water year!

~ Seth Tonsmeire

The New Website is Live

With our new website came a new blog. The main WRO blog will now be within the new website. I will probably still post on this blog from time to time as well though. Visit the new website at www.wildernessriver.com.

Thanks,

Seth Tonsmeire

New Website Coming Soon!

Screenshot of New Site

This winter we have been in the process of rebuilding our current website. All the time and effort is about to pay off. Look for the new site to go live in the next week or two. Many new photos and videos to check out!

Music on the Main

Lil' Smokies in Action!

Exciting News! This coming summer we are offering the first WRO river trip with live music on the Main Salmon. Several members of The Lil' Smokies, a popular bluegrass/folk band from Missoula, Montana will be joining us on our August 17th Main Salmon trip. Their style ranges from traditional to progressive newgrass. While a treat to watch any time, we think that bringing them to play with the stunning backdrop of the Salmon River Canyon is taking it to another level. Check out The Lil' Smokies music on MySpace and see for yourself!

Take this scene: Add in a beautiful big Main Salmon beach, yourself enjoying a glass of wine and delicious food, and you have Music on the Main!

Why not make something that is already great even better? We did just that. Matt Cornette is one of the musicians in the band The Lil' Smokies. In addition to being a talented musician he is also a renowned chef at The Red Bird, one of Missoula's finest restaurants. Check out all the great reviews on Yelp! Matt will be planning the dinner menu on this special trip and treating your taste buds to incredible flavors and fine dining style. With a fine dining menu, fine wines, and great music; this trip is going to be hard to beat!

Call or email for more information. This trip may sell out quick. If this sounds like the trip for you, we recommend reserving your spot soon!

Contact Information

RSVP this event on facebook, and invite your friends!