Wildflowers and brown water on the Middle Fork in May! May is not a time you usually find yourself on a Middle Fork commercial trip. With the Owyhee snowpack and water levels well below normal this spring, we looked for other options to offer people who were hoping to run the Owyhee. Most people opted to wait for another shot at the Owyhee next year. Bill and Beau Bush, long time clients and friends here at WRO, decided they wanted to still go on a trip even though the Owyhee didn’t work out. After looking at possible options, they decided on the Middle Fork Salmon.
May is a great time to be out on the Middle Fork! In Idaho the weather in May is usually the only variable you worry about when heading out for a six-day trip. This week we hit exceptional weather! We were all prepared for possible snow showers and rainy days, but instead we had hot and sunny days that felt like July!
Arrowleaf Balsm Root flowers cover the Middle Fork in May.
With the water rising ever day as a result of the warmer weather, we were able to quickly cover miles on the river. We were able to enjoy two lay over days and had lots of time for side activities, which made for a very relaxing trip! On our side hikes we identified many wildflowers and the flowers we didn’t recognize we picked a specimen and looked it up in the flower book when we got back to camp. With the hillsides covered in yellow Arrowleaf Balsm Root and purple Lupine, it was like floating through a 2.4 million acre wildflower garden in the Frank Church Wilderness!
Middle Fork Salmon Gauge at Middle Fork Lodge: it’s starting to rise!
On this trip, we were able to spend a lot of time exploring the waterfalls of the Impassable Canyon. With the hot spring days and rapid snowmelt, the waterfalls were running at full pour! Mist Falls and the Grotto were especially beautiful with the increased flow. We also stopped to check out the impressive Sheepeater pictographs at Stoddard Creek the last day before we ran some fun whitewater in the last 10 miles of the canyon.
Sheepeater Pictographs at Stoddard Creek
I hope you enjoyed some of the photos and video from this early Middle Fork trip and please check back as the normal Middle Fork Salmon season starts to pick up in June!
These are a few photos from the last two years that I’ve added quotes to. We have recently been posting these and other similar photos on the WRO facebook page. If you are a facebooker, make sure to subscribe to our page to keep a little whitewater in your news feed!
Lava North on the Alsek River, photo: Elizabeth Tosnmeire
I thought this quote from Emma Smith would be a good fit for many photos. I decided to include it on this particular photo because on the Alsek there are many moments when the river sweeps you gently along, but every once in awhile there are rapids that seem to come out of nowhere.
The rapid in this photo is Lava North. After crossing Lowell Lake, a mellow float (if the wind isn’t blowing) through giant icebergs, you enter a very swift section with a few big rapids, including Lava North. Standing on the shore looking out over this massive rapid with holes hiding in the grey glacial water large enough to swallow a bus, Lava North is a rapid that will certainly get any boatman’s heart pumping.
Also check out a short video I made from our Alsek trip in 2012… The small amount of footage from Lava North certainly does not do it justice!
We usually scout this rapid from both sides of the river, often revealing very different observations. At first glance, you know river right is to be avoided at all costs, even large oar boats will not stand a chance on the right, but even after realizing this, the puzzle is still far from solved…
In 2012, I ran a line I had never run before. In years past I had been making a left cut after entering the rapid, trying to stay as close to the bank as possible. When scouting it last year the gravel bar looked as if it had shifted from years past, and I made my choice to run a line I never really liked the looks of before…a run left of center. The risk is extremely high in Lava North, so we often ask our guests to walk around this rapid. Keith was sharing a boat with John Griffith as a training trip on his first Alsek trip. John agreed he would walk around with the guests and Keith would run Lava North along with myself. Since there are melting icebergs in the lake not even four miles upstream, leaving this water a bone chilling 34 degrees, we put on our dry suits to prepare for the worse case scenario. Once you enter this rapid, suddenly you accelerate scary fast for being in a 16 foot raft! Once your in Lava North it’s extremely hard to keep your bearings. When you see the monster holes pass on the right and pass the large flip-potential haystack wave on your left, you’re feeling good, but it’s not over yet. It’s all about keeping your boat strait as you enter into the very large crashing waves that make up the run out of this long rapid. It’s like riding an icy roller-coaster!
When the waves start to shrink, it’s time to pull as hard as I can for the left bank where we pick up our walking friends. Looking back up river watching Keith’s boat disappearing behind every wave, then bust through the top of the next was awesome. Once I got pulled over, and tied up my boat I noticed my hands were shaking as the flood of adrenaline finished dispersing through my body. As Keith pulled over I could tell, he was feeling the rush of the experience as well. After some high fives we shared similar stories as we waited for John and the guests to show up. After a short float down to camp, a cold celebratory beverage was in order!
Bruneau River Canyon, photos: Seth Tonsmeire
Further south and with a much a earlier run off, a place of equal adventure lays in the Idaho desert. The Jarbidge Bruneau River cuts through an ancient caldera volcano, giving us an incredible cross section through this areas eruptive geologic history. Driving to the river always surprises people, especially coming in for the 4-day Bruneau only at Indian Hot Springs, which requires a 4WD mission. You drive out across this flat grassland desert for miles and miles. As you start to near the canyon, you realize there is a slice of rock missing out of the middle of this flat desert landscape. This canyon was formed from the river eating away at the rock over the last 19 million years! In the bottom of this slice lays the exciting class IV whitewater of the Jarbidge Bruneau River. Breath taking canyon scenery and the whitewater to match it!
Main Salmon Whitewater, photo: Seth Tonsmeire
Bill Rinehimer came out for a Main Salmon trip with a bunch of friends a few years back. The whole group was very into the inflatable kayaks. I took the opportunity to take lots of photos of these guys. This shot of Bill in Five Mile is one of my favorites from the week. This quote is from Barry Lopez, the renown author of books such as Arctic Dreams, and I thought is was fitting for the kayak shot of Bill getting up close and personal with the Main Salmon.
I hope you enjoyed these photos, quotes, and stories. Make sure to subscribe to the WRO facebook page for more whitewater in your news feed!
For Halloween here at the WRO office we decided to dress up Iris’s dog Zephyr as a throw rope! It took a little persuasion for this miniature Australian shepherd to agree it was a good idea, but nothing a few treats couldn’t take care of.
Many of you that joined us in 2012 on the Middle Fork Salmon will remember Ryan Casey. He joined the WRO crew last season and brings un-paralleled whitewater experience to the table. Ryan has raft guided in the past but is known for his exceptional kayaking ability! The Stikine River of British Columbia is a classic of the North America for Class V+ expedition kayaking. Only a select few kayaking groups venture into the Stikine each year. Thanks to Ryan for sharing some pictures and words from his adventure this fall!
Group Shot at the Put In: Ben Hawthorne, Ryan Casey, Brian Ward and Cooper Lambla
Loaded CRV!
Our trip consisted of four members, Cooper Lambla, Bryan Ward, Ben Hawthorne and myself. It was my fourth time, Ben’s third time, Brian’s second time and Cooper’s first time. We drove there in two days about 36 hours from Stanley. Splitting shifts driving was not too hard mentally but physically cramped after being in a little Honda CRV for that long. The hardest part of the drive for me was knowing what lies ahead after we put on. Our group put on with about 14,000 cfs and about a 90% chance of rain. We had a little over an inch of rain throughout the first two days and by evening day 2 we had clear skies. By morning day three the water level had risen to a high level of about 18,000-19,000 cfs. At this point there is no great egress except by river. The hike out would be insane, roughly 40 miles through coastal British Colombia’s thick forest over rugged terrain and a three thousand foot scramble just to make it up to the top of the canyon rim. Luckily I had seen similar water levels on my previous trips and knew we were still within tolerances for levels. The Stikine is unparalleled in terms of commitment, difficulty and beauty. Each day holds at least one rapid where the canyon walls make portaging impossible and one is forced to run class V+. At only about 60 miles and three days car to car it is not the longest, but it sure might be the best river trip I have ever done.
Entrance Falls Stikine River
Scouting V-Drive
Cooper Entering V-Drive
We hope you enjoyed some of the picture from Ryan as much as we did. We are excited to have Ryan on the WRO team and look forward to getting him back on the river for a full season next year!
We had a great mixed group on our July 3rd date this year! Three different families and two father daughters to make up a group of sixteen. Everyone from the group met for the first time in Stanley, but quickly became new friends on day one.
Boats coming through the Chutes Rapid
The England Family
The Copeland Family enjoying Sun Flower Hot Springs
Everyone enjoying the shower at Veil down below!
Jeff and Emily, Sarah Beth and Willie, Lewis with nice fish, Chris Polk, Erin Copeland ready for the river!
Big Horn Sheep Lambs
More pictures from this great trip can be viewed on the WRO Flickr Gallery. The video by Matt can also be watched directly on our youtube channel.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures!
A note from Iris in the office:
On June 25th I had the opportunity to get out of the office for a week and go on my first commercial river trip with Wilderness River Outfitters. We launched at Boundary Creek with a group of 5 guests (including myself) and 4 guides. For the guests Tom, Leeanne, Luke and Jen this was their first Middle Fork Trip. Tom and Leeanne both came on the trip alone, but we all quickly became friends.
Ryan Casey with Luke and Jen. Photo: Seth Tonsmeire
The morning of the 27th Tony Smith, our 5th guide, and Tommy Harrell’s group of 9 guys flew into Thomas Creek to join us. What a great group of guys…the four girls on the trip referred to them as “True Southern Gentlemen from Louisiana.” Tommy Harrell has been a long time customer of Wilderness River Outfitters and has gone on many of their river trips over the years. Dicky had also been on trips with WRO. The rest of their friends they recruited for their first trip with WRO. After a quick introduction with the new members of our group we were back on the river.
Tony leading the paddle boat. Photo: Seth Tonsmeire
Pepper with Matt and Jason. Photo: Seth Tonsmeire
For the next four days we enjoyed getting to know each other, many laughs, and sunny weather. The water was at a great level and the splashes were refreshing.
We took several hikes to a hot springs, an old mine, some Native American pictographs, and several beautiful waterfalls. We had the pleasure of learning about Uncle Earl’s Hog Dog Trials in Winnfield, LA from the President himself (Matt)…This was fascinating to us Idahoans who had never heard of such a thing. Seth led a hike from the Grassy 1 campsite to the top of a hill behind the campsite that gave us an amazing view of the river in both directions.
Louisiana Crew on the Grassy Hike Photo: Seth Tonsmeire
Group at Cradle. Photo: Seth Tonsmeire
We celebrated the last evening with a boat party at Cradle. Most people braved the cold water and jumped in for a quick swim. With great people it truly was the best way to spend the last week of June, which also happened to be the first week of summer! We hope you all can join us for another trip!
The Group on the Last Day. 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! Some of the best pictures from the trip will also be on our facebook. Feel free to share with your friends!
With the river season starting to slow down in Idaho, I now have time to sit down at the computer and actually look through some of the photos I took throughout the season. June seems like a long time ago, thinking back to when the Middle Fork Salmon was still running pretty high. These days the Middle Fork is just a trickle of those early spring flows. Here are a few of my favorite photos from those first two trips in June. Also guide Matt Westfall put together an awesome short film from the June 16th trip.
Jim Stohlquist kayaking through Marble Rapid
We had special guest Jim Stohlquist of Stohlquist Water Ware along as a kayaker on our June 16th trip. It was fun to hear and see some of the new Stohlquist gear in the prototype stages. Their new dry suits look really nice!
Since our first commercial trip on the Middle Fork Salmon on June 16th, I have been on the go! I started the season off right with a few great Middle Fork trips in a row. We have been having a busy season in Idaho and Montana.
After working three really fun Middle Fork trips it was time to head north for the grand Upper Alsek. The Alsek is a place of true wilderness and adventure! There are very few places that still have that wild feel that make you feel as small and insignificant as a piece of sand blowing in the wind. We had a small group on the Alsek this year, but the trip could not have been more perfect. We had a few windy days, but other than that the weather was unbeatable! To not have to wear your rain gear until the last day of the trip is pretty unusual for a 12-day trip in Canada and Alaska. I took tons of photos and video on the trip and can’t wait to share them when things start to slow down this fall. I have only had short windows of time, just enough to empty my camera card to the hard drive in between trips. Editing an Alsek video is in order as soon as the season is over.
After returning from the north, it was right back onto the Middle Fork Salmon. I did two quick back to back trips and the trailer is packed for another. This time it is a Middle Main Combo trip for myself, looking forward to spending 11-days in the Idaho wilderness. The last few 6-day trips have been great, but looking forward to a longer trip this round.
Iris has been trying to help post some of my photos on the WRO Flickr gallery as well as the WRO facebook page. If you are looking for photos of your trip and they are not up yet, sorry for the delay, but computer time has been very limited the last two months.
July 3-8 Middle Fork Salmon Trip. Photo: Seth Tonsmeire
Hope you enjoyed a few of the photos I have taken this season so far. Many more to come when I get a little more time. That’s all for now!
WRO guide Ryan Casey wins the first year of the North Fork Championship! This is an extreme kayak race down the North Fork of the Payette River in Idaho, probably one the hardest roadside whitewater sections in the country. The race was held in a rapid named Jakobs Ladder, often regarded as the single most challenging rapid in this impressive section of whitewater. Pro-kayakers came from far and wide to compete in this impressive event. It was awesome to see a local Idaho favorite take first place in the race and claim the $4000 cash prize! The competition was very stout, but Ryan’s years of experience on the North Fork showed in this incredible race. This event truly is a big deal, and has qualified Ryan to compete with the World Whitewater Grand Prix in Chile this coming December. Check out a write up on the North Fork Championship by Canoe and Kayak Magazine.
I decided I did not want to miss the first year of this epic event. So I packed up my camping gear and headed for the Payettes. I did not get on the water at all, but sure had fun spectating the race and taking pictures of a few friends that competed in the Elite Division. I hope you enjoy a few of the photos I took over the weekend!
Ryan Casey
Here is a little more info on new WRO guide, Ryan Casey. Ryan is no stranger to Idaho whitewater and river trips! Ryan grew up in the Wood River Valley of Idaho near Sun Valley, and then moved to Colorado to attend Rocky Mountain High School. He attended University of Vermont on a Nordic Skiing scholarship, where he received a degree in Food Science with a focus in Sports Nutrition. Ryan has been an avid kayaker most of his life chasing rivers around the globe. His kayaking adventures have led him to places like Madagascar, Russia, Canada, Norway, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, France, and not to mention many rivers across the US. Ryan spent 10 years raft guiding on the Salmon River near Stanley, Idaho. Ryan also teaches swiftwater rescue courses with Rapid Action Rescue. With over 20 years of playing and working on the river, he has un-paralleled whitewater experience! Ryan spends his winters ski patrolling at Sun Valley Ski Resort in Idaho, with this other job comes high levels of Outdoor Emergency Care. It’s easy to pick out who Ryan is because he probably the only person around that is nearly 7 feet tall!
Ryan Casey
Middle Fork Salmon season has started! Check back for more photos throughout the summer river season…
For most of early May, the temperatures were high and the snow was melting. As a result, all the river gauges around Idaho were spiking and the rivers ran bank full. Having spent a lot of the winter in the office, I knew it was time to get out and enjoy the melting snow. We rounded up a few friends and headed for Stanley. With the road into Boundary Creek still deep under snow, we put in on Marsh Creek to access the Middle Fork Salmon and the Frank Church Wilderness. Marsh Creek is really fun in itself with some great whitewater excitement before you reach Boundary Creek or the Middle Fork Salmon proper.
Beautiful day in the Impassable Canyon on the Middle Fork photo: Iris Conrad
Bill and I entering Dagger Falls photo: Iris Conrad
The first night we camped at Dagger Falls, just above Boundary Creek launch site. Dagger Falls is the biggest rapid on the Middle Fork and a popular place to watch Salmon jumping as they migrate up river during summer months. On this spring day, Dagger was full of water and was not an obstacle for fish, but was for us in our raft and kayaks. There is always the option of carrying all your equipment around the rapid and continuing on your way as a normal Middle Fork trip would, passing Boundary Creek just below Dagger. After scouting it for awhile, I decided if my friend Bill Blackadar (who was already trying to talk me into running it), wanted to ride with me for a little extra punching power in the boat, we would go for it! His girlfriend Erin waited around the corner in her kayak for safety in case things went south and we needed help below the rapid. Iris took the camera and Bill and I made our way back to my 12’5″ foot Avon Explore waiting in the eddy above. As soon as you pass under the bridge, there is no turning back! Two friends, one small raft, and one large rapid is a recipe for a good adrenaline rush. Before you get into the real rapid, you have to negotiate the swirly waters of the tight entry gorge. Hoping when you get through there, you are still where you wanted to be. As I tapped my oar on the left cliff right above the drop, I knew we were right on the line we had discussed. From there on, it’s just keeping the boat straight and taking the three punches from Dagger. We rounded to corner in high spirits as we were both in the boat and it was black side down! After we loaded a few bags that we had carried around, we floated passed the Boundary Creek launch site. As you enter the fun waves at First Bend Rapid, it’s another great high water Middle Fork day…
Good excitement in the middle of Dagger! photo: Iris Conrad
We made it through the main drop of Dagger! photo: Iris Conrad
The Middle Fork Lodge Gauge was reading about 5’5″ feet throughout our weekend trip, which is a really fun high water level on the Middle Fork Salmon. It was a great four day trip with cloudless skies and warm weather on our own private river. We only saw two other people the entire trip, and they were on a self -support kayak trip. We first ran into them at Dagger campground and after that we boated a fair amount of the river with our new friends. So after they pretty much joined our group, I guess you could say we didn’t see anyone else on our 115 mile trip. The hillsides were yellow with the arrowleaf balsamroot in full bloom! Spring is such a beautiful time in Idaho. To have four cloudless days in early May is unusual and very lucky!
The last big hit in Dagger Falls! photo: Iris Conrad
After a trip like this, it makes you even more excited for the commercial river season to begin. Which if you're me, this means many more river miles and much less computer time in the days ahead. This puts a smile on my face! For those of you joining us this summer, I look forward to sharing something very special to me with all of you… and it’s not too late to still make plans for a trip this summer if you need a break from your “real world”.
Arrowleaf Balsamroot photo: Seth Tonsmeire
Check back for many more photos and river stories from the upcoming river season.
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