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!