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!

Local Bread on the River!

Store Front in Salmon, Idaho.

This past spring the Odd Fellows’ Bakery opened up here is Salmon Idaho. Craig McCallum has been the driving force behind the bakery since its infancy. He spent much of last winter working to get store construction finished, as well as building the wood fired oven. It was exciting to watch progress and see the doors open in the spring of 2010.

All the bread that the bakery serves is baked in the wood fired oven. They build a fire right in the oven. When the optimal temperature is reached the ash and coals are swept out and the oven is ready for action. They offer a variety of different specialty breads, sandwich breads, muffins, scones, and much more.

Wood Fired Oven.

Fresh Sesame Seed Bread.

Their delicious bread fits into our river menu in several different ways. We like to serve at least one loaf of their bread on sandwich days at lunch. Dinner breads are also a great fit. Last summer the Odd Fellows’ Garlic Bread received great reviews on our trips. The whole garlic cloves baked into the bread, creates a flavor that is hard to beat! I remember one comment about the garlic bread at Lower Bull on the Main Salmon, something along the lines of, “this is the best bread I have ever had.”

More Fresh Bread.

With the bread baked from natural and some local ingredients, supporting a local small business, helping build a sustainable local community and economy, and the plain fact that the bread is delicious, it’s a no brainier to serve it on the river! We are proud to serve Odd Fellows’ bread on both our Middle Fork of the Salmon and the Main Salmon trips.

Craig McCallum, one of the proud owners of Odd Fellows' Bakery.

Seth Tonsmeire