Middle Fork of the Salmon River
Location - Idaho
Difficulty - Class III-IV Length - 110 miles
Level - 6 feet and stable Date - May 2008
Difficulty - Class III-IV Length - 110 miles
Level - 6 feet and stable Date - May 2008
| Click one of the blue links below to see reports from each day of our trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. |
Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon River is considered by some to be one of
the best multi day float trips in the world. Boaters jump at the chance to run
the river as permits are tightly regulated by a lottery process that requires
submitting an application months in advance. This national wild and scenic
river passes through a spectacularly rugged landscape in the heart of the
wild and remote Frank Church Wilderness. Along the way numerous class IV
rapids and picture perfect hot springs are encountered as the Middle Fork
grows from a tiny alpine stream to a large river in a semi arid region of the
state. At high flows the Middle Fork boasts some truly impressive whitewater
and paddlers need to be well equipped to deal with the continuous rapids
and uncertain weather. The following trip report is from my first time down
the Middle Fork at a healthy springtime flow. It is a trip I won;t soon forget.
When the end of January came around I saw an email from the Four Rivers
Lottery and eagerly opened it, hoping that my application for a permit on one
of Idaho’s coveted multi day runs was successful. Not surprisingly, all three
of my choices were denied. Similar tales of whoa came tricked in from the
rest of my friends and we just accepted the there would be no runs down any
of Idaho’s permitted rivers this season. Then, in the middle of February, a
mass email from our friend Scott came out saying that he had just noticed he
had been mailed a letter saying that he had drawn a permit for the Middle
Fork of the Salmon River. I immediately checked how many vacation days I
had and signed on to the trip.
the best multi day float trips in the world. Boaters jump at the chance to run
the river as permits are tightly regulated by a lottery process that requires
submitting an application months in advance. This national wild and scenic
river passes through a spectacularly rugged landscape in the heart of the
wild and remote Frank Church Wilderness. Along the way numerous class IV
rapids and picture perfect hot springs are encountered as the Middle Fork
grows from a tiny alpine stream to a large river in a semi arid region of the
state. At high flows the Middle Fork boasts some truly impressive whitewater
and paddlers need to be well equipped to deal with the continuous rapids
and uncertain weather. The following trip report is from my first time down
the Middle Fork at a healthy springtime flow. It is a trip I won;t soon forget.
When the end of January came around I saw an email from the Four Rivers
Lottery and eagerly opened it, hoping that my application for a permit on one
of Idaho’s coveted multi day runs was successful. Not surprisingly, all three
of my choices were denied. Similar tales of whoa came tricked in from the
rest of my friends and we just accepted the there would be no runs down any
of Idaho’s permitted rivers this season. Then, in the middle of February, a
mass email from our friend Scott came out saying that he had just noticed he
had been mailed a letter saying that he had drawn a permit for the Middle
Fork of the Salmon River. I immediately checked how many vacation days I
had and signed on to the trip.
The Middle Fork of the Salmon is one of the nation’s top multi day river trips and spots on trips can be hard to come by. Applicants have an 8%
chance of getting a permit and group sizes can vary. We had our first planning meeting several days later where a crew of about 15 folks had
gathered. This meeting was really helpful since some Middle Fork veterans were present and able to provide valuable information to those that
were interested in the trip. First of all, we realized that we would need to find some rafters if we did not want to self support the trip. Gabe is the only
one from our core group that owns a raft and rows class IV, but he expressed hesitation about getting on the river with his boat if the levels were
high or of the forecast suggested quickly rising flows. High water warning were echoed by Steve who had previously made the run at 7.5 feet.
Adding to the complication of having rafters along would be accessing the river. Generally rafters put on the river at Boundary Creek, but snow
often leaves the access road blocked until the middle of June, forcing parties to run down Marsh Creek, adding 17 miles of fast and continuous
class III-IV whitewater to the trip.
Marsh Creek makes rafters nervous, not because of its difficulty, but because eddies are scarce and the alpine river can have a tendency to collect
logs which could easily block the whole river. In the past river wide strainers have caused mass carnage resulting in lost gear and lost lives. By mid
April it became clear that the road to Boundary Creek would most likely be closed and that water levels would probably be quite high. All hopes of
having rafters along faded away and we decided to make the trip a kayak self support journey. Once we decided to self support people began to
drop like flies until there were only four of us committed to the trip. The team would consist of Scott Bridgham, Steve Stuckmeyer, Ken Hutchinson,
and myself.
chance of getting a permit and group sizes can vary. We had our first planning meeting several days later where a crew of about 15 folks had
gathered. This meeting was really helpful since some Middle Fork veterans were present and able to provide valuable information to those that
were interested in the trip. First of all, we realized that we would need to find some rafters if we did not want to self support the trip. Gabe is the only
one from our core group that owns a raft and rows class IV, but he expressed hesitation about getting on the river with his boat if the levels were
high or of the forecast suggested quickly rising flows. High water warning were echoed by Steve who had previously made the run at 7.5 feet.
Adding to the complication of having rafters along would be accessing the river. Generally rafters put on the river at Boundary Creek, but snow
often leaves the access road blocked until the middle of June, forcing parties to run down Marsh Creek, adding 17 miles of fast and continuous
class III-IV whitewater to the trip.
Marsh Creek makes rafters nervous, not because of its difficulty, but because eddies are scarce and the alpine river can have a tendency to collect
logs which could easily block the whole river. In the past river wide strainers have caused mass carnage resulting in lost gear and lost lives. By mid
April it became clear that the road to Boundary Creek would most likely be closed and that water levels would probably be quite high. All hopes of
having rafters along faded away and we decided to make the trip a kayak self support journey. Once we decided to self support people began to
drop like flies until there were only four of us committed to the trip. The team would consist of Scott Bridgham, Steve Stuckmeyer, Ken Hutchinson,
and myself.
