In July 2022, we went on a 6-day rafting trip on the Main Salmon River with O.A.R.S. and Sue’s two sisters, Carol and Penny, joined us. Our trip started with a pre-trip meeting in McCall, ID the night before our put-in, when we got to meet our trip leader, Hannah Stevens, and the rest of the guests. The next morning we were due to fly from McCall to Salmon, but due to a closure at the McCall airport, we ended up shuttling down to Cascade and flying from there. After a one-hour flight over the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, we arrived in Salmon and boarded a bus that would take us to the put-in at Corn Creek. We made a quick stop at the North Fork General Store for soda and beer and settled in for a 90 minute drive down the Salmon River Road. After listening to a safety briefing and having lunch, we finally boarded the boats at 2:30 PM. We had the choice of oar rafts, a paddle raft, or a dory, and we chose an oar raft for the first day. The action started right away, with Killum and Gunbarrel Rapids, and the highlight was Rainier Rapid just before we stopped at Alder Creek campsite for the night.

Day 2 started with a great breakfast of made-to-order omelets and croissants, followed by the kayak test. There were three inflatable kayaks (duckies) that we could use on the trip, as long we passed the test, which involved flipping yourself out of the kayak, holding on to your paddle, and then getting back into the kayak. I passed the test, so opted to use one of the duckies for the day. Since my hands were busy with paddling, I didn’t get any pictures, but I sure had fun. Right out of camp we ran the Alder Creek Rapid (Class III) and I learned that the ducky will go through almost anything, as long as you stay square to the waves. That was followed by Lantz Rapid and a bunch of fun Class II rapids. When we stopped to scout Black Creek Rapid (Class IV), Jack pointed out the route, and I decided to give it a try. And thus I joined the Salmon River Swim Club – I was still in the kayak after the first big wave, but the second one tossed me right out! I smacked my right leg pretty good on a submerged rock, so got a little first aid at lunch and opted to ride in the back of the dory for the rest of the day. We stopped at Magpie Creek campsite, set up in a nice shady spot, and Sue went fishing while I got more first aid.

Day 3 was Whitewater Day! One of the reasons we decided to do the Main Salmon trip is that one of the boat choices is a dory and we wanted to try that out. And to get the true experience, I got us the front seats on the dory for whitewater day. We ran Bailey Rapid (class III) right out of camp and Hannah gave us a wild ride. We also had fun runs on Big Mallard (III-IV) and Elkhorn (III-IV). Along the way, we saw bighorn sheep down by the water trying to stay cool. We stopped at Rhett Creek campsite, where we were greeted by seagulls on the beach and more bighorn sheep in the meadow. The campsite was baking in the sun, so there were lots of water antics all afternoon and Sue even did some fishing.

On Day 4, I chose to ride in the paddle boat, so didn’t get to take very many pictures while we were on the river. In the morning, we stopped at Buckskin Bill’s and enjoyed a root beer float! The wind came up in the afternoon, so we had to do a lot of paddling and were very thankful when we arrived at Swimming Hole campsite. True to its name, there was a great swimming hole that most of us enjoyed. On Day 5, I opted for the paddle boat again, so I didn’t get to take any pictures. We had a fun run of Chittam Rapid and then surfed a wave in Vinegar Creek Rapid and I almost got lifted out of the boat. After lunch, I switched to a kayak and enjoyed paddling through lots of splashy rapids. And on our last day, we caught a ride in Rosie’s oar raft and had a fun final day on the river.