Middle Fork of the Main Salmon - July, 2013

         Dave and I just finished a trip we have looked forward to for months.  We were so excited to be invited again with a group we met last year through some mutual friends.  We felt really spoiled to get to go.  We had plenty of time to get to know everyone better and make some great memories while floating one of the ten best rivers in the world, the Middle Fork of the Main Salmon in Idaho.  Our group has been rafting together for almost twenty years and have everything dialed.  Setting up and taking down camp was always quick and easy as everyone brought their own gear to contribute.  With 12 boats the boats were light and fast.  

          I rowed my cutthroat and Dave rowed Caleb and Isaac on his boat.  The three of them became good friends and I loved seeing them be drawn to him even in camp.  As he would tell stories they would show up and find a seat close to him.  Caleb said at the end of the week he was sad it was over because he wouldn't see Dave anymore.  Caleb also said to me one day, "Do you know what Dave said to me?  You know what I love about you....everything." (super cute), Dave said they were able to have great discussions as the week progressed and the boys really opened up to him.

       So onto the trip......  It was a busy week, we have always done this river pre or post season when the water is either really low or high and the weather is unpredictable.  It was surprising how busy the put in was and the crowd that gathered, seven groups were launching that day.  
       All of the campsites were beautiful and scenic with tall pine trees and towering cliffs surrounding us.  We had a relaxing night at one camp hanging out in the hot spring.  We also had a creek running through another campsite which was nice to park our chairs in and keep our feet in the cold water.  The weather was hot with a small rainstorm thrown in for a few minutes.  Dave and I hiked to the top of a huge peak and literally pulled ourselves straight up the face of it by hanging onto branches.  I was "smart" and wore my chacos.  This was a huge mistake as I painfully made my way down foot by foot, shaking out sharp pebbles with each step on the way down.  It was so steep and I found myself grabbing onto bushes to keep myself from falling just like I had done on the way up.  The view from the top was the best though and let's face it, the more suffering is involved the more memorable experiences are.  I was pretty irritated by the end of the hike until Dave let me have the iphone and I could listen to one of our favorite bands, Foster the People.  I think I was pretty tired at this point because I thought it would be funny/considerate to sing out loud to him for the remainder of the hike.   

           We had a lot of great conversations each night, everyone on the trip

 was so easy going and great to get along with.  I have officially decided that I think the middle fork is my favorite river though, Dave laughs because I say that after every river trip  I love that there is a rapid around almost every corner, it doesn't take forever to get to the put in, it's beautiful with the creeks and waterfalls flowing in, great wildlife (desert sheep, elk, geese, ducks, river otters) a trail that follows the river the whole way and all the history of those that lived on there years ago.

trips

Group of commercial boaters with dry bags in hands makes me happy we are floating our own boats, that is quite the crowd!

Total relaxation

Ben, Matt and Dan climbing up to see an old mining cave.

Last morning on the river.  Nobody is too excited to go home!

  

Running Velvet Falls, the name comes from it being a quiet rapid you don't know it's there until you're right on it.

Time to refill the water jugs.  It's nice to have this option so our boats can be lighter and not get hung up on as many rocks.   A water purifier works great too, but with the water being so brown this clean water looked pretty good.

Kathryn always looking back to make sure her kids make it through okay.

Hospital Bar hot spring

Hanging out before dinner, the water was really hot but just the right temperature when mixed with the cooler river water.

I hiked to the top of this hill for this early morning shot, not realizing the water had turned a muddy brown from some storms upstream, before this the water was crystal clear for two days.

View of Hospital Bar camp, the story in the guide book was that during the war soldiers were brought here to soak in the hot springs and be nursed back to health.

We really want to follow this family's example of teaching their kids to raft and row at a young age, so hopefully they will develop a passion for it too and it will be a family affair for us also.

Hanging out on a hot afternoon, you can see the two engaged love birds in the background. 

Feeling like we are on top of the world after a couple hours of climbing

View from on top of our hike just outside of camp, nice to have a view of where we're headed to in the morning.

Gwen, luckiest dog in the world.

Ice Cream break and water fill up at the ranch.

Boy scouts in the background made this shot not so awesome, they were pretty excited to get here before us to the extend they were trying to pass us through rapids which was weird....

Group Shot, sad to see the trip end but looking forward to seeing everyone again on the next trip.