Colorado River Rafting
Cataract Canyon rafting is an anomaly. Its rapids rank along with those of the Grand Canyon in power and difficulty. In fact, the river becomes unruly during the run off in May and June.
Salmon River Rafting
There is a green hole in the middle of Idaho. A spot refreshingly empty on your highway map. A place where pavement never was…and wild rivers still are…the Salmon River- The River of No Return.
By Derek Farr It’s a surprisingly common question: “Where’d the Salmon River get its name?” And the answer is simple. It’s named after Jack R. Salmon who was the first European to build a cabin on the river. NO! That’s not even close to true. It’s named for the fish – the indomitable salmon. It’s … Read more
by Julie Trevelyan Awesome rapids on the Salmon River! Gunbarrel, Devil’s Teeth, Split Rock, Bailey Falls, Big Mallard, Bodacious Bounce, Lorna’s Lulu, and more ensure plenty of fun whitewater. Great paddling sections for the kids! Flat, smooth parts of the river are perfect for the younger (or just more timid) adventurers to get out in an … Read more
By Derek Farr The real world exists. It always does. But when we reach the ramp at the put-in of the Main Salmon River, the real world might as well be one million miles away. Accordingly, the things that serve a purpose in the real world don’t always have a place on a river trip. … Read more
by Julie Trevelyan Captain Henry “Cap” Guleke was a gentle bear of a man. Idaho’s Salmon River was his one true love, and he rowed it as many as 200 times, ferrying passengers, gear, and supplies through both whitewater rapids and placid sections. Twisting its way through the deepest canyon in North America, the Salmon … Read more
By Derek Farr The recent human history of the Main Salmon River is fraught with peril and rich in failure. Two of the first European-Americans to enter the Salmon River Canyon were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. After seeing the canyon’s daunting rapids, the pair opted for an overland route to the Pacific. That was … Read more
by Julie Trevelyan Late in the 19th century, Jim Moore came to Idaho to chase the dream of gold. He ended up staying for a new dream of self-sufficiency along the generous banks of the Salmon River, where he led a simple, solitary life for over 40 years. Despite his quiet ways, he was known as a … Read more
by Julie Trevelyan Sold by her own father to bandits during a time of hardship (or so the story goes) and shipped from her homeland of China off to America’s wild west around 1871, an eighteen-year-old Chinese girl who spoke no English was an unlikely candidate to go down in Idaho river runner lore. But … Read more
By Derek Farr We called him Mouse. He was a rugged old raft guide who had logged enough river miles to circumnavigate the earth. Every morning, as we prepared our rafts, he slathered himself with a special “tanning oil” made from a secret mix of greasy elixirs that smelled like coconut gone bad. When he … Read more
by Julie K. Trevelyan The rivers of the west attract lots of interesting people, today as well as long ago. Some of the more colorful river characters made names for themselves via crazy exploits, daring exploration, or simply living by their own rules rather than those of society’s. Buckskin Bill, also known as “the last … Read more
By Derek Farr I’ve only flipped six rafts. Four of those I flipped on purpose – I’m not kidding, and two were complete mistakes. But all six flips have something in common: they all occurred in paddle boats. In other words, the rafts were full of people, not equipment and our propulsion was paddles, not … Read more