Trip Description: (June 19-28, 1999) The Middle Fork of the Salmon River originates northwest of Stanley, Idaho, with the merging of Bear Valley and Marsh Creeks. It traverses portions of the Challis, Payette, and Salmon National Forests as it flows 106 miles northeast through one of the deepest gorges in North America before joining the Salmon River. In 1968, the Middle Fork was one of the original eight rivers in the nation designated as Wild and Scenic. In July, 1980, the president of the United States established the "Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness", which encompasses this Wild and Scenic River in its entirety. It passes through a landscape of rugged peaks and deep valleys. Near its junction with the Main Salmon River are the Bighorn Crags, one of the most rugged and wild mountain ranges in the nation. Only a few trails, landing strips, private ranches, and Forest Service stations are evidence of man's presence. It is this combination of rugged scenic beauty, quiet isolation, frequent developed hot springs, and the challenge of wild water that irresistably draws people to float the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. The rafting difficulty level is Class III-IV during normal flows but some rapids become class V+ when the river is in flood. The trip usually starts at the Boundary Creek Launch Ramp near Stanley, Idaho but flood flows can make Marsh Creek at the highway an alternative put-in, allowing one to avoid snow-clogged roads. In July and August, lower water levels frequently necessitate a fly-in to Indian Creek. The trip difficulty is rated strenuous to extremely dangerous depending on water levels (S). Originates @ Stanley, ID.

Above Velvet Falls

In Fast Water

Trip Report:

Rigging eight rafts kept most of us busy that Sunday. Three of our group hiked as far as Velvet Falls and were fortunate to see other rafters run it. The word was that there was an eddy above it to scout from and there was a cheat route on the far river left behind the big rock. We prepared and ate our last supper, ensured everything was setup for the next day’s launch, securely tied up the rafts at the river, and went to bed with visions of unrelenting flows of water running through our dreams. The river was in super flood at 6.6 feet on the new gauge. The ranger told us the new gauge was uncalibrated and the USGS expected about a half-foot error so the flow in prior gauge measurement terms was closer to 7.0 feet. Everyone agreed that was something to think about but no one backed out.

We awoke the next day to the threat of inclimate weather. Pessimists would have read dire warnings from this change. With only boundlessly optimistic trip members, we finished loading and then listened to the ranger tell us why we were crazy to proceed. Her primary warning was “I wouldn’t run the river at this level”. Well, apparently the two commercial and three other private trips launching that day weren’t quite as concerned as she was. Were we all fools? Only time would tell.

The first six miles were a nightmare. The congestion had been so bad at the put-in there was no way to launch eight rafts at once so we launched in two waves with our four largest rafts first and the next four rafts five minutes later to create some space. We tried to proceed cautiously but the river ripped us into the main current and channeled us downstream at a frightening pace. The first obstacle was Murphy’s Hole where we planned to stay left. Hah! Screaming downriver, only our 18’ lead raft with Paul, our most experienced Middle Fork boatman, at the oars managed to pull this idea off. The next three big boats went through Murphy’s upright and all pulled into an extremely small eddy where the three boatmen took a much needed rest and caught their breath. Realizing our lead boat was out of sight downstream, we forced ourselves to pull out of the friendly eddy and continue on.

The first time we were able to regroup all eight boats was at the Velvet scout. Fortunately, we were able to get all of the rafts tied to shore without committing anyone to an unscouted run. At this time, we learned our small raft group had three out-of-boat experiences at Murphy’s but their boats had also stuck in its downstream eddy. The swimmers were able to crawl out on shore quickly and be picked up by others who made the undesired mid-hole run. We scouted Velvet and decided to break into several groups. We weren’t sure we would be able to get the 18’ rafts through the left side cheat run as it was pretty tight. We committed an 18’ and a 14.5’ raft to check it out. The 18’ bucket boat with our on-river leader successfully ran the falls when he couldn’t make the left side pull. Our next most experienced MF high-water boater made the pull in with his smaller self-bailer. That set the tone for the other runs. You hit your mark and made the cheat run or you ran the middle of the river through Velvet Falls. Two others, including Susan, ran the falls with nothing except good stories to show for their miscalculations. The rest of us ran the cheat, even putting Bob’s 18’ Avon through the small gap. Our one cataraft hung a tube over a rock on this Velvet Falls bypass but we had people on the left bank with throw ropes to help pull it off.

Exhausted but relieved, we headed in mild drizzle for our camp, which was only a mile or so away. While fast, the water in this section had no major obstacles and we were all looking forward to a pleasant evening at the large Big Bend Camp. Imagine our surprise when we rounded the bend to this blind campsite and found a large commercial group (Echo Company) in our assigned campsite. To maximize the confusion these unprofessional professionals told our first boats that Big Bend Camp was downstream and that they were camped in a small group camp called Boy Scout. These commercial turkeys had launched hours before us. They ripped a raft at Velvet, apparently decided that was enough for the day, and had been in camp for hours when we arrived around 5:30 PM. The only suggestion one guide came up with was for us to boat another seven miles to their wonderful hot spring campsite. They appeared to be pretty irresponsible people who made no attempt to share our camp with us or even warn us that they had taken it.

There was nothing to do but continue on downstream. Two of our rafts were downstream hunting for a campsite they had already passed and none of us had a clue what could happen in seven more frantic miles. We knew there were several groups below us so we might have to go the whole distance and run two major rapids along the way to get a decent-sized camp. As luck would have it there was one private group behind us that was thoroughly trashed by the time they reached a small camp at the 3 mile point, just below Murphy’s Hole. One of their rafts was mangled so they had to camp there while they fixed it. This left Elkhorn Camp open for us with only a couple of miles more river time and no major rapids. We took it at 6:30 PM and prayed no one would arrive late and want to throw us out.

After that exciting first day, we were all relieved when the next few days’ weather was clear and the river obstacles were fewer. The water was still very fast and occasionally the boatmen had to quit fighting the current and turn the larger rafts loose to run downriver, but it had all become fun again. Each day brought another hot spring and best of all we were able to camp at Loon Creek for our hot spring camp. With Loon all to ourselves, we took after dinner dips with some staying into the wee moonlit hours. The following days passed effortlessly and way too quickly. The kitchen teams created great meals and a cohesive, competent river running group was quickly established. There seemed to be no personality problems and everyone enjoyed the 23 others they were locked with on river time.

We continued this way until the last day. Our last night’s camp, while a difficult pull on the fast water, was excellent. The next morning we thought we had only a swift couple of hours on the river and we would be at the take-out. Well it was swift, but also eventful. Rubber, lower Cliffside, and Hancock Rapids were all major at the high water levels we were floating. The smaller rapids between them had hydraulics that were always threatening the possibility of a flip. Eventually it happened, the paddle raft exited a rapid upside down with five swimmers. Corralling the raft and swimmers as we floated downstream into additional rapids was a substantial undertaking. Everyone held onto his or her paddle, a major accomplishment in that kind of whitewater. We were able to get the raft and people reunited in a calm eddy below the next rapid.

We soon reached the confluence of the Main Salmon. It was immediately evident that there was more sediment. The Middle Fork had run clean and green for the whole week but the merging Salmon showed a slight brown tinge. Continuing downstream a couple of miles, we reluctantly reached the end of the trip at Cache Bar. The ramp was clear, our vehicles were all there thanks to the River Rat Express (located Stanley, Idaho, 1-800-831-8942), and our trip was nearly over. We cleared all eight rafts and gear off the ramp in a little over an hour, said our goodbyes to Duane, and drove to Marge’s place in Salmon. Another great trip with great people and very skilled private boatmen. We had run the Middle Fork in flood with no major problems, had fun, and would have liked to return and do it again on the sub-5 foot levels if we hadn’t had other responsibilities. We hope we don’t have to wait another 10-15 years before one of us draws a Middle Fork permit. If any of you have a future permit there, count us in. We’ve rowed it small (2.7’ foot on the gauge) and now rowed it big. We’re pumped to return.

Now, does anyone know how to get on a Selway raft trip in Idaho?

Other Middle Fork raft trips from our quarterly newsletters:

* June 7, 2004
* June 8, 2002

Updated on Thursday, December 8, 2006 @ 4:30 MST © 1995-2006 by Robert R. Marley