Paul's Summer Vacation.....In MY Private IDAHO

[JoseCuervo]

Imagine 100 miles of free flowing river. Imagine 100 rapids in 100 miles. Imagine soaking in Loon Creek hot springs, with a beer in hand. Imagine showering under the hot water from Sunflower hot springs. Imagine yourself day dreaming in the most beautiful spot in Idaho, and then realizing, too late, that Velvet Falls had snuck up on you, and you had to scramble to find the route on the Left, or go through the Hole. Imagine catching 16" cutthroats on EVERY cast. Imagine seeing wild sheep 10 yards from your raft.

Or, Imagine sitting on a stagnant resivoir, behind some fish killing hydro electric generating project.

Guess which one Paul decided to come spend a week doing in MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO?

 

[BuzzH]

HAHA, Paul wouldnt be a hypocrit, would he?

Because of Paul, we all have to read in the dark. What they need to do is dam the Middle Fork and generate some jobs and electricity!

 

[BigHornyRam]

Elkgunner,

I am glad you guy's decided to dam the Snake for your electric and irrigation needs, and left the Middle Fork the way it is. Someone was thinking. The Middle Fork sure is a grand place!

Paul

 

[JoseCuervo]

Paul,

C'mon, don't be shy. Tell us more about your summer vacation on the Middle Fork. What was the water level? What camps did you stay at? Which rapids got you? Was it the lower ones like Rubber, Redside, Weber? Or was it the middle ones like Pistol and Marble? Or were the upper ones like PowerHouse and Velvet the ones you remember?

That is one of the cool things about a free-flowing river. Each trip down it is different. The water level and the mood of the river change it. It is like a living creature, constantly moving, constantly changing.

Got any pictures? I seem to always get lots of pictures of the Wild Sheep in there. I never get tired of looking at them? What about the recovery from the burns? When I was there last year, the Catastrophicfires of '99 were hardly noticable. And the Catastrophic fires of -01 were greening right back up. And they didn't even need to build roads into the country to "salvage log" the river corridor.

C'mon Paul, tell us the details. You went down one of the most beautiful rivers in North America, and you are not sharing? There are people on this board, who if they knew what an incredible trip the Middle Fork is, they would be putting it on their list of places to go, bringing more $$$$ into our local economy. Why won't you help us create jobs over here, with a little free publicity, extolling the value of the Free Flowing River located in the middle of a Roadless, Wilderness Area?

 

[Muledeer4me]

Elkgunner,are saying you don't think people should be able to pick how and where they take a vacation?


Our family has done river trip's and seen all the sight's & sound's you mentioned.
I agree there is nothing like it,it's something I wish everyone could try.


But not everyone can afford to take a wilderness trip ,a raft trip ,an out of state hunting trip ( we have been real blessed) that we have been able to try lot of different sport.

Not everyone want's to!!!!

We have friend's that spend almost every week-end camping in one of the camp grounds around hell's canyon.There family love's it.
(Granted It's not where I would spend all my time )but it fit's for there family.
Does it make there trip's less in term's of time spend having fun with there family?

People pick different vacition's for differnet reason's.
As a parent and grandma,I know our vacation's vary alot depending on what stage and age's our kid's & grandkids are in at the time.
A whitewater wilderness trip has not alway's been top's on our list. (Even when we owned our own boat and had the time to do it).
That's the great thing about Idaho, you have so many outdoor thing's to pick from.

 

[cjcj]

I think i will just sit at home and watch Jerry Springer!

 

[Oak]

Yes MD, that's exactly what Elkgunner was saying. Nobody should be allowed to take an outdoor vacation unless it's a raft trip.

Oak

 

[Moosie]

in 4 weeks I'm going down the Hells canyon.. Just an FYI

 

[Oak]

You're ok then, Oscar.

Oak

 

[Moosie]

But I will be fishing...

Just not sure who's on what side sometimes when I read this. So I need to tell you what I'm doing so I know if I'm a Anti hunter or not

 

[JoseCuervo]

Oak,
Thanks for answering that one for me...

I was laughing my ass off when I saw your response.

Moosie,
I know everybody is coming into this thread to have Paul tell us about his vacation. About his trip down the Middle Fork, but for some reason he is a bit shy.

But, since you are going down Hells Canyon, I'll show you a couple of pictures, just to whet your appetite, while we wait for ol' Paul to post the details on his trip.

Here is a picture of The Elkgunner headed into Granite, June-03. Just seconds before an Epic flip. My daughter is in the foreground. My Dutch Ovens were sent silently to the bottom of the River.

Here is a picture that my 10 year old daughter took, while waiting for me to bring the raft through. This guy is long out of his seat, and ended up getting thrashed pretty good in his flip. He was with another party, so I don't know how he fared.

The next pictue was a June-02 picture of The Elkgunner, in the Super Puma I had last year. That boat was ovematached for hauling gear in the big water, but it was a hoot!!!

And finally, I knew Paul was on a river in Idaho, just not sure which one, so I thought this was him when I saw it, but it must not have been Paul, as he was on the Middle Fork enjoying a Free-Flowing River

 

[Moosie]

Elkgunner.. I rode Grannite last year on a KATT !!! NOT only was I on it, BUT I rode Shotgun while someone else was Stearing it.. I held onto the CAM Corder with one hand, the Katt with the other.. NEEDLESS to ssay I didn't make it past the 1st 2 waves

I got it all on Film, You'll have to come over and see it sometime.

PS, I think we have an Opening for Hells Canyon later this month... Thurs-Sat bud. Drop me a line !!