JoseCuervo
New member
Idaho is blessed with many miles of great whitewater. And in particular, there are 4 protected and controlled rivers under the Wild and Scenic River Act.
The rivers, in order of prestige/scarcity of permits are: 1. Selway, 2. Middle Fork of Salmon, 3. Main Salmon, and finally 4. Hell's Canyon on Snake River. To float these rivers, one must be selected in a lottery (similar to controlled hunts) that is held in January. The Selway odds are about 32:1, MFSR is 26:1, and the Main Salmon and Hells Canyon are about 12:1 and 8:1.
Besides our 4 "Wild and Scenic" rivers, we have other rivers that are important and are lots of fun. We went up on the Main Payette tonight, as I am trying to teach a new boatman to row on our 85 mile Main Salmon trip in 3 weeks. He had some experience in whitewater canoes, so I was hoping he would be a quick study. Here he is, standing next to the SalmonGunner's raft at the Put-In:
The put-in for this stretch is about 1 hour north of Boise, and during the week is relatively quiet. On the weekends, it can get to be a zoo. The river over his shoulder is the So. Fork of the Payette, and it has great fishing, and is 1/2 free flowing from the Sawtooths and 1/2 comes out of the Deadwood River/Resivoir. To the left comes in the North Fork of the Payette, whichi is a world-renknowned Class V whitewater run. I get nervous just driving next to the river on the North Fork.
My student did well, but I am not sure if he will have the time to get polished enough to drive a heavy raft down the Main Salmon (the River of No Return, and the River that Lewis and Clark chickened out on.) We'll keep working, as the trips in wilderness rivers are the most awesome vacations.
We met some of my "environmentalist" friends who will be on my Main Salmon trip with me, as they were Kayaking the Main Payette tonight, to seek relief from 98 degree temps. Here is a little Surfin', Idaho style.
This guy is the author of a number of books, and writes many "green" pieces.
Of course, you can't go outside anywhere in Idaho without finding some Welfare Rancher's cows. And sure enough, look in the picture, above the Kayak, near the dark tree, there are the Angus earning their Welfare Checks. We did finally spot two Mule Deer, but like most of Idaho, way more Cows than Deer .
Part of the allure of whitewater sports is that they make such great photo subjects. But, a river is a living, breathing creature, so taking photos of rivers and boaters in rivers takes some set up, and then lots of luck. This photo, we kind of planned, and I had my rookie rower back the boat through the rapid. Then I had another buddy in the Kayak who was going to surf the first wave in the rapid. Well, it didn't quite work, my rower accelerated, the kayaker caught the wave just wrong, and me hanging over the boat with the camera ended up hitting the kayak with the camera and the paddle. (Objects in Viewfinder are closer than they appear!) But the resulting photo kind of caught the speed and the motion of the river. The guy in the boat is a solid Class V boater, and we had a good laugh over it. He is also one of the founders of the organization that defeated a hydro electric scheme on the North Fork of the Payette, a few years back.
And then, I tried to make sure we could see if the SalmonGunner has a Redneck, so this picture is for you to draw your own conclusions.
Just another night, in My Own Private Idaho...
The rivers, in order of prestige/scarcity of permits are: 1. Selway, 2. Middle Fork of Salmon, 3. Main Salmon, and finally 4. Hell's Canyon on Snake River. To float these rivers, one must be selected in a lottery (similar to controlled hunts) that is held in January. The Selway odds are about 32:1, MFSR is 26:1, and the Main Salmon and Hells Canyon are about 12:1 and 8:1.
Besides our 4 "Wild and Scenic" rivers, we have other rivers that are important and are lots of fun. We went up on the Main Payette tonight, as I am trying to teach a new boatman to row on our 85 mile Main Salmon trip in 3 weeks. He had some experience in whitewater canoes, so I was hoping he would be a quick study. Here he is, standing next to the SalmonGunner's raft at the Put-In:
My student did well, but I am not sure if he will have the time to get polished enough to drive a heavy raft down the Main Salmon (the River of No Return, and the River that Lewis and Clark chickened out on.) We'll keep working, as the trips in wilderness rivers are the most awesome vacations.
We met some of my "environmentalist" friends who will be on my Main Salmon trip with me, as they were Kayaking the Main Payette tonight, to seek relief from 98 degree temps. Here is a little Surfin', Idaho style.
Of course, you can't go outside anywhere in Idaho without finding some Welfare Rancher's cows. And sure enough, look in the picture, above the Kayak, near the dark tree, there are the Angus earning their Welfare Checks. We did finally spot two Mule Deer, but like most of Idaho, way more Cows than Deer .
Part of the allure of whitewater sports is that they make such great photo subjects. But, a river is a living, breathing creature, so taking photos of rivers and boaters in rivers takes some set up, and then lots of luck. This photo, we kind of planned, and I had my rookie rower back the boat through the rapid. Then I had another buddy in the Kayak who was going to surf the first wave in the rapid. Well, it didn't quite work, my rower accelerated, the kayaker caught the wave just wrong, and me hanging over the boat with the camera ended up hitting the kayak with the camera and the paddle. (Objects in Viewfinder are closer than they appear!) But the resulting photo kind of caught the speed and the motion of the river. The guy in the boat is a solid Class V boater, and we had a good laugh over it. He is also one of the founders of the organization that defeated a hydro electric scheme on the North Fork of the Payette, a few years back.
And then, I tried to make sure we could see if the SalmonGunner has a Redneck, so this picture is for you to draw your own conclusions.
Just another night, in My Own Private Idaho...
