We'd orignally thought cousin Sue was going to be able to join us, but she needed to cancel and her slot was then given to Jim Garcowski, but he had last minute flight problems and wasn't able to join. So our group of 10 joined 3 other families to total 21 guests on the trip.

We traveled on 5 rafts. Each raft had a guide who navigated the raft through the rapids using large oars. 2 of the rafts were also assisted by up to 6 paddlers. Additionally there was an IK (inflatable kayak) that was available for use as conditions allowed (not the biggest rapids, and while age was specified as 13 for IK use, there were occasions were younger folks could paddle in more open water.

Our trip leader (TL) was Bri Loff. Other guides included Byron, Mariah Crawford, Brock, and Kelly. All were wonderful as guides and as folks to intereract with. The kids especially liked to "play" with Brie, Brock and Mariah. Kelly was our designated trip photographer. Byron is a past park ranger (guiding now during his vacation time from his "real" job) and we appreciated his sharings.

We had one more boat "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo" that ferried supplies from one site to another. Another member of the team, Journey, piloted this boat which had our large wetbags, tents, tables, chairs and other supplies from site to site.

And our final team member was Darcy who was our "jester" and provided support for keeping kids entertained. Darcy traveled with Journey to help set up camp each day.

Our meeting place pre and post trip was Hell's Canyon Grand Hotel in Lewiston (previously the Red Lion). Fowlers and Revettes arrived Fri Jul 23 and enjoyed the pool, card games, etc. Garcowskis arrived Sat Jul 24. We had an orientation meeting at 7pm on July 24 with Bri and Darcy where we received our wet bags and mugs.

On Sunday Jul 25 7:40, we were on the ROW bus to the Pine Bar drop in site. Enroute to the site we visited the Nez Pierce museum.

Wildlife

We saw river otters, deer & fawn, big horn sheep, a baby black bear, golden eagles, chukar partridges, wild turkeys, canyon wrens, Western toads & tadpoles, a tiny snake.

Traveling Group

Others on the trip included

• Chris & Celeste Fabryk, Ella, Toby from New Jersey

• Jay & Liz Stevens, Gwyn from Charleston, WV

• Miles Kunkel & KC Becker, Leo, Ryder from Boulder, CO

Activities

The section of the Salmon that we were on is considered pool and drop. Water flow was about 3,600 cfs during our trip. Flow can be up to 30,000 cfs.

This was a good rate to provide modest challenges through the class II-III rapids. In the pools between the rapids we often went swimming/floating. Since the air temperature was generally in the 90s, the 70+ degree water was very refreshing. One of these floating down the river activities was through a rapid.

For the brave (not Jack & Pam), opportunities to jump into the water from heights up to about 15' was an option (which we were excited to watch as our brave descendents challenged themselves)

In camp, an inverted IK (inflatable kayak) served as a king of the mountain venue.

Also, an inverted raft with a running start and leap and plenty of buckets of water served as a perfectly adequate water slide. And sometimes an extra "kicker" (toss into the water) was provided.

The guides offered their guests the option to man the oars. Pia and Marshall both were excited to do this.

Hikes

Small hikes included:

• seeing the site of a Chinese miner's rock home

• seeing the pit house of the Nez Pierce

A larger hike to the overlook of the Confluence (where Salmon and Snake Rivers meet) was quite challenging, but the view was very rewarding

Links

BLM Lower Salmon River Rafting Guide

ROW Photo Album

Lynn's Photo Album

Fowler Photo Album

Scat Machine