From our cozy campground in the trees at Minam, we repeated our drive back through Boise's outskirts and turned off to follow the Payette River up into the mountains. I had only driven through the area once before. After Jeff and my Middle Fork Salmon trip years ago we drove back along the North Fork of the Payette when they happened to be holding the world championship kayak slalom. We pulled off the highway at the staunch Class V rapid Jacob's Ladder and watched in stunned awe and disbelief as some of the world's best kayakers not only styled their way down this extremely challenging rapid but also maneuvered with remarkable precision around the slalom gates. I was looking forward to seeing that rapid again before the end of the week but first we were headed to the South Fork. The American Packrafting Association's annual "roundup" was at the Hot Spring Campground right along the South Fork. It was a one minute walk down to the river which served as both a takeout for the upstream run (Swirly) and a put-in for the downstream Garden Valley run. To boot it had a hot spring pool halfway down the hill complete with a pipe that was my daily shower for the week. Less appealing was the sparse trees, south facing solar heated slopes, and generally not enough size or parking for the size of the group. Concerned about grabbing a good spot, we aimed to get to the campground before registration opened at 4pm. They were still setting up and it was clear that many people had actually already claimed the best spots as they arrived early for classes. I was grumpy at the disorganization but most of all the crippling heated (108F-ish) and so we decided to kill some time by driving up the canyon. As we did Heather called out the different stretches of river and prominent rapids until we pulled into Pine Creek Campground and decided to take a short (and hot!) hike down to the riverside hot springs. These were very impressive springs emanating from multiple locations across hundreds of feet of cliff face. Clambering around I spotted at least four pools including a very picturesque one with a waterfall plunging into it, but these were too hot to enjoy in the afternoon's heat. The view downriver into the Canyon section of the river was also very idyllic.
With time successfully killed we returned to the campground, registered, and grabbed nearly the last spot that would have worked for our tent and critical shade awning. I would have loved to have boated but we weren't really able to make any connections and it was not until later in the evening that I caught up with Jeff and Dan and got a few introductions to a few other boaters. So we did our best to hang out at the river and hide in the shade until the sun mercifully set beyond the hill finally granting relief.
The morning brought considerable disorganization and, though I was invited on an afternoon run of Staircase (4.5 miles of Class III-IV), Heather and I both struggled to get on a morning river trip. Ultimately we ended up spearheading our own mild trip with a few beginner's in tow. It took a fair bit of cat herding but eventually we got ready in camp and walked down to put in for the Garden Valley section, a 10 mile Class I-II float down to the confluence with the diminutive Middle Fork Payette. After introductions and an appropriately relaxed safety talk we pushed off for a mellow float. A short enclosed section soon gave way to the open expanse of Garden Valley and we floated pretty relaxed down the river. There were a few gravel bar wave trains and a few easily avoidable logs but it could not be much tamer. The scenery was nice enough and the water temperature was great (should have done without the drysuit for this one!). We saw some eagles and deer. Most of all it was just nice to float and dip my hands into the cool water.
I had a little buffer before I loaded up with Jeff and the Alpacka crew to run Staircase, the namesake rapid of which we stopped for a brief scout on the way. It was a particularly long rapid with one boof and hole skirting move I did not particularly like but otherwise it seemed quite reasonable other than the length of the rapid compounding probabilities for mishaps. I was atypically nervous for this run. Yes it was a new run on a new river but mostly it was probably Jeff's tour guide-like concern for my abilities and my desire not to completely embarrass myself in front of some top notch packrafters. Jeff tried to convince me to try out a prototype Alpacka boat- I was certainly intrigued but in the end opted to stick with my boat which I knew so well. At the put-in I finally got to meet Mike Curiak, the legend himself. Eventually the group of about 8 of us paddled on down. Jeff gave me a watchful eye and I generally followed his beta or Mike's lines to good result. The first III+ rapid Bronco Billy actually came the closest to flipping me as hidden behind a large way at the end was a lurking hole that clipped me. After a couple more rapids (Tight and Right, Dogleg) I was starting to get more comfortable with the style of the run. At Staircase Rapid I decided to take my own unique far left line that skipped the mid-river boof but still required plenty of precision maneuvering around rocks and holes and through laterals. The full rapid took over a minute of constant engagement to clear with the last tongue into chaotic laterals and hole dodging being an exciting end. I made it through upright while someone else swam which helped me gain confidence that persisted for the rest of the run. The last rapid Slalom (IV) was also a standout in terms of excitement, a long mazy hole-dodging adventure. The confluence of the North Fork was a surprise with remarkably warm water in contrast. Overall Staircase was a nice redemption run after the slower start earlier in the day and I was happy to hear that Heather had a nice paddle through the Swirly section. The style of Staircase did not lend itself well to good photos but at least some of the moments I captured on video.
We hid out in the shade for a few hours then participated in some of the evening's social events. We ended the day with the new daily ritual of a soak in the hot spring just across the road from the camp. Fortunately few had figured it out at this point.
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