Alberton Gorge of the Clark Fork River was a year-round local favorite of Jesse's so I was looking forward to seeing what it was all about. We ended up running from Cyr to Ralph's, a 8 mile run sampling the best whitewater. Kristina and Jesse kindly ran shuttle for us. Wow the put-in was busy. I've never seen such a busy put-in with literal raft traffic and limited waterfront space. Lots of commercial groups and a fair bit of families but few kayakers.
A few riffles and flatwater stretches were interspersed with a few fun rapids in the open Upper Gorge. Here we made decent time paddling past curious rafters. We then turned a corner to see Triple Bridges and the rapid underneath them. This would be the start of the narrower Lower Gorge which housed several very fun rapids worthy of laps.
Fang Rapid
We took our time playing around, in particular on Fang Rapid, the last exciting rapid that was easy to portage. I ran it three separate times and then worked on surfing its main wave. Although I didn't think I would have a chance sticking on the fast and powerful wave, I managed to have a few longer rides approaching ten seconds. This was good fun! The video below contains footage from my best ride.
After a meal and tasty ice cream with Kristina in Missoula we drove back to Hamilton to retrieve Jeff's car and then suffered through another late night Idaho drive, camping on the way to Teton Gorge, our next stop on the whitewater tour. Thanks to Kristina and Jesse for running shuttle.
At the end of our Selway run once back at the car I was getting a little antsy. It took only a few minutes to unpack the boat and get out of clothes but there was still daylight. The others seemed to be in no rush so I decided to stroll down the road to see if I couldn't get a good look at what the Class VI Selway Falls run looked like at 810 cfs. I had no idea what to expect really but what I saw impressed me. True house-sized boulders with whitewater shifting around and under them in a maze of siphons, sieves, and waterfalls. The more I looked at it the more I thought there might be a sane line through it all. Incredibly almost the whole thing could be seen from the road. I paced up and down the road, slowly observing the water and piecing together the pieces. After about twenty minutes of careful study I decided there were some serious consequences to messing up, but that each component seemed to be something I was capable of, and if I could string it all together it would be quite a nice run. I want back to grab the others just before dark, and Jeff and I resurveyed the run together. He came to more-or-less the same conclusion I did: Meaty, scary, but looked like there was a way through and that it was something worth doing. We made plans to give it a try the next morning! The run weighed heavily on my mind that night.
Mandatory sieve portage (probably OK at higher flow)
Jeff instructed Dan and Jesse on where to position themselves in case we need a throw rope safety. Jeff and I suited up and paddled across to check out the first tight drop. The drop would have been ok but there was a low flow sieve just around the corner that did not look to be much fun so we portaged this first obstacle (above). Next up was the longest straightaway of the rapid where our only goal was to stay left, far from the bulk of the flow draining under house sized rocks! We scouted the next section before proceeding, another section that would have been smoother at higher flow. This put us in position for the second half of the rapid which was the real prize. We shot through a narrow pass between rocks and then I pulled hard to cross to the other side of the river. I flipped on a rocky boof while Jeff went smoothly down the tongue on the left side (I should have chosen that line too). I was able to self-rescue easily enough before the frothy 8ft drop ahead. Back in the boat I started to ferry to the eddy above the drop as Jeff and I planned, I looked ahead, saw my line, and then made a split second decision to just go for it. A few aggressive paddle strokes put me right where I wanted and over I went, sticking the landing. Jeff followed taking an unplanned grinding line down the arete but made it look like he meant to.
We re-grouped in the long eddy and continued down the run with two more holes to contend with and then two fun wave trains to complete the rapid. I was stoked and couldn't resist taking another lap since I was here and access was so convenient. The second run I took Jeff's line down the tongue drop (much better) but then botched the eight footer...good. I flipped and got caught against the falls which held me down for enough seconds that I dropped my paddle to be able to swim out. The paddle is probably still swirling around at the bottom of the hole as I type. It was an unfortunate end and I was sad to lose the paddle but happy to have taken on Selway Falls. Obviously it was not Class VI in the conditions we ran it but it was certainly formidable.
Jeff's cut
We then drove on to Missoula, which I found an interesting enough town. We played around at Brennan's Wave in the middle of town. Despite inopportune conditions for a good wave, I picked up a lot of experience in trying to surf and really enjoyed the vibes from the friendly board surfers. After a tasty dinner at a local Indian place we met up with Kristina and found a campsite in the woods.
The only multi-day trip we had planned was a 34 mile float down the Selway River from Shearer Airstrip to Race Creek. The Selway is one of the most coveted rivers in the U.S. owing largely to its highly restrictive permit system: only 50 launches are granted a year. However if flows cooperate it is possible some years to do a post-permit (low flow) run. Here we ran two days after the permit season ended at a flow of about 850 cfs. The Selway River cuts through Idaho's Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, one of the largest and first designated wilderness areas in the U.S. With Jeff in charge of planning I had no idea what to expect. In low flow conditions the first 14 miles from Paradise are supposed to be pretty grim and uninteresting, which is why we arranged to have a chartered plane drop us off at Shearer Airstrip at Mile 13.5. Once I got the first glimpse of how shallow the river was here I knew we made the right choice to fly in. We knew that in the last couple weeks there were fires burning through the area but the reports we heard is that they were mostly out and should not be actively burning along the river. We pulled into the Hamilton Airport hazy and early and our friendly pilot flew us over the smoky continental divide into Idaho.
We unloaded, carried our gear to the river, and began to inflate our packrafts. We found the temperature inexplicably cold here and so waited for the sun to crest the ridge before pushing off into the shallow river. My expectations were pretty low considering the shallow bump-and-grind cobble floor of the river but I knew there were supposed to be challenging rapids somewhere downstream. After the second turn in the river we were visually bombarded by the private Selway Lodge and an enormous bridge over the river as if to say "welcome to an American wilderness area, playground of the rich." I had to check this view somewhat as we did just arrive via an airplane and airstrip, but nevertheless it made me miss the strict definition of a wilderness area that New Zealand uses.
The next several miles the river was almost unlike anything I had every seen. The bedrock had been neatly planed off with virtually no bedload such that we coasted shallowly over crystal clear water and patterned bedrock. I could take or leave the tree-d valley walls around us but the river bottom was a wonderful work of art and left me curious what conditions contributed to what seems to be a pretty rare occurrence.
It did not take all that long for the day to heat up to a comfortable temperature and round about the same time we found an enormous rock outcrop that appeared to be made for cliff jumping. Challenge accepted nature. Though probably only about 30-35 feet high, the calm water landing and the long time since I had last jumped did give me some pause as I stared down from the top of the rock. After I jumped Dan and Jeff followed suit.
As we neared Moose Creek the skies became smoky, and we even saw an occasional smoldering log from the aftermath of the recent fire. A few downed trees obstructed the river enough that they would be annoying for a full sized raft but added slight interest for us. Just past Moose Creek the gradient steepens and a bedrock gorge with 8 III-IV rapids (and many others) continues for almost seven miles. This was the main event and though I would like to say we savored it, it all went by very fast. We scouted one or two of these rapids but read-and run everything else. Higher flow would have been interesting. At our current flow things were mildly interesting.
The most memorable part of the "Moose Juice Gorge" was Dan's flip about two-thirds of the way through. He got pinned against a rock briefly but in such a way that his paddle was wedged into a tongue of the rapid. About thirty to forty-five minutes of creative antics ensued, desperately trying to free the paddle. I grazed it several times but only succeeded in slicing my arm on it. After trying about five different approaches, Jeff had the winning approach of lunging for it while Jesse and I held him back from being dejected by the force of the water. What a relief to have the paddle back in hand and still in one piece!
After our whitewater fun we had planned to camp at Cedar Flats but found another kayak group there (the one other party we would see) and so opted to power through for another 2 miles to the next camp at Meeker Creek. As we approached the last turn in the canyon before Meeker we had quite the surprise- the smell of campfires, the sight of close smoke plumes rising up the hill in front of us, and as we got closer, raging flames. Others may have panicked about campsite options as we approached the fire but we were mesmerized by the flames. Trees bursting into flames, rocks crashing down the steep hillsides, riverside vegetation roaring with intense heat. As we drifted past and evaluated the situation we all decided that the fire was on the opposite of the river as our planned camp and thus would probably be safe. Plus we'd have one heck of a show this evening. So we found Meeker Camp (small but suitable) and set up camp.
Meeker Creek Camp
Once out of our wetsuits and into dry clothes we gathered our dinner supplies and walked about a 100m along the shore to a rocky promontory with a spectacular view of the fire. We ate dinner slowly, marveling at the ever-changing action on the other side. We watched for hours. I felt like I gained a new appreciation for forest fires and the geomorphic changes they drive. I was truly impressed at the size and volume of boulders crashing down the hillside to form mega-dry ravel deposits. Every once in a while a tree would abruptly burst into flames or collapse to the ground, kicking up aggressive flames. I set up my hammock for extra enjoyment.
In the morning we awoke to ash covering our gear, smoke in the air, and an atmospheric sky. While packing up at camp I could not resist the temptation to answer a burning question Jeff and I had about the Gnarwhal...yes it turns out I can fit inside the 12" Gnarwhal tubes, good to know.
Gnarwhal antics
"Wilderness"
The stretch of water we encountered in the morning was mostly flat but gradually picked up steam. We started to see more beaches. It was also clear that this stretch of the river has almost completely burned at various times in the last many years. Although we appreciated the atmospheric skies, I also appreciated that the further downstream we went the less smoky it got.
Wolf Creek Rapid turned out to be one of the more exciting rapids on the entire run. This is the only rapid we ended up scouting from a trail high above the rapid, which gave a nice change of vantage. Jeff and I staged ourselves partway through the rapid to be ready to protect the large retentive hole. Jesse and Dan both made it past so Jeff and I each had our turn boofing the hole. I had expected and hoped there would be more longer, more challenging rapids like this on the run.
A few more rapids followed but we had increasingly long flatwater stretches to paddle through. We stopped for a good forty-five minutes at Jim's Creek Falls Rapid which had several interesting ways it could be run and was particularly easy to hike the boat back up to run laps. I ran this rapid at least a half dozen different times. The most entertaining line was boofing off a ski jump-like boulder into the main convergence of the rapid. We all had fun.
Interestingly over the last thirty miles the river from bedrock to boulder banks to cobble banks to sand banks. The first sign that we were close to the end was the quality of the trail on the side of the river seeming to greatly improve, then we saw people at the campground, then happily our car at Race Creek. The trip was nice enough but the wildfire campground was probably the most memorable part of the trip. Although the river would be a different beast at high flow, I still had expected the rapids to be more challenging, the scenery more scenic, and the wilderness well actually to be wilderness. Unlike some other rivers the Selway is nothing I feel like I have to go back to run at a higher flow. It was good enough.
A cheapo flight to Idaho Falls got me a week's worth of packrafting with Jeff, Jesse, and new friend Dan. Seven rivers in seven days in three states! Dan was on the same flight as me and seemed to have no trouble identifying me at the luggage carousel between my performance backpack carry-on and the fact that I was not a young Caucasian mother with children in tow (the only demographic that seemed to populate the entire airport!). We easily found Jeff outside the small airport and endured many hours of painfully boring Idaho driving to meet Jesse at North Fork round about midnight. A short drive further brought us to our mosquito-choked campsite where we happily crashed after a catch-up beer or two.
The next leisurely morning we continued driving down the Main Fork of the Salmon River, looking for a good place to drop our shuttle and then to find a start. We opted to run 7 miles of what is known as the Shoup Run, from Pine Creek to Panther Creek. The river looked pretty tame in its late season condition, but worth a warm-up roadside float anyway. I was excited to try my new demo self-bailing Alpacka Gnarwhal, even if it came in the familiar goose shit green color. It took a little while for the boat to grow on me but I was instantly impressed with the knee brace system they created- truly a work of art for high performance.
The biggest rapid of the whole run (Pine Creek) was about a hundred feet down from our put-in, a trial by fire for Dan who had been packrafting a total of once. As it turned out I was the only one that made it through the rapid upright, by chance I am sure. Jeff had been using the Gnarwhal for the last week and had to recalibrate to his boat. The run consisted mostly of moving pools with very occasional riffles and rapids. Pretty boring but the scenery was quite nice, particularly once we passed the steep cliffs in the vicinity of Halfway Gulch.
I also pulled out for a quick look at some roadside Sheep Eater Indian pictographs which gave me a nice vantage of the paddlers on the river. I also enjoyed the impressive catastrophic landslide deposit opposite Dutch Oven Creek. After a couple hours of cruisy paddling we reached our take out vehicle and only had the simple matter of breaking through the barrier of poison ivy lining the river!
Afterward we drove on to Hamilton to enjoy some food and beer, grabbed last minute food supplies, then claimed the last free!] campsite at Blodgett Canyon Campground, a perfectly lovely spot. We packed for our two or three day Selway River trip while enterprising chipmunks looked for careless moments they might be able to score some food.
