Safari So Good

“Oh, Eeyore, you are wet!” said Piglet, feeling him.  Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet what happened when you had been inside a river for quite a long time.

A. A. Milne

There were options each day.  We could ride in one of the 6 rafts that were paddled by a Guide (4 large and 1 smaller called Oar Boats and 1 fishing raft) OR you could take one of the single inflatable kayaks and do your own paddling.

The kayaks were called “Duckies” because they were like little duckies following their Mama Duck (Oar Boat).  There were 4 available and anyone taking a ducky was required to wear a helmet.  Two duckies were assigned to one Mama Boat.  The duckies were to closely follow its Mama Boat in order to ensure safe passage through the rapids and around the rocks.  They never had all 4 duckies follow one Mama Boat.  This avoids the problem of each ducky getting a little off course as they follow the ducky in front of them; because, like a line of school children, the first one is a little off course, the second one a little more off the path, the third a little more than that, and the fourth ducky is going down the totally wrong way!  Plus, the Mama Boat carefully watched his or her duckies to ensure they made it through each rapid; often pulling into an eddy (an area to the side of the river with no current) to monitor the duckies’ progress.  So, it went like this – 2 Oar Boats, 2 duckies, 1 Oar Boat, 2 more duckies, and the last 2 Oar Boats to pick up any floundering baby duckies!

The Duckies ready to go!

Michael opted to paddle a ducky on day 1.  I was very interested in paddling, but wanted to see what the river looked like before taking the plunge (so to speak).

Michael during a quiet spell.

This is Michael going over a rapid – you have to enlarge the photo to see the edge of the ducky.

Hillary waving.

The fishing boat with Scott and Nicki aboard.

On Day 2 of rafting (Wednesday), it rained in the morning.  Only 3 duckies went out due to the rain.  In the afternoon, the sun came out and I got brave enough to try my hand on a ducky.  Because there were only four and most of the rafters wanted to try paddling, we had to take turns.  Consequently, Michael and I never paddled the same day.  The upside of which is, it allowed us to take pictures of each other.  My paddling partner was Berger.  He was such a good partner; after every rapid, he would turn to make sure I made it okay.  What a great guy!  As I was paddling, we went through a particularly difficult rapid and I slammed up against a big rock.  I was pushed up onto the side of the rock and felt my kayak leaning heavily to the right.  I really thought I was going over, but I remember what Joseph taught us — lean hard against the up side of the kayak to counter the flip and you should go over the edge of the rock upright.  It worked!!!  I was so happy and grateful for good instructions.  Turns out that GQ was not just another pretty face – thanks, Joseph!

Duckies hanging out around the Mama Boats. That’s me in the middle.

This is me going over a rapid. It was hard work, but I really loved it.

This is Berger going through some tricky rapids. He was my ducky partner (and kept a constant eye out for me)!

Me, going over the rapids, with my Mama Duck watching over me.

Duckies and Mama Boats going over rapids.

NIcki on the fishing boat. She and Scott caught quite a few fish. It was catch and release, so we didn’t eat any of them.

The views along the river were incredibly breath taking.  We saw otters, a bear, an eagle’s nest, interesting rock formations, beautiful canyon walls — from one moment to the next, the river was wild and serene.

The water was so clear.

Clear blue sky – great day for rafting.

You can see some pretty fall colors on the mountainside.

Kristy

Look – it’s an Obi Wan Kenobi rock!

One of many fresh water streams we passed. This one was quite large. The Guides refilled the water jugs at these streams.

OMG – Otters! This little guy was hiding in this crevice eating a fish he caught.

So pretty!

Tom, our guide, spotted this bear foraging on the hillside as we passed by. He watched the fishing boat quite closely – waiting to snag a catch??

Heading into the canyon.

A huge eagle’s nest.

We stopped so we could hike to this waterfall, but it was uphill, so some of us (me) waited at the river.

A log jam caused from last winter’s high water levels.

Hooded Merganser ducks.

The days started out warm and got colder as we moved north.  I am a fair weather kayaker, so once it got cold, I did not paddle.  Others were much more rugged and were willing to brave the elements. The coldest day was Friday – day 4 of the rafting trip.  We were not only soaked from rain and rapids, there was a bitter cold wind blowing on us.  By the time we got to camp in the evening, my feet were numb and my clothing soaked down to my underwear.   It was the first of the only two nights we got a campfire.  Since it had rained, the fire danger was much lower, so Dustin allowed a fire to be built.

We were advised to bring rain gear and in fact, I did.  However (true confessions) I purchased good rain gear at REI and it was really expensive.  When I bought it, I was hoping I wouldn’t need it and I knew I would NEVER use it again; so I asked if I could bring it back if I didn’t use it and was told that I could.  Therefore, I did not choose to take the rain gear out of the water proof baggie I jammed it into (with tags still attached).  Yes, I froze — but I also took my rain gear back when we got home and got a full refund.  My frugal Mom would be so proud!

Mama Boats and duckies heading out after a lunch break.

Trevor, from Santa Barbara, standing in the ducky. He paddle boards so this worked for him (he did sit down over the rapids).

Emily – such a big smile!

Bruce, Kristy, and Bob with Dustin paddling. It was a cold day.

Doug, Trevor, and Berger with Joseph on paddles. Very Cold!!!

Our New York ladies (Hillary, Crystal and Stephanie), all bundled up, with Tim paddling.

This is Karlene on our coldest day. She’s going incognito.

The rapids got more technical (the term for more complicated to maneuver and scarier) as the days passed.  By the last day, we were in many Class 3 and a couple of Class 4 rapids.  It was really fun, but really wet.

This is one of the two Class 4 rapids we traversed. The drop is bigger than it looks from this angle. Just sayin…

This is Michael’s shot as we hit water and it hits us. He had a water-proof camera. Mine was safely covered at this point.

These long rapids were the most fun, as we went through them the Boat rolled up and down just like a Disney ride!

Here’s a shot of one of the other Boats going through some rapids.

This is gonna be wet!!!

More rapids and rocks.

P.S. Here is why I called Joseph GQ:

See what I mean?

Don’t judge me – my sister took 7 pictures and a video.

“Let the Beauty of What You Love be What You do”

Rumi

Dustin Aherin, owner of Idaho River Adventures has a large crew of guides that work with him on various trips down the river.  We were lucky to have Tom, Lara, Tim, Joseph, Greg, and Drew along with us on our trip.  I was a manager for 35 years and never have I seen a group of people work harder than the guides that work for Idaho River Adventures.

The evening before our trip on the river, we stayed in the small town of Stanley, Idaho.  We met before dinner for orientation.  We introduced ourselves and Dustin delivered the orientation, showed us the large Red Bags (that would hold our sleeping bags, pillows, and any clothes or supplies we would need at the end of each day), the smaller clear dry bags (for all our gear that we wanted to have access to during the day), and gave us a coffee cup compliments of Idaho River Adventures to use each morning for our coffee.  He also went over what to expect on a typical day — 7:30 to 8 a.m. breakfast; on the river around 10 or so each day; stop for lunch; back on the river; stop in the late afternoon at camp.  We would be traveling approximately 70 miles on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, a part of which is known as the River of No Return.  He said we may encounter bears, rattlesnakes, and bull snakes (which eat the rattlers).  He said no snacks in the tents due to the fact that the rodents will come in to get them and eat through whatever bags they are in (but no worries, they won’t bite you).  With regard to going to the bathroom – liquids go in the river and solids go in the outhouse that they would assemble each afternoon at camp.  He suggested we put things like rain jackets, extra socks, sunscreen, water bottle and other things we might need during the day in the small dry bags, which we would keep with us.  The large Red Bags would be packed onto the Granny Boat, which would leave each morning to go ahead to that day’s camp where one or two guides would set up tents, tables and chairs, and the Groover (outhouse).

The Hotel in Stanley where we spent the first night and had orientation.

Michael, Chuck and Karlene at the restaurant  (next door to the Hotel) where we ate dinner and breakfast the next morning.

A view of the Sawtooth Mountain Range from Stanley.

An evening view of Stanley from our Hotel, with the mountain range in the background.

The ladies from New York (Crystal, Hillary, and Stephanie) wait to board the vans to the airport.

Michael, Me, Karlene and Chuck – ready to go!

Our first day on the river began with instructions on how to survive the rapids, life vest usage, how to help get someone in the raft after they fell out, and how the individual kayaks were handled (more on that later).  The guides who were not providing instructions were preparing lunch for us which included guacamole tacos, cookies, peanut butter and jelly with bread (in case we wanted to make a sandwich instead or with tacos), cut up fruit, carrots and hummus.  They then packed all our red bags, sleeping pads, food, cooking prep tools, supplies and the tables on which lunch was served into the large barge-like raft, which was called “Granny”.  One or two guides then headed down river to get to our evening camp site before the rest us; so the tents, tables and chairs, and water station could be set up and waiting for us when we arrived.

They started work before we even climbed out of our tents in the morning.  There was coffee and hot water waiting first thing each morning as the guides prepared breakfast for us.  They carried pots and pans and tables and chairs and food in and out of Granny, up and down hills, each afternoon and every morning.  They rowed rafts every day, all day, except when they were carrying gear, preparing food, or cleaning up afterwards.  They worked every evening (usually after sunset, with lights on headbands so they could see what they were doing) — washing dishes, putting away food, and packing stuff into metal bins to protect them from critters during the night.  They even made dessert — EVERY night and it was delicious.

Guide Joke — “Do you know the difference between a Fairy Tale and a Raft Tale?”  “No, What?”  “A Fairy Tale starts, Once Upon A Time…a Raft Tale starts, No shit, there I was…”

A table covered in lunch time snacks.

The guides prepare our fabulous dinner in less-than-ideal conditions.

Dustin in his serious mode.

Lunch is prepared on the hillside. This stuff was all carried up a rocky shoreline.

A trail-mix sandwich. A new invention by one of the rafters.

Greg ‘Montana’ – with Karlene and Chuck – waiting for the “go” signal.

Drew with his girlfriend, Emily, who came along and helped out.

Tim – the funny guy.

Tom – the quiet guy.

Joseph (or GQ as I called him)

The only female guide – Lara! She was adorable, but held her own with all those male guides.

An evening snacks – while we wait for dinner.  No kidding!!!

Salmon for dinner – delicious!

Check it Out! It’s a dutch oven. This is how they cooked biscuits and chocolate cake!

Breakfast burrito with potatoes.

Lasagna, grilled bread, and Caesar salad.

Dustin gives us geology lessons about Idaho – very interesting!

Rafters and guides listening as Tim (far right almost out of picture) and Dustin (out of picture) school us.

Granny Boat – named for Dustin’s Grandmother, filled with Red Bags, food, supplies, etc.

Each afternoon, the guide who went ahead with the tents and supplies, set up the outdoor toilet – or “Groover” about 50 yards from out tents and tables.  About 20 yards from the Groover was a washing station and the “key” which was actually an ammunition box with extra toilet paper.  When you went to the Groover, you would take the box so that everyone would know it was occupied.  You brought it back when you returned, to let others know the Groover was open for business once again.  The Groover was also set up with the door facing the river, so one always had a lovely view while taking care of business.  It was called the Groover because it used to not have a seat on it, so when you sat it would make grooves in your behind – hence, the Groover!

A photo of the Groover from the back.

What a lovely view from inside the Groover.

Another camp site with the Groover surrounded by trees (but still facing the river)!

The wash station with the key to the Groover.