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Show - a - - . On the road with Shirley Smith Women's River Trip Picture this: Four days of perfect weather, a stretch of the Salmon River that runs through some of the most beautiful country in Idaho, rapids that make your hair stand on end from sheer excitement, first class equipment and boats, near gourmet food, river guides (female, of course) with the expertise to manuever with grace anything the river could provide and a group of 19 wild and crazy women. Such were the ingredients for one of the most memorable trips I can remember. 44 private" trip in that it was by invitation only, but a commerical trip in that all experience, equipment and organization was provided by Holiday River Expeditions owned and managed by ex-Parkites Frogg Steward and Deanna English Burdick in Grangeville, Idaho (contact them at 208-983-1518). Our trip started at 4 a.m. one Sunday morning when we sleepily set off on the 12 hour drive to Grangeville in central Idaho, 72 miles south of Lewiston. By 5 p.m. the California contingent had arrived, the rest of the Park City crew was on hand, the Salt Lake group was there and the Grangeville locals had strolled in. We spent an animated evening getting reacquainted with old frinds, meeting new ones and even letting the male member of the company join us for dinner. Sleeping on the grass under the apple trees and the stars and we were all ready for an early morning start. We "let" the men help transport us to the river and load the boats, but from there it was women only as we headed from the put-in at White Bird to the take out four days and 70 some miles later at Heller Bay on the Snake River. If you've never run a river, I would highly suggest doing so, and if you have, you know for yourself what a special time it can be. It's hard to imagine anything as completely laid back and mellow on the one hand or as exciting and spine tingling on the other. There is always a delightful air of unexpectancy because, as the river guide says, "Rivers are dynamic and change everv day. Floods can move huge rocks and change a rapid. Fluctuating water levels can make a rapid easy one dav and difficult the next". The Salmon has been under high water conditions all spring and summer and when we put on it had dropped to a manageable, but very exciting, 16,000 cfs (translates that means that in one second 16,000 cubic feet of water flow by anyone given point). Rapids are graded in difficulty from Class I to Class VI with a Class IV providing as much excitement as most of us need with its "Large and irregular waves, powerful hydraulics, routes that require precise manuevering in such turbulence, runout often poor; scouting from shore often necessary and rescue difficult." Our trip encountered one Class IV rapid - Snow Hole - and a number of Class III, including the Slide, of the trickiest parts of the river. Our days quickly assumed a pattern. Gear tied down, people divided front and back (each raft carrying three or four people plus the boatman - oops, woman. A few hours on the w ater with long lazy stretches for jumping in and floating next to the boat alternating with shite knucle white . water and then a stop at an isolated sandy beach for a lunch ol perhaps pita sfufted with chicken salad, tresn truits and vegetables and always plenty of beer and soft drinks. Back in the boat for the afternoon run and another white sand beach's for our night's lodging and the boatment are in action providing first a place for the bar and once cocktail hour is underway a selection of hor d'hoeuvres. We had a few specials on our trip including homemade chicken liver pate. Dinner might be spinach lasagne, "River Tacos" or steak grilled over an open flame accompanied by a big green salad and imported wine. . The late afternoon and evenings were spend reading and walking and frolicking in the crystal clear water or, in the case of one camp spot, 19 nude bodies leaping and tumbling off a soft sandy cliff to the water below. Appetites satisfied with more food than any of us needed, but all relished, the coffee and brandy would come out and we would sit for hours laughing and talking and singing slightly off color songs and we fell asleep under the stars to the lap of the river on the boats and woke with the sun to' begin another idyllic day on the famed "River of No Return . Even though vou may not be able to join the ladies special, plan to take part in a special Park City Salmon River trip to be organized with Holiday River Expeditions for next summer ;mdXou |
