The Middle Fork of the Salmon is one of the most beautiful, lifestyle driven, multi-day river trips in the lower 48. Cutting through the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return, Marsh Creek into Middle Fork of the Salmon is 120 miles of deep wilderness, fun rapids, hot springs, and wildlife.
This spring I lucked into a pre-season permit cancellation for May 7th.
Leading up to the trip we all saw it coming: a winter storm warning with multiple inches of rain and snow, temperatures in the low teens, and large wind events all on top of reports that recent years of burns had Marsh Creek chock full of wood. So we scheduled a team call and I did my best to convince everyone that despite the weather reports, we were fully prepared for weather of this kind and everything was going to be just fine. With the mutiny quelled, at least for the moment, we moved ahead with packing our gear to rendezvous in Stanley Idaho, our gateway to the Wilderness.
The next morning, with boats weighing in excess of 100 lbs, we slid down the snow into Marsh creek in the middle of a snow storm. The team was still pondering if this was actually a good idea and my predictions of ‘just fine’ had been upgraded to ‘entirely survivable’......
Marsh creek proved to be about what we expected.....
....a few short log portages, beautiful snow fields and avalanche paths ending in an ice cold stream not much more than a boat length wide.
We made a big push that day down to Trail Flats, the first riverside hot springs on the run, where we pitched camp and prepared for a storm that we knew was coming that night.
We enjoyed the hot springs that evening, then settled in for a long night as the first flakes began to fall. Strong winds whipped snow, sleet and rain against and into our tents for the entirety of the night. Along with the precipitation, the river rose over a foot!
I awoke the next morning to see camp just below a beautiful snowline, flurries still blowing in between patches of clearing sky. The hot springs had been washed out over night, so skipping the morning soak, we packed our gear and headed downstream into one of our most beautiful days on the river.
Large snowflakes continued to fall throughout the day, warm tea was shared at stops along the river and at Indian Creek, in the height of the storm, the rangers came out to give us the "abbreviated version" of the standard Wilderness Protocols, handed us our permit, and sent us on our way to Sunflower hot springs.
We soaked that night and the next morning in one of the most beautiful places imaginable, watching sheep graze across the hillside in front of us. We put on the next day at 1 pm, fully enjoying the sunny morning at Sunflower.
We floated that day to Loon Creek, another riverside hot springs, where we ran into the first paddlers we had seen on the trip. It was fun to connect, exchange stories (and whiskey) in the log-built hot springs before heading back to camp.
The rest of the run played out much the same.... with more mild weather giving us time to soak in a few rays of sun while watching the weather move through this very wild and special place.
At the end of the trip, we all reflected on what a good decision it was to put on the river despite the foreboding forecast. The weather, as it turned out, made this trip a life long memory that we are grateful to have! Truly a few KAVU Days!!
Tyler Bradt
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