#290: Middle Fork of the Salmon River (pg 622); 2nd Ed pg 783.

 

Aug 7, 2021

We drove to Stanley and booked a rafting excursion with White Cloud, located directly across from the Redfish Lake Lodge mentioned in the book.

Andy time you see an old school bus converted into something else, you know it's going to be a good time!

Our starting point to get on the Main Fork of the Salmon River.

And the adventure begins!

With all those rapids, we worked up an appetite!  So we pulled over....

And soaked in the view while our rafting guides started fixing up a delicious meal.

Our River Guides magically turned into gourmet chefs!

I don't know if you can see it under all that cheese, but they made us seasoned pulled pork, spanish rice, refried beans, sautéed peppers and onions topped with cheese in a big warm tortilla.  They served a side of spinach salad with strawberries and feta cheese and provided appetizers of chips and salsa and watermelon.

Combine that with the view and it was the best meal I've had in ages!

A look at the Sawtooth National Recreation Area surrounding the river.

And no trip to the Salmon River is complete without a dip!

Verdict:  This was the highlight of our trip!  We loved every minute of it!  I will admit here and now, that I messed up on this one.  I looked in the book and saw "Middle Fork of the Salmon River" as the title and then noticed in the description that you start in Stanley.  So, I booked a White Water rafting trip out of Stanley that I knew navigated the Salmon River.  HOWEVER,  after I got there and we started rafting, I learned from our guide that we were on the MAIN Fork of the Salmon River and not the MIDDLE Fork. Whoops!  He also said the only way to do the Middle Fork was on week-long trips averaging $2000/person.  So, honestly, I'm going to call this one day trip on the Main Fork of the same river leaving out of the same town close enough!  And even though I loved every second of this adventure (and highly recommend!!), I honestly think a week might be too much of a good thing, so I'm happy with what we did!

Price $100/person and worth every penny!