Day 6 Our Last Day on the River – August 1st 2011

What a way to end a trip!!! 

A perfect morning in camp starting with yoga and coffee, a good breakfast and back on the river. Perhaps a little hungover for some of us. That had been one amazing party.

This morning was awesome. From the minute of our departure from camp, to our lunch stop several hours later, we had continuous whitewater. Again, all four of the ducky’s capsized at least once. We were all getting use to this daily dose of ice cold water. One duckier (I won’t mention her name) aimed directly toward a boulder in the center of the rapid. Caught in the current and unable to veer away, hit the boulder and wedged itself there. Climbing out of the boat and standing on the rock, not knowing what to do next, CQ instructed her to stay put. Luckily, our raft was near enough to turn, paddle furiously up stream and get her off of the rock.

Cliffside, another class lV rapid, with massive cliffs on the left side and un-runable on the right, was looming in the distance. Suddenly, I watched my daughter mistakenly side-surf a gigantic wave, flip out of the ducky and bob up and down in the rolling waters. Between being thrashed by the waves and the jagged rocks on both sides, I was terrified. As her boat traveled downstream without her, I shouldn’t have worried. Our guides were fabulous and were there on the spot to help. She was soon rescued and pulled out of the water with a big smile on her face screaming “That was awesome”! I should have anticipated her reaction, she’s kind of awesome, too.

The trip ended with a bunch of class lV rapids- Rubber Rapid, Hancock, Devil’s Tooth and House Rocks among a few others. We had lunch on the beach and said good bye to “Impassable Canyon” as we pulled into the confluence of the Middle Fork and the Main Salmon River. After unloading and deflating all of the boats, we headed for the bus that would take us on the 2 hour ride to Salmon, Idaho. Drained and exhausted- the ride back was very quiet.

Written by Beth Robbins

Robbins is a Philadelphia native who grew up loving culture and the excitement of city life. She attended undergraduate school at the University of the Arts and received a master’s in Fine Arts at Temple University and The Tyler School of Art. Robbins taught art history for 16 years and sponsored off-campus trips for high school and college students. Her interest in travel sparked when she backpack and trekked on her own throughout England, France, Spain and the Mediterranean for five months. She later started an interior design business and art consultation company. She has two children and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado within the Rocky Mountain high country.