Salmon

[Mark or Hayden]

Thinking about a guided kayak trip on the main Salmon river in ID. Put-in would be at Riggins and paddle 40 miles down with camping on the river. Does anyone have a feel for this section? I recognize that difficulty will depend on flow, etc but looking for some general comments on how big it can get in mid June.
I have heard III-IV at higher flows?
Thanks

[Walter Felton]

Hey Mark: I have not boated the lower Salmon (below Riggins) but I have several friends who have. All have been rafters. Here is my second hand impression of that section.

Everyone that I have talked to says it is lots of fun. Not to hard but some fun rapids. Great camp sites on huge sandy beaches. It is not wilderness, the road follows the river. Everyone that I know that has done that section has done it late in the year when the water is lower because it is supported by a large drainage it tends to have more water later. You have indicated that you are thinking about a June trip. This should be peak flow. Last year the Main was running 70,000 CFS on June 19th at Whitebird (below Riggins). We were scheduled to do the permit section (above Riggins) and canceled due to the extremely high water. The permit section is class II + and III but has some killer holes and waves at very high water. Last year was a bit of an exception due to a big snow pack and late run off. Snow pack is fair this year so you might have 30,000 to 50,000 CFS in June (that is just a guess). The water quality on the Main at this point tends to not be as good as some of the upper sections as a result of the development along the river but still acceptable.

All of that to say Idaho is one of my favorite places in the world to paddle, there are tons of great rivers including the Main Salmon, I hope you find a trip that you want to do this year or in the future.

Walter Felton

[Mark or Hayden]

Thanks Walter.....I have another possibility....South Fork of the Payette (Helende and Canyon sections).....know anything about this one?

[FarPastGone]

I've lived in the Payette/Salmon area the last two summers and on the South Fork Payette last summer (below the Canyon and above Staircase). I have never heard of the Helende section. There is Grandjean, Canyon, Swirly Canyon, and Staircase. Basically the Canyon and Grandjean are going to be full day trips while Staircase and Swirly Canyon will only be a part of the day. You can also run the Cabarton section of the NF Payette which may have the biggest Class III on it you will ever see.

I have never paddled the Main Salmon so I can't comment on the run itself but you could easily get several high quality runs in if you were to camp in the Payette area as well as do some hiking, fishing, hot spring relaxing, bar crashing (at the Dirty Shame or Longhorn in Crouch), and North Fork Payette gawking.

There was a group from Arkansas that was not able to launch on the MF Salmon this past summer because of high water so they hung out in the Payette area for a week and had a blast. They also fed me, so if you come to the Payettes, please bring extra food.

The Canyon is a pretty awesome run, Class III-IV (P) in a deep canyon that has occassional hot springs lining the banks and one behemoth of a rapid that you will be happy to be walking safely by.

- Matt

[FarPastGone]

I also forgot to mention, depending on snowpack, temperatures, and all the other factors that play into snowmelt and runoff...be prepared to pack the big boy pants for anything in Idaho mid-June. Current surface water supply forecasts as of February 1 based on % of average.



The same forecast at the same time last year.



Still a lot of time left to get snow and Idaho is not far off from last year, which ended up being a big water summer.