Following breakfast at approximately 8AM, we will depart for the Boundary Creek launch point on the Middle Fork from the Far and Away boathouse. We will travel over a 9,000-foot summit into the Stanley Basin that lies beneath the majestic Sawtooth Mountains. This is the headwaters of the mighty Salmon River.
After a quick stop for last-minute items in the small village of Stanley, Idaho, we will continue into the backcountry to the start of your journey at Boundary Creek.
Far and Away Adventure guides and boats will be awaiting your arrival riverside. After a brief orientation and safety talk, we will launch about 10:30-11:00 am. The launch into the Salmon River is nearly 6,000 feet above sea level and immediately enters an enchanted forest of fir and spruce. The river is steep, shallow and narrow as we navigate boulder-choked rapids. With each passing mile, side creeks tumble into the Middle Fork’s clear sparkling water and deepen the flow around our boats.
The Middle Fork is a one-of-a-kind outdoor adventure in North America. Going with Far & Away guarantees it will be an exceptional, top-shelf experience. Very quickly you’ll see that the trip is not only about running the beautiful Middle Fork, but also living it up in a Safari-style, luxurious camp every day. After an active day on the river, you’ll sit in a comfy camp chair and relax under the canopy of big ponderosa pine trees. Listen to them whispering in the wind. Look up, and soak in the mountain majesty scenery while sipping a favorite cocktail or a glass of wine. Each night, you’ll enjoy a four-course gourmet meal with fresh food, topped with a tasty dessert. Prior to the trip, the food is packed in sterilized coolers by professionals in a commercial-prep kitchen in Sun Valley, ensuring that the food is just as fresh on Day 1 as it is on the last day. You’ll feel like royalty as dinner is served on a full-size table covered with Provencal oil cloth, linen napkins and silverware. Fiesta stoneware plates are pre-heated to keep your dinner food nice and hot. Take a moment to look at the stars in the wilderness dark sky before bed.
When you’re ready to sleep, you’ll retire to a spacious walk-in tent with plenty of head room, with carpeting at the entry and inside, and a nightstand and lantern. You’ll sleep on large cots fitted with a 3-inch deluxe sleeping pads, and flannel bedding. Are you starting to get the picture?
Whitewater rapids are frequent on the Middle Fork, particularly in June, when the water is higher and faster, the waves bigger and there’s action-packed excitement for everyone involved. Guides speak the names of rapids with respect and reverence ~ Velvet Falls, Ram’s Horn, the Chutes, Pistol Creek, Devil’s Tooth, Rubber and House Rock to name only a few of the more than 100 rapids.
On the river, you’ll be welcome to be part of a paddle-boat team, helping your guide steer a top-flight whitewater raft through exciting rapids. Perhaps you like to fish? You’ll be amazed how native west-slope cutthroat trout rise to a dry fly on a sunny afternoon. Or, you can jump into an inflatable kayak and experience the rapids up close and personal. Then again, you might just prefer to sit on the raft, enjoy the scenery and learn all about the Middle Fork country from nature and your river guide.
But there’s more than just the adrenaline of running the rapids. There’s the peace and solitude of soaking in a hot spring at the edge of the rushing Middle Fork. Rejuvenating as the touch of a masseuse, you can feel the healing qualities of the hot water, which rises through cracks in fault lines from the earth’s magma layer. We will visit a hot springs almost every day in the first half of your Middle Fork trip. While you’re soaking and relaxing, you might see a curious tan mule deer walk by, or perhaps even a white shaggy mountain goat with super cute newborn kids.
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