Sitting in the Boise Airport for the second long day, I realized my long-anticipated adventure on the Middle Fork Salmon River wasn’t going to happen. Wildfire smoke from Canada and Oregon has swirled over the entire Pacific Northwest and that smoke obscured the wilderness airstrips in the river canyon enough that pilots couldn’t land.
Just 11 months later, though, I returned to the River of No Return for another go at this classic wilderness adventure. This time we successfully flew into Indian Creek Airstrip, 75 miles upstream from our take-out at Cache Bar, near the mouth of the Middle Fork River. My wife and I were joined in this adventure by a diverse group, led by the guides of Solitude River Trips. With three rafts dedicated to fly fishers, and four others carrying recreational rafters, our group set off on a six-day expedition through some of the wildest, most remote riparian terrain in the lower 48 states.
The Middle Fork Salmon River flows 100 miles without road access. The Indian Creek airstrip put-in allowed us to skip the low-water section in the upper-most canyon while still giving us nearly a week of wilderness adventuring. The Middle Fork winds eastward through the heart of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The river pierces a deep, canyon lined at times by stands of ponderosa pine, desert juniper, and mountain mahogany. Between the stands of trees, the canyon features long slopes of sagebrush, wildflowers, and desert grasses. Frequently, the river flows through craggy rock walls and between sheer cliffs.
Lean, tough bighorn sheep inhabit this rugged canyon country, as do mule deer, ruffed grouse, hares, and other small critters. Of course, that means there’s also bobcats and cougars to hunt the prey animals. The river is teeming with wild native fish: west-slope cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish, and northern pikeminnow. Ospreys and bald eagles soar overhead, feeding on the abundant fish.
Humans also have a presence in the canyon and enjoy a long history here. The first human residents entered the canyons upwards of 11,000 years ago. These first inhabitants were a band of Shoshone that eventually – thanks in large part to the remoteness of their homes – diverged from their Shoshone roots enough to establish their own tribe, known as the Sheepeaters. Later, western settlers moved in. Mines were attempted but quickly abandoned due to the lack of quality ore and the difficulty in transporting what was found. Small farms and horse ranches were established, and some still exist today, with log-cabin homesteads nestled at the bottom of long trails dropping in from the canyon rims above. These ranches today are mostly accessed by small planes utilizing a handful of tiny grass airstrips along the river.
A rafting excursion on the River of No Return, a.k.a. the Middle Fork Salmon, provides an opportunity for just about anyone to enjoy a true wilderness adventure, regardless of their camping experience. My wife and I were joined by a young family of four from New York state, a pair of septuagenarian anglers from Arizona who literally grew up together as life-long best friends, and a large extended family with limited backcountry experience. All expressed amazement and joy every day as new wonders were revealed by the river and its gloriously wild canyon.
NOTE: The owners and guides at Solitude River Trips proved to be the best guide service I’ve encountered in nearly 30 years of writing about outdoor recreation. I’ve traveled with guides in nearly a dozen countries around the world. Solitude takes care of their clients better than any other guide service I’ve encountered. The owners work to make sure every detail is taken care of for you before and after your trip to ensure you have a good time, and the guides on the river work together in perfect harmony to ensure your trip is an adventure to remember for all the right reasons. They are seasoned boatman, excellent chefs, and great storytellers. To a person, everyone we met with any association to Solitude River Trips was a consummate professional but – equally important – a genuinely enjoyable person to hang out with.
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