Middle Fork of the Salmon - river trip

Well, father winter just would not let up this year which means good water for us boaters but it also means we can’t do the Middle Fork of the Salmon. My posture slumps and my brow furrows like an upset 8 year old! As of yesterday we canceled the MFS trip. This is the second June river trip we have had to cancel due to conditions in the past 5 years. The last one was the Selway River in central Idaho.

To be safe we didn’t want to attempt the MFS with water levels over 6 feet and rising. We needed the water level to be between 6 - 7 and falling.  Which is currently not the case with the water levels and this is only one of the issues. The road for us to shuttle in to the put in is still under 4 to 5 feet of snow. I guess we should have planned a ski trip in June instead of a river trip.  I heard Aspen reopened due to a plethora of snow! Who would have thought?

The good news is we are still hitting the water with a great group of people it just won’t be on the MFS and it is on a river we have never done before. This trip will be more like a camping and hiking trip than a whitewater trip. This means a float trip! Well almost a float trip and it might just be what the doctor ordered to start Lydia’s summer off on the right foot.

We will hit the Owyhee River and put in near Rome Oregon. The Owyhee River is a tributary of the Snake River. It will be a mixture of green and desert. The pictures I’ve seen are amazing. I believe the section we will do is called the Lower Owyhee and should be around a 5 – 7 day trip with lots of layovers, everyone loves layover days.

Well, I better get off the computer before Lydia gets home from shopping! We have lots to do this week to get ready to leave on the trip this Friday. We plan on packing up from the big city tonight and head down to Del Norte and then over to Durango. We have a couple of fun filled days planned in Durango to finalize our wedding ceremony!!! We have had so much fun planning over email and now it is time to get all parties involved together in one place and orchestrate this puppy! I mean who needs to plan I’d be fine with drinking a beer on the river and calling us married!

Ok, I’m off for now but we will do more posting updates this week with laughs and giggles as we plan the wedding ceremony and embark on our first major trip of the summer.

PS. I hope to get Lydia blogging soon these days so you guys don't get tired of hearing from me. It is time for the adventures of Lydia. 

“Madge”