7/30/2011: Salmon R., M. Fk., Boundary Creek to Cache Bar

With: Mick Schlotfeldt, Willy Young, Dan Bertko, Lois Carra, Chris Kelly, Nannette Laughrey, John "Gordo" Henderson, Bonnie Henderson, Chris Bell, Don Kinser, Judy Ranelli, Larry Rice, Fran Rulon-Miller, Brian Dollar, Bruce Bird, Theral Mikesell, Lizette Mikesell
Ship Island camp to Cache Bar.

We got off to an earlier start than usual and after we stopped to hike up to Parrott's grotto and successfully ran the last two difficult rapids of the Middle Fork -- Rubber and Hancock -- we hustled down the river because Bruce had to return his rented raft to Stanley before close of business.

Hustling down the river got us badly spread out, and by the time I got to the biggest rapid of the entire trip, Kramer, on the mainstem of the Salmon, there were three of us bringing up the rear, with no-one else in sight. Chris Bell found an open-boat sneak down the left and I found an open-boat sneak down the right. And Dan managed to pin his canoe -- a full-broadside open-side upstream two-point pin -- at the bottom of the drop. Chris and I hiked back upstream, got some control ropes on the boat, and we managed to strongarm it off the pin before some of our friends showed up, by truck on the road above, to help.

This was 15.2 miles on the last day, and after unrigging and loading up the vehicles (which our shuttle company, Blackadar Boating, had left for us at the take-out) it was about a 60-mile drive, along dirt roads for the first 40 miles, into the town of Salmon, where Judy, Bruce, Bryan, Chris B, and Don had hotel reservations. Willy, Mick and I found a reasonable campground right in town. We all ate a fine dinner in Bertram's Brew Pub, then the three of us went back to camp for our first shower in a week.
1. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
2. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
3. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
4. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
5. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
6. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
7. Mick and Dan on MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
8. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
9. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
10. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
11. Willy and Mick on MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
12. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
13. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
14. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
15. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
16. Parrott's cabin; MF Salmon
17. Parrott's cabin; MF Salmon
18. Parrott's cabin; MF Salmon
19. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
20. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
21. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
22. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
23. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
24. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
25. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
26. Fan and Larry; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
27. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
28. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
29. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
30. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
31. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
32. MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
33. Rubber rapid; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
34. Rubber rapid; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
35. Rubber rapid; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
36. Chris B in Rubber rapid; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
37. Chris B in Rubber rapid; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
38. Chris B in Rubber rapid; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
39. Chris B in Rubber rapid; MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
40. Vultire beside the MF Salmon: Ship Island camp to Cache Bar takeout
41. Cramer Creek rapid, Main Salmon above Cache Bar takeout
42. Cramer Creek rapid, Main Salmon above Cache Bar takeout
43. Cache Bar takeout
44. Mouth of the MF Salmon from the Cache Bar takeout road
45. Bighorn Sheep beside the Cache Bar takeout road
46. Bighorn Sheep beside the Cache Bar takeout road