My brother and I did a self-support of the Middle Fork two weeks ago in kayaks at some level above 7 feet. The FS said the river was at 8.8 but according the USGS records it was probably around 7.5 and I was fucking scared. Huge logs were floating with us, mainly through the Impassable Canyon. Does anyone know if the trail follows the river all the way to the confluence with the Main Salmon? Two female rangers at Indian Creek informed us that the trail followed the river all the way to the end, but from my map and from what I observed the trail swerves away at Big Creek. I was scared if I swam I would have to hike out, which would have been the case if I did swim, and from what I saw there is no fucking trail passed Big Creek. I planned on using the trail to either hike out if I lost my boat and/or portage some of the rapids at the end like Weber, Redside etc. the class IV's, but there was no trail and we ran the shit, and were freaked out. I thought about telling the FS about those dumbass girls but nobody really seemed to care. If someone was to swim in there at flood stage, or go into one of those holes, the likelihood of coming out would be slim.
My brother and I did a self-support of the Middle Fork two weeks ago in kayaks at some level above 7 feet. The FS said the river was at 8.8 but according the USGS records it was probably around 7.5 and I was fucking scared. Huge logs were floating with us, mainly through the Impassable Canyon. Does anyone know if the trail follows the river all the way to the confluence with the Main Salmon? Two female rangers at Indian Creek informed us that the trail followed the river all the way to the end, but from my map and from what I observed the trail swerves away at Big Creek. I was scared if I swam I would have to hike out, which would have been the case if I did swim, and from what I saw there is no fucking trail passed Big Creek. I planned on using the trail to either hike out if I lost my boat and/or portage some of the rapids at the end like Weber, Redside etc. the class IV's, but there was no trail and we ran the shit, and were freaked out. I thought about telling the FS about those dumbass girls but nobody really seemed to care. If someone was to swim in there at flood stage, or go into one of those holes, the likelihood of coming out would be slim.
You go to do a river at what is predicted to be peak week or close to it, you get scared and want to blame some FS interns for the trail not being where you thought it was - BTW this has been common knowledge that there is no trail through the last twenty miles since ohhhh around 1937 and then expect someone to give a shit cuz you want to tattle to the FS that someone may have given not great info or you misunderstood what they said.
Dude - grow a set, wash the sand out of your mangina and come see us again sometime.
I have been down at that level and it was scary. Scary fast, but actually a lot of things were washed out. Going 15 miles an hour is interesting cuz things happen so fast. I would have loved to be out there a couple of weeks ago.
No sneak at Weber but almost everything else can be.
Oh yeah there is no trail after Big Creek. But you do wash out to the Main Salmon pretty easily. Just stay in the current for an hour and you'll be there.
That is Jake and Marianne's J-rig. It has at least a 25hp 4stroke on it, but when motors are not allowed they run the rig with oars. It sucks oaring a boat that heavy, yet that is what the round beefy towers you see in the first picture are for. The hose is wrapped around it, and the cantilever log is strapped directly below it.
I have had the pleasure of assisting Captain Jake with rigging his boat and what concerns me is the lack of boxes below the deck in the fore and aft section. This looks like they de-rigged it along with the day cooler taking the snout tube to town, Riggins?.
Maybe find log, stick it into tube while surfing in a hole? Can't wait to get the scoop. His handle is oarboatman on our buzz... oh, hope they are ok.
They are the most competent boaters I have met who do their own month long Alaska trips etc all the time. Actually managed to learn a lot from Jake and Marianne during their stay in CO. Damn that kid knows his shit...
Respect.
.. we'll see you on the MFS on the 17th with flows around 3. L8.
I thought that rig looked familiar, I've help launch it with Jake at westwater, I think he got it in from ex grand guide in castle valley.
Are you sure thats his?
When did he leave westslope? after n school?
If it's his, he did have oars for it!
We were there the same time it was great, minus losing lots of gear (mainly a raft) and leaving some behind which was just picked up yesterday at Dagger! Marsh was full on, we lost a raft in Marsh. It got set-up on a strainer, flipped, finally dislodged and was rode like a bull after our friend Tim caught up with it about 3 miles downstream on his kayak as it floated down the river upside down with a river wide tree on it. He was able to get it off to the shore and tie of the tree and lodge into some others. I just had images of never seeing the gear or raft again and pictured it as it was thrased in Dagger. The raft is toast now, a cross bar broke....You can thank the sacrifice of the raft for the almost river wide log jam that is no longer there about 6 miles upstream from Dagger on river left. We also had someone flip at Velvet - quick recovery. My boyfriend flipped us below Rubber - thinking Devil's Tooth. Flipped stayed next to the boat and held on we were able to get into another - long ass time to get it into the eddy about 1 mile from the confluence - lost even more gear, stoves, my chacos and some other minor things. Cold water - couldn't even catch my breath - that's early season, high water boating We took off on the 24th and hit the bubble on the 1st three days. The weather in the upper eighties on two of them (at least that was the forecast) - it was warm.
When you go early season you expect big water, flips, z-drags! Must be prepared to swim, flip and lose gear if it's not rigged properly! Marsh Creek - lots of trees. not wood trees!
As a note...the forecast leading up to the trip the level were forecasted to be 4.5 feet and I was going to kayak, but the weather changed dramatically and we hit it at above 8' and most of it was coming from Marsh Creek. My kayak stayed behind
We took off on the 24th and hit the bubble on the 1st three days. The weather in the upper eighties on two of them (at least that was the forecast) - it was warm.
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