June 13 Trip Report

Our first six day trip of the 2010 season was a mellow, recharge-the-batteries, enjoy-some-hot springs, read-a-good-book sort of trip.

With reasonably high water and six days to cover the 100 miles of white water we had plenty of time to relax at lunch and in camp.

The group set the tone for the trip during lunch on day one when Harley and Danica spread out on the pea-gravel. An impromptu post-Velvet Falls/post-lunch nap session began as Kyle and Tara sprawled out in the sun followed soon after by their father Dekkers on the front deck of an oar boat and their mother Barb in the shade.

Harley and Danica setting the napping pace. The others just kept falling like flies, very sleepy flies:

Kyle,

Big Jim,

and finally Dekkers hits the front deck in lunch-time sleepy-time style.

We camped at Scout camp on night one and soaked in the springs. We spent night two at Stateland Left and had a pick-up ultimate frisbee on the Thomas Creek airstrip. We arrived at our third night's camp in time for lunch, a nap and a hike up to an overlook all before dinner.

Taking in the views.

Upstream views with Hospital Bar campground in the lower left corner.

Downstream views looking towards Cub creek.

The hikers: Tara, Dekkers, Kyle, Woo, and Birddog.

More hikers: Harley and Danica.

Todd Jackson on Fire Duty.

Idaho's State Flower Syringa in bloom with Wilson Creek Camp in the background.

Overcast skies on day 4 brought heaps and heaps of migrating Western Tanagers to the river, swarming and dive bombing us as we floated and filling camp with their thrills and whistles in camp.

Bighorn Sheep, including a young ram at Bridal Vail Falls.

Rocky guide Tim-O does the whoo-hoo dance of Joy on the last day in Impassable Canyon.

Thanks everyone for a wonderfully relaxing and internal battery charging week on the Middle Fork.

More photos from the trip.

Rig Day time lapse

An unedited first/rough-cut of what Rig Day looks like from the perspective of a Rocky Mountain River Tours Guide. From breakfast, through the rig, the drive to Boundary (with a beer/lotto ticket stop in Challis), sliding boats down the ramp, a walk to Dagger Falls and hanging out around the camp fire this is what happens the day before all our friends arrive at the launch site.

Rig - Day Time Lapse from Aaron Beck on Vimeo.

If the video begins to load but does not play try dragging the progress bar forward in the time line.