Sheila Testing River Recipes

It's spring and Sheila is working on the menu for this river season. The best part is when she has friends and neighbors over to sample the fare. So, on a snowy February evening in Boise the simulated Dutch oven river meal is being enjoyed by 14 happy people.



Lucky for Sheila, Aaron "Birddog" river guide was available to be sous chef for the evening. The two of them had a great time cooking and serving the guests.

July 17, 2010 Trip Report

Here is a movie from the last trip, enjoy:

100717 Rocky Mtn. River Tours from Aaron Beck on Vimeo.

Trip Report: July 1, 2010

There is something really great about the July 1st launch date. Maybe it is that the flowers are in bloom, salmon are on their way to spawning beds, plenty of sunshine on our faces, consistent water flows, or the fact that we move from a 9-day turn around to an 8-day schedule, but for some reason once July rolls around it feels like the summer is finally underway.

We were lucky enough to start the July 1st trip with a walk to Dagger Falls to watch wild, native Chinook Salmon driving headlong up the falls on their way to the Middle Fork's headwaters (Bear Valley and Marsh Creeks) and to their spawning beds.

What an incredible show:

The crew at the Dagger Falls observation deck.

Even though high water is a few weeks behind us, Mother Nature threw us a curve ball right out of the gates. Just below TeePee Hole a log blocked the river early on day-1. Thanks to Jon Green and other sweep boat drivers on the river a portion of the log was cut out and we were able to squeak down the left shore.

Big Jim and friends making the tight squeeze.

Besides celebrating Idaho's birthday on July 3rd and our national holiday on the the 4th of July, we celebrated a birthday and a 10 year wedding anniversary on night two at Marble Right Camp.
Mari entered her 21st year on July 2nd and we celebrated with a double layer Camel Gulch Carrott cake. I wonder what she wished for when she blew out her candles?
We don't think that Chris and Nicole could have picked a better place to celebrate 10 years together. Congratulations.

Night 3, River-rita night at White Creek Camp.

With swift flows and short mileage we packed a sack lunch and spent day 4 up Loon Creek enjoying the canyon narrows, the cool creek water, and the springs.

Mari and her father Rob enjoy lunch at the Loon Creek hot springs after returning from the Loon Creek "narrows."

Swallowtail Butterflies feed on the mineral rich sands of Loon Creek hot springs and a young Rocky Mountain Bighorn Ram just below Tappen III rapid.

After a stop at the Shark Fin pictograph panel Jon Green drives the his boat through Aparejo Rapid and Emily Beck and gang enjoy calm waters below the same rapid.

Keri Knudson slides along the canyon wall at Lower Cliffside Rapid (above) and the paddle boat and duckies are dwarfed against the high water mark at the base of the same rapid (below).

No audio this week, but here is a short video segment with Keri Knudsen at Loon Creek hot springs, a pictograph interp session with Jon Green and Emily Beck pushing through Lower Cliffside Rapid.

July 1st, 2010 Rocky Mtn. River Tours from Aaron Beck on Vimeo.

The summer is finally in full swing. YeeYaaaaa!

More images.

June 22 Trip Report

The June 22nd trip is a favorite date of many Rocky guides. The June 22nd trip ALWAYS launches from Boundary Creek, the river is ALWAYS rolling with fun waves, but ALWAYS low enough for 12 year olds to share river time with grandparents, the scent of Idaho's state flower the Syringa fills the canyon, hillsides are lush and green, and by Day-4 folks are swimming at camp to cool off in the afternoon sun.

Starving Stoddard Subway Sandwiches and Trail Flat Hotsprings on Day-1.

Big Jim, Jon Green and Todd Jackson prepare lunch on day-2 at the mouth of Pistol Creek.

Cameron Creek pictograph panel, Day-3.

Tiana is all smiles on an impulsive mid-day Cougar Creek area hike.

Late June is blossom time on the Middle Fork. The pleasant aroma of Idaho's state flower - the Syringa - filled the canyon last week but it wasn't the only blossom in full bloom last week. Wild Rose, Bitterroot, Sky Rocket, Purple Penstemon, Phlox, and Thimbleberry (above) all made full-blown appearances.

Jon Green and the paddle boat crew drop into Tappen Falls.

Big Jim pushes the Madera clan towards a face-full of fun in Tappen Falls.

Jon Green and the paddle boat crew blast through Tappen III.

"If you don't know, let me show you how to work it out, I know you wanna do the Jane Fonda." Big Jim and Karen part way through a private Yoga session morning of Day-4 at Driftwood camp.

Jackson and paddle crew, center line, Redside Rapid, day-5.

Headed towards Weber Rapid in the heart of the Impassable Canyon, Day-5.

More photos from the trip.

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.

Gnocchi Instruction

Learning about food and food prep never ends for the Rocky guides. This winter, in her Boise kitchen, Sheila instructed Aaron, Jim and Emily on how to prepare Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Russet Potato Gnocchi along with a fabulous hors d'oeuvres, Gougeres, French cheese puffs. They all went home with trays of gnocchi but the gougeres didn't last long. Yum!