English: Map of the Salmon River watershed in Idaho (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve returned from  a week on the Middle Fork of the River of No Return. We’re now off to enjoy three weeks on the banks of the Wood River and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. We’ll have occasional connection to the ‘net, so will try to catch up with what’s been going on in civilization.

During the orientation talk before we put in at Boundary Creek we learned of several hazards ahead. There were several trees in the river from the fire along the west bank for several miles; one had taken out a kayaker the day before. Dislodged by fire atop a cliff about 1,000 feet above the river, a rock that had reached terminal velocity hit the water like a bomb between our boat and the one ahead of us—ka-BLAMM!! Ten boats rowed to the center very swiftly as we watched smoldering bushes up the scree slope. A message from above.

I’ll write more about the Middle Fork trip soon.