River of Return

In late summer of 2019, Tim Halder, Damon Healy and I completed the "River of Return" packraft trip. This crerative loop first tackled five or so years ago (I think) by Forest McCarthy and a few other packrafting pioneers combines some of the best sections of the Main Salmon River, the Middle Fork of the Salmon and Big Creek with a beautiful 35 mile hike to form a loop through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. We had optimal weather conditions (hot and sunny on the river but cool and rainy while hiking) and good late season flows which made for one of the best trips of my life!

The trip starts at Cache Bar on the Main Salmon River, the standard take out for the Middle Fork just below where the Middle meets the Main. Eight days later we would float the last 20 or so miles on the Middle Fork back to our car. No shuttle involved! Here's Tim departing camp on our first morning on the Main.
River Return 131 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
Not surprisingly, the biggest whitewater (though not the most challenging) is on the Main Salmon. Here's Tim in one of the earlier rapids.
River Return 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
I'm not a big fisherman, but by all reports, the fly fishing is outstanding. We ran into a couple from McCall fishing on Big Creek who had been coming every year for a long time and reported their "best day ever". Tim had the same experience on Big Creek.
River Return 109 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
I guess if you spend enough nights sleeping under the stars, eventually you wake up with a rattle snake cozying up to you. Apparently we both had the same idea of sleeping under an overhanging cliff on a rainy night.
River Return 151 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
And thus begins the hiking where the South Fork of the Salmon meets the Main.
River Return 183 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
Passing above the McKay ranch at the confluence was a bit surreal with three fixed wing planes and two helicopters on the lawn. Had we been in South America I would have thought we'd stumbled onto the cartel.
River Return 178 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
With warnings of 100 degree heat from friends who had done the trip a couple of years prior, we got an early start for the climb out of the canyon onto Horse Heaven Ridge, a 6000 ft grunt with heavy packs. Thankfully, a front moved in and we were blessed with cool, rainy weather.
America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
The clouds and morning light made for some dramatic scenery.
River Return 206 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
River Return 209 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
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River Return 238 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
Our goal for the night was the abandoned fire lookout on top of Chicken Peak, seen here in the distance, about a 12 mile hike from the river.
River Return 349 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
The combination of burned forest and wildflowers added to the beauty (though the amount of torched forest in Idaho is staggering).
River Return 375 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
A few sunset shots from the top of Chicken Peak.
River Return 438 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
River Return 410 761 HDR America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
River Return 453 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
The next morning we woke to full-on Cascadian conditions...cold, wet and completely socked in.
River Return 471 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
After three days and 35 miles of hiking, the weather improved just in time to hit Big Creek where it's joined by Beaver Creek. We were happy and lucky to find just enough water in the creek to float our packrafts.
River Return 544 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
With the exception of the last 5 mile gorge, the majority of Big Creek is relatively calm, quite remote, and stunningly beautiful.
River Return 565 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
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Though the calm sections are punctuated by a few fun rapids.
River Return 585 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
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River Return 604 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
Our last camp on Big Creek was a highlight of the trip.
River Return 664 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
On our third morning on Big Creek, we reached the confluence with the Middle Fork. The USFS will let you float out without a permit, but you aren't allowed to sleep on the Middle Fork. This made for a long day.
River Return 740 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft
Unfortunately, my camera and I both swam in one of the MF rapids, so the photographic journey ended here, but we floated through Impassable Canyon on the Middle Fork, running some of the biggest rapids of the trip. I have been lucky to float this section of the Middle Fork five times now and every time I am blown away by how beautiful it is...certainly one of may favorite rivers on earth. All in all, a fantastic trip with great partners! If you want to see more, check out this video by Damon. It's pretty darn cool... https://youtu.be/zs39rOoS3sg
River Return 755 761 America Frank Church River of No Retrun Wilderness Idaho North America Northwest River of Return Salmon River USA United States of America packraft

Images from a Life Outside

River of Return