+++Flight times are determined by availability with our charter. Below is an ideal schedule, but is subject to change.

Morning flight from Boise to Salmon, enjoy scenic views of Idaho Wilderness. Arrive Salmon, Idaho. We will drop our bags off at the hotel and stretch our legs with a walk downtown. Followed by a visit to the Sacajawea Interpretive Site & Cultural Center and hike the trails.

5pm: Meet at Lemhi County River History Museum to meet our partner and lead guide of Aggipah River Trips, Stephanie Ellis. During this orientation, participants will each receive waterproof duffel bags, and instruction on how to use them. Stephanie will go over the expedition plan, and answer questions about the upcoming adventure. 

Group dinner at a restaurant in historic downtown Salmon. Overnight at the Stagecoach Inn or Similar. (BD)

 After breakfast we take a two-hour (bumpy) bus ride to put-in at Corn Creek. Here, your guide will go through pre-trip orientation. Expect to be on the river by 11am.

Our introduction to the Main Salmon starts with exciting rapids such as Killum, Gunbarrel, Alder Creek, Rainier, Devil’s Teeth. Around 1pm, we will take a break and enjoy a riverside lunch with locally sourced ingredients. Your guide will lead you to some native American pictographs and give you insight about what life was like for people who lived in the canyon 12,000 years ago.

After lunch, more river rafting fun, and then arrive in camp about 4:30pm. 7:30pm Dinner. Relax with new friends. (BLD)

 6:15am Rise in the morning to smell of alpine air and freshly brewed coffee followed by a hearty breakfast prepared by your guides.

Break camp, and head downstream for another day in paradise. Expect big rapids like Black Creek, Hancock and Bailey with stretches of tranquil water allowing you to look for wildlife as you gaze at mountain views. A few excursions including a soak in a hot spring will break up the day on the water. 

Arrive at camp about 4:30pm. Dinner. Swap stories by the campfire. (BLD)

 Sip coffee riverside. Stretch. Feel the freedom of wilderness, the flow of the river, and connecting with nature. The routine of river life is settling in. You decide you may never leave.

Today you will have a mix of adrenaline pumping whitewater excitement. We’ll run 5-Mile, Split Rock, Big Mallard, Elkhorn and Growler Rapids,  with stops for informative land excursions to learn about women who came to the Salmon River and never left.

Mid-morning meet with a local woman caretaker who has made her home along the Salmon River for 30+ years. You will learn what it takes to live year-round in one of the most remote parts of the US including a visit to her self-sustaining garden.

Afternoon, we will make an interpretive stop at another homestead. Learn how Francis Zaunmiller Wisner spent 46 years on the Salmon River, outliving two husbands and being self-sufficient. Overnight at a remote river lodge. Enjoy a hot shower and other creature comforts. Dinner. (BLD)

 Lower in the canyon, the thick forest gives way to steep granite cliffs and the glass-like pools provide a place for play and reflection.

The water conditions ahead make it a good day for inflatable kayaking! You will experience smooth water intermixed with class II+ whitewater. Stop at Painter Mine where we will learn about gold mining in the Salmon River canyon. Lunch and informative session at Buckskin Bill’s homestead. Here, learn about how Buckskin made his living along the river, and visit with Barbra, who has been caretaking and living full-time at the place since 1983.

More river time through afternoon, arrive in camp around 4:30pm.  Dinner. A billion-star show starts at sunset. Do not forget to look up.

Expect another good inflatable kayaking morning with smooth water intermixed with small rapids. Visit Polly Bemis’s homestead, a Chinese immigrant who began her life in Idaho in a mining camp in the late 1800s and moved to the Salmon River in the late 1890s. She lived here until her death in 1933, several of those later years alone.

Lunch shortly afterwards, then the rest of the day spent on the river. Arrive in camp around 4:30pm. Celebrate the last night on the river. There will be lots of she-nanigians to reminisce about over the past few days together. Belly-laughs guaranteed.

 Enjoy a leisurely morning. Depart camp at 9am. 

Fun morning with three of the largest rapids on the trip, Chittam, Vinegar Creek, Carey Falls. Arrive at Carey Creek take-out boat ramp around 11:30. Transfer by bus to Riggins with a box lunch. Transfer to McCall. Overnight in McCall. Group farewell dinner. (BLD) 

 8am Ground transfer from McCall to Boise Airport. The drive is about 2 hours. Participants will arrive by 10-10:30am. Plan for flights to depart after 1pm.