Salmon River Rafting Lodge Heaven - Shepp Ranch

Rafting trips on the Salmon River in Idaho are one of the premier vacation experiences in the United States.  Relatively warm water, abundent wildlife and incredible white water are only part of what makes this such a unique family and adventure friendly experience.  Here at Orange Torpedo Trips we view the Main Salmon rafting trip as the premier multiday white water family expedition experience.  One reason we think this is such a great trip is the lodge we stay at the last night of our float.

Shepp Ranch has a rich history in the Salmon River canyon.  Not only is the history long, but it is detailed.  A daily journal from the ranch stems back over 75 years giving its history un-equaled accuracy and detail in the Salmon River Canyon.

The ranch at the mouth of Crooked Creek which float into on day 4 of our Main Salmon raft trip was founded by Charlie Shepp and Pete Klinkhammer in 1909.  They purchased the ranch for $1000 with the plan of growing produce to sell to the miners in the local area.  In 1910, their first year, they planted early and were something less than succesful but in following seasons they had a plentiful garden which included: potatoes, corn, beans, beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, asparagas, rootabagas, watermelons, squash, tobacco, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, and hops.   Gardening was mostly up to Charlie Shepp who maintained this bountiful garden in the summer seasons between floods.

Living deep in the backcountry of Idaho on the Salmon River was not, and is not, without its adventures.  Simply getting in to town could be a life or death undertaking.  The River of No Return by Johnny Carrey and Cort Conley tells a great tale of Pete Klinkenhammer and Jack Wilson trying to go from Grangeville back into the canyon when they became stuck in snow so deep it was up to the chest of their horses.  The group hunkered down for the night and started a small fire simply hoping to survive.  Eventually men from the local mining community who heard the men were on their way assumed they had become stuck in the storm and went out in the middle of the night looking for them.  "Suddenly, through the darkness, came flashes of light and voices - 20 men on snowshoes, with swinging lanterns, from Humptown.... Each man had a bottle of whiskey, some had two.  They brought food, everything, even hay for the horses.  Shoveling out a clearing, they built a massive bonfire, set coffee pots to boil, then sat around the fire and talked and sang all night."  That is a true Idaho rescue party!  The stories continue and you can read more about the great Salmon River Canyon history book The River of No Return

Shepp Ranch still holds onto its historical roots with the original cabin at the heart of the facility.  Mike and Lynne who have been managing Shepp since 1982 are two of our favorite people with an unmatched ability to make everyone feel at home.  When you arrive at Shepp Ranch Mike and the staff help load your gear onto the tractor while Lynne guides you up to the ranch house for fresh lemonade and cookies before you spend the afternoon relaxing in the shade, playing sand volleyball, fishing the creek, or hiking.

On our Salmon River rafting trips, Shepp Ranch is always a highlight for both customers and guides.  Everyone loves the home cooked meals with vegetables fresh from the garden.  A highlight for me is always the bonfire on the beach giving us guides a night to relax and spend time with our guests.  If we have not seen you on a rafting trip down the Salmon River before I hope we do this year.

Idaho Adventure in the Winter: McCall Winter Festival

If you want to experience some winter time Idaho adventure the McCall Winter festival is a uniquely Idaho experience at its best. Idaho is known for doing things its own way, filled with great people who know how to have a good time. The McCall Winter Festival is one of the very few places you can partake in or watch unique activities like "Snowshoe Golf", "snowbike racing," and "Horse Skijoring". The event will also have tubing hills, wine tasting, and free skiing.

If you have any free time between Jan 29, 2010 and Feb 7, 2010 I would strongly recommend you make your way to McCall Idaho and their amazing winter festival. This is a great event for everyone in the family from kids to adults. During the day if you get tired of all the fun festival events you can always drive 15 minutes to Brundage and make some turns before heading back to town for some adventurous Idaho nightlife. Learn more about the McCall Winter Festival at the official website www.mccallwinterfestival.comPhotos from mccallwintercarnival.com/

Rafting the Salmon River in Idaho, the best books to have.

Idaho's Salmon River is home to some of the best white water rafting in the United States. It's the best for a collection of reasons: spectacular rapids, un-matched scenery, exciting history, and unique remoteness. These things add together making a rafting trip down the Main or Lower Salmon an experience of a life time.
If you're thinking about experiencing this white water heaven for yourself plan on getting the full experience and filling yourself with some knowledge of the area before you come. I suggest tracking down some of the best books on the Salmon River so that when you arrive you have a deep knowledge of the areas history to give you the richest experience possible.
The must have books for a rafting trip on the Salmon River.
1. Idaho's Salmon River: A river runners guide to the river of no return by Eric J. Newell & Allison J. Newell

This is a must have book for anyone planning on floating into the Frank Church Wilderness. In the pages of this spectacular Salmon River guidebook you find drawings of the rapids and how to run them, detailed overviews of the areas unique geography, and some well written accounts of the history surrounding some of the Main Salmon's more unique historical landmarks. The full color book comes printed on water resistant paper allowing years of splashing. If you come on the Main Salmon with Orange Torpedo Trips you don't need the book, but we find the people who have it are always glad they do. Find the book on their website here. Tell them you are an Orange Torpedo Trips customer and you will receive a signed copy.

#2. River of No Return by Cort Conley and John Carrey
THE history resource for the Salmon River canyon. If there was anything you wanted to know about the Salmon River canyon the story will be in here. Learn how some employees of a government agency accidentally blew up the Lance cabin. Find out all you would want to know about Buckskin Bill or why the Killum family literally built their house on the river trail so anyone passing had to walk through. Reading this book in the canyon brings the history alive and adds another dimension of enjoyment to the float.

#3. River Tales of Idaho by Darcy Williamson
This is a fun collection of tales from throughout the massive Idaho river system. The rivers of Idaho have always been a powerful player in the development and economy of the state. This book tries to capture the tales which best describe the atmosphere of this development. Stories like "First boat down the river of no return" and "Winter Journey Down the Salmon" accurately describe the adventurous nature of Idaho rivers and the development of the state surrounding them.

#4 Idaho Loners: Hermits, Solitaries, and Individualists By Cort Conley
This book is just simply fun. Idaho was one of the last stands for the back country life style in the continental U.S. This book does a fabulous job of helping the rest of us understand and meet some of the more known members of this last stand of living in the wild. This is a fun resource to learn about the famous "Buckskin Bill" of the Salmon River. Other characters covered in the book include Wheelbarrow Annie, Hermit of impassable canyon, Wildhorse Cowgirl, Free Press Frances, Dugout Dick, and many others.
While this book is not specific to the Salmon River it makes a great companion on a rafting trip down the "River of No Return". Reading the book and sitting on a riverside beach in the canyon you begin to better understand why some of them chose the isolated lives they did.

Sign up for the Main or Lower Salmon river trips, buy the books, and get ready for the vacation of a lifetime.

The Salmon River rafting dog

So we had a customer request to bring their dog on a trip down the Main Salmon River last summer. We have not had a dog request in a long time so we thought about it, learned about the dog and said ok. The dog was great, it was a trained aid dog that had apparently not passed its final tests because it was overly friendly. So it spent its days on the Main Salmon River sitting on the back of the raft relaxing in the sun. However, when we would get to camp this dog had one strange habit................


Okay.... so we may have staged this photo, but the dog would sleep like this sometimes. You would pet her stomach and she was out.

Summer fun on the Main Salmon River. Can't wait until next year.