5 things to know before booking your rafting trip on the Main Salmon

A rafting trip down the Main Salmon River is the vacation of a lifetime so it's important to make sure you book the right trip, with the right company, at the right time, with the right options. Here is a guide to help make sure you find exactly what you are looking for.

1. Transportation.
Getting the put-in and take-out of the River of No Return can be complicated due to the remote nature of the trip. When booking your trip you should have a few different options for transportation and those should be reflected in the price A: The full treatment. Fly into Boise and then take Salmon Air from Boise to Salmon. From Salmon the company should bus you into the put-in at Corn Creek. From the Take-out at Carry Creek the company should provide transportation back to Boise via van or air from McCall. B: Salmon to Salmon: Some trips a company provides transportation from Salmon Idaho (requiring you to drive there) to Corn Creek and then from Carey Creek to McCall where you catch a Salmon Air flight back to Salmon and your vehicle. This works well if you live close to Salmon. With this option you can usually also choose to have your vehicle shuttled from Salmon to Carrey Creek or McCall instead of catching the flight back to Salmon. This option may be cheaper depending on if your group is larger than 2. Our trips cover all these options, but with most people coming from out of state, the Boise to Boise option with the included Salmon Air flight is the most popular.

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2. Time of the year and river flow.
The Salmon River is the longest river in the country without a dam. This freedom means that unlike the Rogue River in Oregon where flow remain somewhat constant all summer long because of dam control, the flow on the Salmon progressively decreases as peak of snow melt passes. Early season usually means high, colder water. More water in many place means bigger waves and can be extremely exciting for those looking for a big ride. By the first or second week of July the Salmon has usually warmed up and settled into great mid-summer flows. For these couple weeks the river has big waves with plenty of excitement while also being a little easier and warmer than trips in the latter part of June.
Later into the summer the flows drop and the rocks come out. The river is always fun, but now it changes to more technical maneuvering. The lower water usually brings out some of the best beaches which were hidden below the surface earlier in the summer. Talk to your company about when the weather and water flows are most likely to match the type of trip you're looking for. You can always call us at 800-635-2925 for an idea.

3.Camping, lodges, or a combo.
The Main Salmon is one of the few rivers in the U.S. where you can float lodge to lodge on a rafting trip. The Salmon River also has some of the best camping of any river in the country, so how do you choose what to do? At Orange Torpedo Trips we think you opt to do both. On our trips we camp for 3 or 4 nights and stay at a lodge for one. After camping on beautiful beaches for 3 nights the lodge comes as a nice transitional step back into the modern world.

4.Type of boat. How are you going to travel down the river? This choice will play an enormous role in your experience. Sitting on the front of an oared raft provides plenty of time to take in scenery, relax in the sun, and talk with your guide. Paddle rafting means time with your friends, but plenty of organizing your group efforts to paddle through the flats. Third, is our personal favorite, paddling an inflatable kayak (IK). When you can learn from a guide and then follow a guide through the rapids it allows complete beginners to experience the joy of riding over waves and the satisfaction that comes from saying, "I paddled the Main Salmon" to all of your friends. Many companies offer an inflatable kayak option, but only with Orange Torpedo Trips do you have a guide in an IK teaching you as you go, guiding you through the rapids, and being right there to pick you out of the water within seconds if you happen to tip. 39 years of satisfied customers say this is the way to travel.

5.Trip take-out. The Main Salmon has a few different spots to exit the river. Some trip options include flying out of Shepp Ranch or Mackay Bar. Some take-out at Vinegar Creek, and some like us go all the way to Carrey Creek. We believe going the extra few miles to Carrey Creek provides a better end to the trip. Vinegar rapid (one of my favorites of the whole trip) is guaranteed to get you wet and makes the best end to the trip. Don't miss one of the best rapids of the river, make sure you trip goes all the way to Carrey.

If you want to download the details about this trip with Orange Torpedo Trips Click Here and download the Main Salmon brochure. If you're ready to go Click here to book now.

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.