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| Date: | May 15-18, 1998 |
| Paddlers: | Fred, Brad, Brent, Rich, Will |
| Craft: | Self-support kayaks (Freefall x 2, Overflow, Mongoose, Extreme) |
| River: | Big Creek - Frank Church Wilderness, Idaho, USA |
 The plane taking off from the
Big Creek backcountry airstrip. This was an interesting feeling - we were
left with our kayaks and only one way out -- down the Big Creek river which
which flows for 34 miles until it reaches the Middle Fork of the Salmon.
None of us had been on the river before, so we didn't quite know what to
expect. We were hoping for some excellent class IV wilderness paddling.
The put-in is less than a mile from the airstrip which we expected to be
hard work with the fully loaded kayak. Fortunately, we met a very nice couple
who were caretakers at the cabins near the airstrip and after some socializing,
they offered to drive us nearer the put-in in their pick-up. In return we
shared some of our alcoholic beverages and had a very enjoyable evening
by the campfire. |
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 This blurry picture was taken out of the tent the
next morning. It was very cold, and the kayaks were covered with a thin
layer of snow. The sun was out though, so it was a beautiful, crisp morning.
It always takes a while to get the boats packed the first day, but we managed
to fit everything in after a while. This wasn't our first self-support trip,
so we had become a little better at bringing the right amount of gear. It
is so much easier if you go down with rafts that can carry everything! |
 This is Will going down
an interesting section on the first day. There were a handful of logjams,
so we kept very alert and close together, always making sure that we could
see a catchable eddy somewhere close. It went smoothly and we managed to
spot all the logs in time. |
 This is Brad and Brent
portaging one of the logs - perhaps the most arduous one to negotiate. Some
of the logs were easier - just a quick carry on some rocks, or leaning back
on the boat while floating carefully under a small clearance. |
 This shows Will
running one of the fun little drops on the upper section. We had scouted
a few spots, but there was nothing that we couldn't handle. This was around
the time where we floated past a little island in the river. I turned my
head towards the bushes, and right there, facing the river, stood a giant
moose looking at me! I didn't seem to take much notice of us, but we had
floated too far downstream before it occurred to me to take a picture of
it! |
 We found a great camp spot, and this shows Brent,
Will and myself playing a round of hack. The camp was a mile or two after
Coxy Rapid, the only named rapid on the river - a long class IV. Fun stuff,
and a great climax to a fun day on the river. We were quite cold by this
time, and we had fantasies about the huge campfire we were going to build.
Putting on some dry clothes when we got to camp helped tremendously. |
 Later that night, Brent
creates a mystical ambiance when he pulls out his bag-pipe practicing whistle
thing. Without the bags, it actually sounds pretty good! |
 I didn't take many pictures the
following day. Here is one of Brent going through some frothy stuff. It
was an absolutely brilliant day of paddling. The river got wider at this
point - no more logjams, just white-water fun. Most of it was moderately
technical that could be run by boat-scouting. I just love going down like
this, jumping from eddy to eddy, finding The Right Line through the mazes
of boulders, holes and pourovers. |
 We wanted to camp somewhere
on the last section of Big Creek, before it joined the Middle Fork of the
Salmon. The reason is that we forgot our firepan (an alumin(i)um baking
tray) which is required on Middle Fork campgrounds. We found one mediocre
campground about a mile or two before the confluence, but we decided to
try for a better one. Unfortunately, there were no further places to camp
and after a while we floated on the Middle Fork. Never mind. There is a
campground on the right bank immediately after the confluence, so we settled
down there. Not a bad spot, really, but no campfire to warm our tootsies. |
 The next day we floated down the Middle Fork which was running
somewhere between 4 and 5 feet - a medium to high flow. Last year I ran
all of this river at very high levels, close to 8 feet, so I wasn't too
worried. This lower 20 mile section is one of the good parts called the
Impassable Canyon, and we had another day of excellent white-water. It was
very different from the Big Creek Experience, though, much less technical
but much bigger water. Just line up somewhere and punch through |
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 On a relatively mellow section, Will, Brent and I
were rafted up next to each other talking about stuff. Suddenly we noticed
that we were floating right into this huge, narrow hole in the middle of
the river. We scrambled to get the hell out of there - Will and Brent went
to either side of the hole but I were not so lucky and went *smack* right
into it. It wasn't huge but it was bloody violent and sticky. I side-surfed
for a bit, trying to get out at the sides. I got flipped over, rolled back
up, still trying to get to the side, almost out - damn, this time it decided
to back-ender me, upside down again, rolled up, other side, front ender,
rolled up, tired, I should try and pull the skirt to flood the boat, cannot
let go of the brace or I'll get window-shaded, try, *wham*, rolled up, damn
let's just get out of here. I pulled the skirt and almost jumped with my
paddle into the backwash and started swimming. It let me go quickly, but
the boat was still in there, showing off a selection of rodeo moves that
I have never been able to do when in it. Well, I got to shore and Will and
Brent got the boat after it eventually decided to leave the playhole. |
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Everybody makes fun of my family style station wagon, but check it out with five kayaks on top, gear, and five smelly paddlers comfortably lounging inside. Smooth riding. |
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Jethro Tull | About Frederik | About Mathias | �1996-2012 Willerup Brothers
