Self-supporting the Selway... August 2011

Paradise put-in on the Selway River, Idaho

In August, I got the chance to do my first multi-day and first self-support river trip on the Selway in Idaho.  The Selway is known as a tough river to get a permit for, but due to the record snow melt of 2011, the water kept flowing after the permit season closed on July 31st. Some other folks planning to join us bailed, so it was just Tom and me.

We left on Tuesday and drove all the way from Seattle to Missoula, MT.  Tom and I stopped at a pub and had dinner and a beer, then it was off to REI for a few last minute items including my fabulous purple sunglasses. Bug goop. Beef Jerky. A spork.

Then on to Lake Como, almost to Darby, MT, where we camped for the night. We rolled in after dark, got out the tarp, sleeping pad, bags and slept under the stars.  The bugs weren't bad at all.

We got up in the morning and headed into Darby for breakfast and to meet our shuttle driver, Karen Kidd. We gave Karen an extra key, and she arrived after we put on to drive my car to the take-out, which was quite convenient. 

At the pass

From there, we headed to the put-in, requiring a drive over a beautiful mountain pass in the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness. We had to drive down a looong dirt road to get to the Indian creek put-in. "Highway to Hell" came up on the iPod... Tom didn't think we should be listening to that prior to embarking on our journey. 

It was tough to pack! We pulled out all of our stuff and tried to figure out what we needed, wanted, and how to fit it all in the boats.  I was paddling my brand new Villain S, and Tom was in a Rocker. 

Hmmmmmmm......

I packed a tarp, sleeping bag, jetboil, extra fuel, a bag of limited toiletries, food, crocs, a titanium cup, my spork. I brought a drysack of clothes which contained heavyweight polypro top/bottom, wool socks, down jacket, extra shorts for camp, extra swim bottoms (not used), extra polypro tank (not used). A drysack with an extra rash guard layer (not used), paddling/camp fleece (not used), nylon rope (used) and a bunch of wag bags.  At least the unused items didn't take up too much space.

I also packed a day bag of easily accessible items such as safety kit, pack towel, food allotment for the day, toothbrush, contacts, soap, bug goop, sunscreen, and a wagbag.

In my pfd, I packed iodine water treatment tablets, a waterproof headlamp, two carabiners, extra noseplugs, folding knife, extra contacts, camera, sometimes sunglasses and clif bars. I carried the tablets and headlamp on my person in the event of an emergency (boat loss).

Tom didn't pack a stove but he carried the water filter. It's gravity fed, so we just fill a bag of water and it hangs there for use anytime we want water while at camp. No pumping, very convenient.

I had two big stern shaped dry bags I had to pack everything in.  I stuffed the tarp in the very bottom to fill out the small, narrow space.  Then my sleeping pad next to a small drysack of evening wear (long undies and socks).  Then my other drysack of extra clothes and wagbags.  Lastly, crocs. On the other side, I put the stove first, then food (in a drysack), then sleeping bag. the sleeping bag was definitely the hardest thing to fit in the boat.  This wasn't because there wasn't space.  Fitting the bag through the small opening into the stern was challenging.  Everything I brought fit in the stern.

We had a totally clear and warm forecast so we decided to leave the bivy sacks and rain gear/jackets in the car.  We took a tarp, and a tee-pee style tent to serve as a rain shelter (not used).  The bugs were practically non-existent, so another reason we didn't bring the bivies.

I was a little nervous while we were driving there. Two people ("one is suicide, two's a witness, three's a rescue"). 52 miles. A number of class IV rapids (the hardest deep into the run) surrounded by many class III rapids. Swimming meant potentially losing my boat... and food... and shelter... and warmth... There was, however, a trail that ran along the river, so you could hike out easily.  Also comforting, was that this premiere big water trip was at low water, making it more pool drop, less continuous, less pushy, and more technical whitewater (which I prefer anyway). Although the hike out is easy and the water is low, it is still a committing run.

So I was nervous. But once we got there and started packing, all the anxiety melted away.

We were on a mission.

Day 1 ~ And so it begins...

Tom ready to launch at the Indian Creek get on

The usual put-in at Paradise was closed, so we put in 5 miles upstream of the usual 47 mile trip, at Indian Creek.  It was 1.2' on the Paradise gage. As we drove in, we passed a forest service truck which stopped to survey us. They told us that some rafters put on here a day ago, and they said the stretch from Indian Creek to Paradise contained class IV rapids.

So here we are, I'm in a brand new boat. Loaded with gear. On a tight, technical riverbed. With no warm up. In class IV rapids. Just me and a guy i don't know that well.  4 days and 52 miles. Oh crap.

Let's go, no turning back now.

After suiting up, dragging my boat down and getting in, I had no doubts about this adventure. I was confident and excited. 

The new boat felt great, even loaded down. We paddled through technical class III at ELFing flows, definitely not class IV, with one portage around a log, the only portage of the trip. 

ELFing above Paradise

We made it about 17 miles that day through several fun class III rapids. They were much more technical than they usually are at normal levels, but still class III. There was also a decent amount of flatwater, which was fine. It was warm, sunny, and we were in a beautiful place.

We ran our first class IV (Goat's Creek rapid) just before making camp. This was more of a IV-, maybe a III plus at these water levels. Very fun rapid - long and twisty around giant boulders and not pushy at low water.

First night at camp

We waited until after dark to hang all our food away from the bears. Tom did all the work. We had trouble though. On the first attempt, the branch broke. On the second attempt, the bag wasn't high enough - I was swatting at it. Third time's the charm. 

I decided to forego the bug goop (with deet!) because they didn't seem that bad. The no see ums were awful though, and with no bivy or tent, they had a field day on me. I got some sleep, but it wasn't great. 

Day 2 ~ Mostly Flatwater

Neither of us took a watch, so we never knew what time it was. 8am or 10am? 2pm or 5pm? Time was a different thing, I liked it. And with the long summer days, who cares?

We did another 17 miles or so, with only one notable rapid, supposedly class IV, called Ham. I don't remember the rapid itself, but I do remember it was more of a III than a IV. There was a lot of flatwater and some class II rapids. This was the least interesting day of whitewater.

But it was still a glorious day! There is nothing like floating down a river with everything you need, exploring what's around every bend. Life felt so... remarkably simple.  I felt free.

Until this point, we hadn't seen a soul after getting on, but when we pulled into a campsite, there were 4 rafts. We met a rafter who says to Tom, "You are welcome to camp here, but you can't have our beer." Then he sees me and says, "Oh, I didn't see you. You can have our beer."

And I did.  Two Blue Moons and I also scored two brownies.  The rafters were good company, and the crew included another chick... always nice to see a fellow river babe!  The campsite was plenty big for both crews, and our area was quite private.  

Two doe wandered into our campsite and then wandered off. A young buck also wandered in, walked towards us, got close, then kept on wandering.

The moon was nearly full and lit up the river so that it looked like a big ferry boat was heading down the river. It was awesome.

Day 3 ~ Moose Juice Day

When I woke, the rafters were already gone. We had camped at the confluence with Moose Creek, which adds a significant amount of water to the river, and this was to be the exciting day of hard rapids. We planned only 10 miles or so for this day.

The Empty Ladle, a IV+ at normal levels

The first was called Wahoots. Very straightforward, just follow the water. Then we came to the feared "Ladle." Which was more like the empty ladle. This rapid is marked class IV+ on the map and is supposed to be the hardest of the trip. Because the river is a wide boulder garden here, the low flow didn't make much of a rapid. It was more of a "find the path with enough water" maze game.

There were a number of other fun rapids we encountered, which unfortunately, I no long remember the names of.

Tom bumping through the bottom of Ladle

I had a lot of fun playing with the new Villain on Moose Juice day.  I got the boat because I wanted something with more volume that was also more forgiving than my small Burn, especially when loaded up for a multi-day self-support trip. The boat delivered and was easy to roll, too.  The biggest adjustment was regarding my lean while catching eddies, no biggie.

Me lovin' life at Puzzle Creek Rapid

On days 1 and 2, we didn't see anyone on the river, only the rafters at camp.  Day 3 brought six IKers, the only other people we encountered on the trip.

This day also brought two bear sightings, which was pretty exciting for me since I had never seen a bear before.  Very cute creatures... maybe not so cute if they're stealing your dinner.

Camp 3, right above Wolf Creek Rapid

We met the rafters again at another campsite, said hello, then moved on to the next campsite. And did we ever find a nice one.  There was a nice little class II+ drop before it, a big rocky beach, and  a nice campsite in the woods.

Crow above Wolk Creek Rapid

Due to the low mileage day, we made it into camp nice and early. I did yoga, and Tom went fishing. We had plenty of time to savor our last night at camp.  We went for a short walk - up the trail to scout the next rapid, Wolf Creek. It's a class IV, and our first rapid for day 4.

This was probably the most difficult rapid of the trip, with plenty of water since the river channelizes here. There was a move and a couple holes, but no dangerous hazards. We scouted and planned out our lines.

Since it was our last night on the river, we had a special dessert that Tom brought.  "Cheesecake" from a bag. It turned out more like mousse than cheesecake and was the best "cheesecake" ever after a fun day of paddling and eating only camping food for a few days. It was awesome with our hot chocolate!

Day 4

Ah, the last day.  We only had about 8 miles to the take out, and then we were loading up and heading back to Seattle. 

Wolf Creek, from the trail above

The day started with a bang, Wolf Creek rapid.  I wasn't quite awake, and not nearly as pumped as I was the night before.  We scouted again to refresh our memory.  Something about my chosen line had been deceiving, and I ended up blowing my line, hitting the holes and flipping.  On the other hand, Tom styled it.

There were a couple of other fun rapids, one of note was called Jim's Creek (or something with the name Jim in it), a IV- on the map.  This was a fun rapid, and I got in a nice rock splat off of a big boulder in the middle.

There were a few other class IIIs and IIs, then a lot of flatwater to the get out.  On our way, we saw the smoke from a wildfire off in the distance.

Wildfire

I was sad that our trip was coming to an end. There is NOTHING like a multi-day river trip.  Total escape from the modern world, social media, cell phones, and drama... leading to a quiet mind.  Freedom and adventure, what's better than that?  I loved it so, found some peace, and never wanted it to end. 

One of the rafters told me, "Wow, the Selway is your first multi-day?  Well, it's all downhill from here." 

He's entirely correct that the Selway is a beautiful and fun stretch of river. 

But he's entirely wrong about the downhill part.  The next multi-day I have planned is to the Grand Canyon.  It's all downhill from there!