Western Swing

   I played a lot of baseball as a youngster, but I never hit a home run over the fence.  I may have cured that short coming with a home run of rivers that I rafted during a western swing this summer.  In between leaving Little Rock on June 4, and returning to Little Rock July 21, I joined others on the following rivers.

• Rogue River in Oregon, 4 days
• North Fork of the Umpqua River in Oregon, 2 days
• Selway River, in Idaho, 5 days
• Middle Fork of the Flathead River in Montana, 4 days
• Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, 6 days
• South Fork of the Salmon River and Main Salmon River in Idaho, 4 days
• Arkansas River in Colorado, 4 days

There is much to recount about each river trip, but I only will mention a few highlights.  On the Rogue, I joined a bunch of folks that have been doing this lodges “Cadillac” trip since 1976, quite a history.  The whole trip was planned around the Selway trip.  A Selway River permit is the hardest permit to get in the U.S., and you just don’t turn down an invite.  Long time Ozark Society member Oz Hawksley, from Missouri, pioneered running the Selway and helped develop the Management Plan for the River.

    Fifteen minutes after launching on the South Fork of the Salmon, we saw a cinnamon-colored black bear.  The South Fork of the Salmon had the most challenging white water with several Class 5 rapids, culminating with Fall Creek 3 Rapid at the end of the run.

    I ended the trip on the Arkansas River in Colorado with my wife Debbie, son Ross and his wife Ali, and children Willa and Brady.  We had four fun days on the water, including the Numbers/Fractions and Browns Canyon.   We also had a chance to visit friends Kent and Mary Ann Davidson in Salida.

    With the exception of the Arkansas River, each of the rivers I floated is a National Wild and Scenic River.  So, here is a shout out to all of those that worked to gain Wild and Scenic status for these rivers and to the multitude of us who get to enjoy them.