By:
Drifter
Transcribed by: Pam Rogers, NRS Customer Service
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We
left Lewiston, Idaho for the Main Salmon River on a cool August
morning. Summer was near its end and I could smell fall in the air
and soil. I rode in the back of the truck nestled comfortably between
two coolers. The rest of the gang from the Lewiston Fire Department
and their families rode in the 15-passenger van. It felt good being
alone with the cool breeze flowing through my fur.
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After
a late start, we began our journey driving along the Snake, Clearwater
and then the Lochsa rivers. The smell of pine and smoke from forest
fires filled my senses as we drove over Lolo Pass. We stopped at
the top of the pass and I laughed to myself as all the humans raced
to line up at the restrooms…nice time to be a dog.
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The
Limo
© Laura Hildebrandt |
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On reaching
Darby, Montana the large van carrying most of our group stopped
working. A few of the guys & gals got out, lifted the
hood, tapped the gas tank, kicked the tires, slammed the hood,
made some phone calls, pushed the van to the gas station (2
blocks away), filled the tank, lifted the hood, slammed the
hood, pushed the van to the side, made more phone calls, cursed,
dug into the coolers and made more phone calls. A couple hours
later alternative transportation arrived…a white stretch
limousine (they said it was the cheapest and quickest available
vehicle). Meanwhile, I rested comfortably in the back of the
truck getting my ears scratched every time someone dug into
the cooler.
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The ride along the Salmon River was beautiful and exciting. We passed
a forest fire in the canyon and watched a helicopter suck up water
and spray it onto the steep ridges. The narrow windy road made me
dizzy and several times I was tempted to jump out the back of the
truck and take a swim in the river. But I just closed my eyes and
stayed in the truck with a few of my friends who didn’t mind
getting their hair tousled by the wind.
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We
arrived at the Corn Creek put-in late in the evening. It was dark
and I could see the reflections of the stars on the water as I drank
from the cool flowing river. I chased sticks and took a swim as
the boat ramp began to overflow with gear. You could hear cursing
and people tripping over things until the flashlights and headlamps
were located. Several hours after our group had unloaded the trailer
we had our first meal together along the riverbank.
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The sun
rose above the canyon rim early in the morning. I woke before
the others and explored the banks of the river. The sand felt
cool on my feet and the August sun soon warmed the stones along
the river. I found a high quality branch to chase and drug it
back to camp waiting patiently for someone to wake up and play
with me.
As our group slowly started to get up, I went around and visited
with some of the other “parties” that were set to
“launch” that day. I even made friends with the
nice woman in green from the Forest Service. She came around
and made sure our group had all the gear we needed to have a
safe and fun float.
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| Hanging
out on the beach.
© Pam Rogers |
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I
rode in a 15-foot (more like a 90-foot in the dog world) NRS self-bailing
boat. With many years of rafting under my collar, I’m quite
fond of the self-bailing boats. They aren’t kidding when they
call those other boats “bucket boats”. In the four-legged
friends world, we call them “floating swimming pools”.
The ride in the NRS self-bailing boat is fabulous, I’m higher
off the water and experience the waves head on. I also got to ride
in one of the orange kayaks (NRS Bandits). It was a blast and I
got really wet. Heck, I even got a short ride on one of those hard-shell
kayaks!
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Riding
with my mom
© Pam Rogers |
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The excitement
was contagious and my tail wagged furiously when everyone pulled
out their river guides to prepare for an oncoming rapid. I wore
my NRS CFD while we were on the water, it was comfortable and
attractive. It helped keep me afloat, especially when I got
tired from chasing all those sticks. It also provided some warmth
on the days it rained and got windy.
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We spent 5 nights and 6 days floating through the Frank Church-River
of No Return Wilderness Area. We rode through some beautiful whitewater,
through an amazing canyon. Each night was spent on beautiful white
sand beaches among tall pine trees and along trickling creeks. In
the evenings the beaches were filled with laughter as the embers
glowed and the fire burned in the firepan. I choked down my crunchy
morsels for dinner as wonderful smells radiated from the Dutch ovens.
On several occasions I was able to sneak some delicious scraps of
steaks and chicken after blinking my beautiful brown eyes and giving
them my pitiful starving puppy face (it worked every time!).
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This
trip was a highlight of my summer. Each beach we stayed at
was full of adventure and great people. My senses come alive
at all the wonderful smells and things to explore along the
beaches and trails. There’s nothing like feeling warm
sand squishing through your paws after a cool swim in the
river.
Enjoy your river trips and remember to Leave Only Pawprints!
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Look
at these beautiful brown
puppy dog eyes…
© Pam Rogers |
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