2008 NRS Boatin' Tales, Part 2

Donna is married to Bill Parks, NRS’s founder. One of the many things they share is a love of boating. About 10 years ago, she got tired of being a passenger and outfitted her own cataraft. She’s a zoology professor and researcher and with their busy schedules, she and Bill didn’t get to share a trip this year. Donna did get on a couple of her own, though. The second week in June, she went to Oregon’s Rogue River, with some local friends who used to guide there. It was her eighth trip on the Rogue and the river was running at the highest level she’d been on it. The year before, she wasn’t paying close enough attention at Upper Black Bar Rapid and went for her first swim since getting her own boat. It was good this year to revisit the rapid and style it. The Rogue is one of her favorites; the only shadow being Blossom Bar Rapid. Two years in a row, someone has died in the rapid, either right before or directly after her party passed through it.

Donna on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
©Donna Parks

The second trip, down the Lower Salmon River, was a real treat. Devon Barker, a Team NRS paddler, whose family owns Barker River Expeditions, invited Donna on an all-women trip similar to the one described in Women’s Sands of Time. So, Donna was a guest but in her own boat. It was a new experience; she’d never been on a guided multi-day trip. It seemed strange having someone else doing the cooking and kitchen chores. Donna and Devon have things in common: they’re Sisters of Knee Surgeries and compare scars when they get together. The trip list comprised Devon, three other guides and 12 paying guests, ranging in age from 6 to 70. One of the guides is a yoga and meditation instructor who led relaxing morning and evening sessions. Two things stood out. One was the beautiful fluid rowing style of Devon and the other guides. Rather than muscles and testosterone, they use their heads and the river’s currents to make it look easy. The other was a funny incident. On the water, one of the ladies had a spider crawl in her ear. While she wasn’t panicking, she was being dramatic enough to catch Devon’s attention. She rowed up to find out what was wrong and when told what had happened, she reached in her PFD pocket, pulled out a little bottle of vinegar and alcohol, squirted it in the affected ear and out came the spider. Talk about being prepared for any emergency!

Eric R-2ing the Lochsa River with his father.
© Eric Clippinger

Eric is one of our students. While pursuing a degree in Ecology, he blends his school schedule with work in the Warehouse, largely helping receive the constant flow of new products into the system. Normally his summers bring plenty of boating, but this summer he spent largely at the University of Idaho’s Taylor Ranch Wilderness Research Station, doing an internship studying forest regeneration following wildfire. However, before he left for the heart of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, he managed to get in some big water boating on the Lochsa River and a mid-May Main Salmon trip. There were six trip members in two NRS E-140 rafts. It was high water, so they had no problem doing 90 miles in four days and they saw only one other rafting party.

Kurtis is a highly skilled kayaker, former river guide and Wholesale Rep for the Western Region. A six-day Middle Fork Salmon trip in early September, that featured snow, sun, fun and a new rapid, and a first time run of the Class V Farmland section of the White Salmon River were highlights. Hard to be a fulltime boater when you work fulltime, but he squeezed in lots of treks to local play spots, often in a dash after work. “It was an amazing year because of the heavy winter snows. I was able to run the Lochsa at 9+ feet, sharing the river with lots of big logs. Pretty intense.”

Kurtis dropping over Lava Falls on Washington's White Salmon River. © Gabe Hinkley

David paddling the GigBob through the beautiful Montana countryside along the Smith River. © Keli Keach

David is NRS Marketing Director. In late June, with some NRS folks and others as far away as Wisconsin and New Mexico, he went on a five-day float of Montana’s Smith River. The trip, described in Five Days on the Smith River, was planned as a great fishing trip. However, the runoff from the winter’s big snow pack kept the water looking like chocolate milk, so the fishing wasn’t good. It was a great float through canyons with beautiful rock faces. In September he got in three days of sea kayaking in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, off the north Washington coast. In October, he floated the Lower Salmon, which he describes as “A really fun trip, except it was veeery cold. I think the only time I was warm was in my sleeping bag!” (Editor’s note: I don’t remember it being that cold. But, Dave is from California). Then, as if he hadn’t had enough cold weather, in November, he and a buddy went to Arkansas, on the White River, to fish for Brown Trout. It was so cold, their fly lines kept freezing in the rod eyelets. He bought new layers of thermal wear every day, until by the end of the trip he looked like the Michelin Man. But, it was worth it. He landed some of the biggest fish he’d ever caught.

Zach discovered whitewater kayaking in 2007 and by now he really has the bug and three boats to show for it. Long a skilled packer in the Shipping Department, he’s now moved into Retail Sales. He pulled his first river lottery permit this year, on the Main Salmon. They went with a nice small group, five people, a raft, a cat, an IK and Zach in his hardshell. Really laid back, their group could camp anywhere. For fun they sprung a surprise birthday on the last night – Hawaiian shirts with all the trimmings and steaks on the beach!

Zach styling one of his stable of kayaks. Ah, summer boating.

Josh reveling in a newfound boating style. See the grin?

Josh W was part time until mid-December when he graduated from the University of Idaho. He’s worn several hats here, Warehouse, Shipping and now Retail Customer Service Rep. This year some of his boating was in university Outdoor Program classes. A spring canoe trip was memorable for some exciting upsets. A whitewater kayaking course, with pool roll sessions and a ‘graduation’ kayak trip really got him excited about hardshell boating. Getting to share Zach’s six-day July Main Salmon trip was a highlight for the year – great weather and great companionship.