Whenever I propose a new route, I am immediately suspicious of this type of response:
'That looks like a good idea, I think I'm in!'
However, even I couldn't shake the notion that a 300+ mile traverse of Idaho wilderness using skis and packrafts, in early springtime, might be a good idea.
In the end, we were largely successful from start to finish with our core group of 5 skirafters, though our success may have relied in large part on a miraculous two week long near-perfect weather window. A ski traverse along the spine of the Sawtooth mountains delivered us to Marsh Creek into the Middle and Main Salmon. Following a 6000' climb out of the Main canyon with packrafts in our packs, we skied nearly to the banks of the Selway River, our final leg of the journey. The Sawtooth, Frank Church River of No Return, and Selway-Bitterroot Wildernesses lay underneath our boots, boats, and pillows nearly the entire route length over 14 days.
blue = paddle, red = ski, green = wilderness areas
Sawtooth Range
Middle Fork
Climbing out of the Main
Selway River
My original motivation for this trip, on the heels of a handful of successful skirafting trips the previous year [Grand Canyon, San Juan Mountains, Absaroka Mountains, Henry Mountains], was to tackle a true packrafting expedition with Mike in his new backyard in central Idaho. We settled on the 2nd week of April as our starting point for several reasons: 1. minimizing the dryland mileage (ultimately <10 miles!), 2. springtime snowpack stability featuring high likelihood of overnight refreezing, 3. Marsh Creek flows just high enough, but Selway flows that weren't yet absolutely raging.
And so we arrived from Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Montana and Colorado at a point just south of Stanley and saddled up for a slog-to-climb into the Sawtooth range.
Allen and Brian B would leave the group after this first leg, while Mike, Jesse, Tom, Brian G and I would push on for another 9 days into another climate zone ending in Lowell, ID just above where the Selway joins the Lochsa river. Will later joined us for the Selway, skiing in solo from Montana.
First of thirteen passes on our Sawtooth traverse
Snowgeese heading north
There are very few places where you can travel for 300 miles in the lower 48 and only cross 3 roads (one highway, two dirt roads). The highway separating the Sawtooth Range from Marsh Creek (Middle Fork Salmon headwaters) was our only resupply for the trip - and here we had stashed our paddling gear in advance. Skis loaded into boats, donuts and fried chicken down the hatch, and a direct launch from snowpack into the creek.
And onto the Middle Fork Salmon, leaving winter behind for the moment. Sort of.
It was sunny, but it sure wasn't very warm. Spray was still flash freezing to our faces and pfds even after lunch most days.
Green grass along the Main Salmon felt very out of place, having come straight from the Sawtooth Range and a freezing river leg. And for that matter, maybe some of us felt a bit out of place, packing up boats and skis into giant packs on a backcountry lawn.
Carrying everything on our backs, even just halfway up the 6000' climb from the main before reaching snowpack, it was hard to not feel like a caravan of clown cars.
nearing the transition to skis, climbing away from the Main
What an exemplary, tight pack Mike!
two full days of ski traverse along Waugh Ridge
Perched camp overlooking the Bitterroot Mtns
The morning after our final snow camp we descended to the Selway, and we could finally start to relax. Or, at least those of us not fully intimidated by a healthy flow and a juicy set of rapids that lay between us and civilization. For the second time we would be sitting in our boats rather than carrying our packs, now to the finish line. Mercifully, the skittery snowpack covering the road had a fresh few inches of powder padding to make our lives easier with heavy loads.
At one point on the ski descent, while in the lead, wolf prints appeared on the track in the snow during a brief flurry. I bent down to inspect, and immediately said, 'These are less than 10 minutes old'. I took another look... 'No, probably less than 2 minutes old!'. I skated ahead around the bend, and after 100 feet they veered into the woods.
Whereas Marsh Creek and the Middle Fork Salmon are barely above base flow mid-April, the Selway is already cranking.
It felt great to end a trip on a river leg - sunny, green, and wet... but still cold. Spring has barely begun.
Leaving camp before shoes thaw, last morning
Straight up out of gas
It certainly didn't feel like our trip ended too soon, but the sense of accomplishment of pulling off a trip of this magnitude was downright awesome. A fluid link of wilderness snowpack and the waterways it feeds is such a satisfying concept - and thankfully parts of the west contain enough intact wilderness to make that possible.
