Middle Fork of the Salmon River, August 2006
stunning and beautiful....

First, to set the stage...
Go back and read my June 2005 Middle Fork story for an intro to all this. Al, the proprietor of Solitude, was so pleased with the commission I created for him after last year's trip that he generously invited us along again.

The Middle Fork, also known as the River of No Return, flows through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho - some of the most remote and wild country to be found in the lower 48. This year, due to the (typically) low water levels that come in August, we had to fly bushplanes in to Indian Creek to start our trip. 

The scenery is incomparable...and there's a drift boat in this photo.

Solitude River Trips
...is as fabulous as ever; Al and his crew provide a first-class experience - his website, www.rivertrips.com, is great and has lots of quotes from illustrious guests. 

Since I've already written pretty much everything to be said about Solitude and the Middle Fork of the Salmon in my 2005 trip journal, I'll just focus on some of the wonderful and spectacular images from this year's trip.

Because it was August, our trip was warmer and drier than in June 2005. Also, we had the unfortunate experience of hooking into "squawfish" (northern pike-minnow), which should not be in theMiddle Fork, but in late summer find their way here due to warm water backed up from the Columbia Dam. Squawfish eat cutts like there's no tomorrow.
 

My handsome husband (fishing) with Darrell, one of our favorite guides, at the oars. Darrell lives in Oregon in the winter and makes fine hand-crafted violin bows.

Since the Forest Service policy on squawfish is "catch and kill", we called them "Middle Fork Flying Fish"...because once caught, we threw them up onto the riverbanks. They were kinda fun to catch, because they hit the fly hard, but I hated seeing them on the line.

A treat this year - seeing at least 4 bands of bighorn (ewes, lambs, and some young rams) down on the river. We also saw several otters, a muddle of mergansers, Canada geese, osprey, and golden eagles.

A typical campsite. This place is an artist's dream.

▲ Just another beautiful morning on the river.
 

◄ Heading into Impassable Canyon, on the lower reaches of the river. This is an area of sheer rock walls reaching hundreds of feet high. Overwhelming, humbling, inspirational.

As do all outfitters on the Middle Fork, Solitude runs a big sweep raft to carry all the camp gear - tents, sleeping bags, kitchen rig, food, etc. Solitude's sweep is the biggest on the river, at 24 feet long. Maneuvering the sweep - which has limited ability to turn - through rapids is an art. These guys are amazing.

I always get excited when there's wildlife around.

"Old & New", 22 x 28 - Al's commission from the 2005 trip.
We wanted to depict the river's bighorn, as well as the pictographs that
have been left all along the river's length. This was my first time paying
homage to those early artists...but I'm sure it won't be my last!