Salmon

Great day of boating with a greater than usual number of boats on the river (meaning there were more than two!).

Our crew of kayakers put in at the river access at Nordheimer Campground near Forks of Salmon and paddled both the Nordheimer and Butler runs (why would you not do both every time?).

The flow was 3,500 cfs at the Somes Bar gage which is a solid medium flow that packs a good punch in the bigger rapids, particularly Cascade and Freight Train.

Cascade has lots of different lines and our crew ran left, middle, and far right.

As usual, Freight Train had a long lead-in with waves so tall you get lost and the big feature near the bottom (known variously as the Bomb Shelter, Hawaii Five-O, the Tube) disappeared every paddler that dropped into it but all emerged upright. Freight Train is padded out at this flow and is safer than it is at lower flows (below 1,800 cfs or so) because most rocks are well-covered and the odds of a head hit when upside down are therefore lower.

The Butler run was pure fun and even though its easier than Nordheimer, it has a steeper gradient and a faster pace. Lots of fun big waves at this flow.