Salmon

We boated the section from Hammer Creek to Heller Bar over 5 days at the end of August as part of a longer 9 day trip that began at Spring Bar upstream of Riggins. Flows were around 3000 cfs which was plenty of water for a great trip. We launched from Hammer Creek on a Sunday and took out at Heller Bar on Thursday. Although Hammer Creek was a little busy on the weekend (with groups who obviously drove out on Saturday, launched on Sunday, and planned a full week trip through the following weekend) the Thursday take out worked well to avoid the weekend crowd on the Snake. The river was busy and campsite competition was an issue. The premium sites (e.g. Whitehouse, Maloney, Billy Creek) were typically occupied by 1pm by groups who got an early start or did short days and outfitters who sent a rabbit boat. We were still able to get great sites for a group of 12 every afternoon (Lower Dem Bones, Whale Rock, Lower Wapshilla, and Mile 183 on the Snake). Our typical schedule was to launch around 10am and find camp around 4pm with a stop for lunch in the middle. Those on an earlier schedule would have more campsite selection while those on a later schedule would have less. We encountered a few jet boats on the Snake but they were generally considerate waiting for us to pass through rapids before ascending.