Page 209 - WDT Magazine Egypt

Adventures rafting guides Julia
Hatch, Brian Kohl and John Hernan-
dez pose with one of the tasty meals
they whipped up.

first morning to see how fast the river was flowing its six paddlers - in our group stayed far right and
and how challenging the rapids were. By our first hit the churning reversal at the bottom of the drop.
stop, I was chomping at the bit to get in my own It didn’t flip, but two of the passengers were ejected
little boat and was elated when the head guide said and then disappeared into the froth. They emerged
“go for it, but just stay with the rafts.” downstream a few moments later, sputtering. They
Grubb told me this section of the Gem State has were quickly scooped up and pulled back into their
long been considered worthy of preservation. In the raft, chilled by the cold and happy to be out of the
1930s, more than a million acres were set aside as drink.
the Idaho Primitive Area, which later became the When we got to our camp that first night, we
centerpiece of the 9-million-acre “Frank Church - found that the guides from the lead “sweeper” raft
River of No Return Wilderness,” named for Idaho had already set up our tents, a luxury I’d never expe-
Sen. Frank Church, an ardent conservationist. In rienced on other outfitters’ trips.
1968, the Middle Fork got further protection as one We still had to unfurl our sleeping bags and
of the nation’s first Wild and Scenic Rivers. foam sleeping pads, so we weren’t entirely spoiled.
The initial big rapid that first day was Velvet Falls. It wasn’t long before they’d spread out the hors
Most of the rafts - and this kayaker - ran it on the d’oeuvres for munching. Some of us hiked later that
left-hand side of the river. But one of the boats - and afternoon, others napped, fished for cutthroat trout,

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