Page 213 - WDT Magazine Egypt

which marked the start of Impassable Canyon, where
steep cliffs rise from beside the river and there’s no
way to get downstream except by boat. Right around
the corner from Big Creek, we hiked up to the magi-
cal Veil Falls, where water drifted down in sheets of
spray that moved with the wind. Back on the river, we
plunged through Redside, Weber, Cliffside and Rubber
rapids.
On our last morning, the sun disappeared and a
cold rain descended on our camp. But that didn’t stop
us from hiking up to Parrot’s Grotto, a cirque with its
own waterfall. The picturesque spot is named for Earl
Parrot, an Iowa native who was known as the Hermit
of Impassible Canyon. He panned for gold in the river
and from 1917 to 1944 lived in a cabin in a hanging
valley above the cirque that required climbs of several
hundred feet by hand-hewed ladders. He had a huge
garden, hunted deer and bear and went for years with-
out seeing others.
Few people knew of Parrot until a boating expedi-
tion came upon him in the 1939. One of the party,
Dr. R.G. Frazier, penned stories about the encounter
- complete with photos - for the Deseret News in Salt
Lake City and Field & Stream magazine. The best-
known quote from the articles was this: “The more I
see of people, the more I like my dog.”
By the time we got back on the river, it was raining
hard. So we delayed lunch and pushed on to our take-
out below the confluence of Middle Fork and the Main
Salmon. But the storm did little to dampen our enthu-
siasm for spending a week in the River of No Return
Wilderness. I know I’ll be back.

IF YOU GO

For more information on ROW trips, see row rowad-
ventures.com. Rates for ROW’s five-night, six-day trips
on the Middle Fork of the Salmon range from $1,750
to $2,230, depending on the week.

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