April 9, 2001: Dagger Falls Camp Ground to Cache Bar

 
By Randy Barnack
Photos by Robert Lilly

The 2001 season has opened on the Middle Fork.  On Monday April 9, 2001 Robert Lilly and myself, Randy Barnack, rode snowmobiles in to Dagger Falls campground where we launched for a six-day trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon. Robert chose to run his 13.5 Maravia self-bailer.  I ran my 16.5 ’ Aire Jaguarondi cataraft.

            

The trip came together at the last minute. We had planned it for about three weeks, but were unsure of being able to get in to Dagger on snowmobiles.  Friday April 6 we rode in on a borrowed snowmobile and a borrowed 4 wheeler and confirmed it could be done. Sunday April 8 we rode in on borrowed snowmobiles pulling borrowed sleds loaded with both boats and frames and nearly all our gear. We had to drive back to Boise to pick up my wife (thanks Maria) who was going to drive my truck back to town with the borrowed machines on a trailer.  Monday we rode in with Don and JoAnne Kolby and their neighbor Henry (another thank you) and Maria. It took us awhile to check all the gear for damage, rig the boats and get started. It snowed enough over the weekend we had no problem setting the boats up on the flat area at the camp ground and then sending them down the snow covered slope on a lowering system right to the river.
        
Getting to the river was the hardest part of the entire trip. It took us three full trips from Boise and back to confirm snow all the way to the river and get our gear in. After that the fun began. Launching this early in the season afforded us the luxury of our choice of camps all the way down, so of course we stayed at Sheepeater, Sunflower, and Loon taking full advantage of the hot springs each evening. We saw wildlife every day including elk, deer, otters, weasels, and either a really large coyote or a small wolf that had been getting a drink when we surprised him by floating by.

It snowed every day until Saturday the 14th, our last day on the water. That was also the only day we had sunshine all day. The rest of the week we saw the sun for an hour here and an hour there in between snow clouds and wind. Our first night we stayed at Gardell’s Hole. I knew it must have gotten pretty cold the night before when I woke up to find the boats iced in. The eddy had actually frozen over night, icing the boats in place right up to the shore!  Camping in the cold wasn’t too bad since we had plenty of cold weather gear, but putting on the paddling boots every morning was a different story. If you want to go this early in the year, wear water socks with your boots. I didn’t have any, and for the first three days I really wished I did.  Sulphur Slide was pretty technical at that flow, but still runable.  The slot on Velvet was still on the left, but looking back I think you could punch it in the middle without any problem. The rest of the rapids that day were greatly diminished from what you see at 2 feet and higher. We took a look at Powerhouse from the shore and spotted the run fairly easily.

 That night we stayed at Sheepeater and awoke to 2 inches of fresh snow and heavy snow falling the next day.  I got a kick out of launching on a snow-covered cat that morning- a new experience for me.  By the time we hit Big Snag I had to get out and walk around for a few minutes just to get some feeling back in my feet. The snow stopped before we hit Pistol. I feel bad for the cabin owners. Their chimneys stood like gravestones, all in a row, marking the years of endless enjoyment by those lucky enough to have lived or grown up at Pistol Creek. By our calculation, only four remain. The forest wasn’t damaged as bad as I’d expected though.  Mixed in with the burns are trees that made it through unscathed.  Pistol Creek rapid was no big deal at low flow. The sun came out for about an hour just as we hit Indian Creek and stopped for lunch. Ranger Rick wasn’t in yet, so Robert left his signature calling card on his door saying hi. We started seeing lots of elk at this point. Nearly everywhere we looked we could spot them in the trees or on the open slopes.  The clouds came back and covered the sun for the rest of the day, so we were happy when we made it to Sunflower for our camp that night.

It snowed intermittently the next day as we floated on to Loon.  We spoke to Rich on the bridge at the MF Lodge. He was the first person we’d seen since we put on the river three days earlier. The weather cleared up at bit by the time we made it to Loon, but then the wind came down the drainage and made it cold again. The hot springs at Loon was well worth the walk. The wind died down, and we had a good night. Woke up to snow flurries the next morning though.

From Loon to Elk Bar we saw elk or deer nearly everywhere we looked. Finding the slots through the Tappans' was tricky. In most places there was only one run and you had to make the correct move once you shot through the slot or you’d end up on a rock (as I did at least twice). Still, it wasn’t bad... just lots of read and run looking for a way through. We stopped in and visited Rick at the “B”. He told us of their firefighting experiences and showed us photos of the firestorm that swept through their ranch. Even though the two of us are veteran firefighters in Boise, that’s one fire I’m glad I missed. They lost two cabins, a barn with 90 ton of hay, and of course the Bernard Bridge was badly damaged. There was a team of ironworkers from Washington State re-building the bridge.

Camping at Elk bar was great.  Robert found the large cave behind the brush near the privacy screen, so we explored a little and found a sleepy bat and some petroglyphs. We started seeing some snags and small burned pieces of wood in the river after we passed Big Creek. Only one posed a serious hazard (just above Water Creek Rapid), and there is time to spot and make your move around it. Saw wild sheep and goats the next morning on the bank across from camp. The last stretch from Elk Bar to the confluence was flatter than I’d expected. The rapids were fun, still technical. We pretty much stayed on the oars the whole last section, fighting an upstream wind until we turned the corner on the Main Salmon.

All in all it was a great trip. Now that we’ve done it once, I think the logistics will be easier next time. The weather is really the big question– will there be enough snow on the ground to get in to Dagger, or do you have to wait until the road opens or Marsh Creek is runable. We were pretty sure Marsh wouldn’t be an option this year, and we just didn’t want to wait.

Feel free to contact Robert at (208) 362-2371 or e-mail at rbrtdlilly@aol.com
See you on the river.

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