Middle Fork of the Salmon River Float Trips: an unforgettable, irreplaceable family experience. Simply a priceless family outing!
Have you ever had an experience that was so “over-the-top” fantastic, that when you try to enlighten someone about it, you fail miserably to come close to how AWESOME it really was?
Well that’s a Middle Fork Salmon River float trip with Idaho Wilderness Company.
Everybody, every time, has that sort of experience, and no matter how hard any of us try to convey the awesomeness, we just fall way short when relaying the experience. In fact, it is interesting to note, that many will unwittingly in their excitement, actually portray the greatest outdoor experiences of their life in such a negative tone, so as to achieve the opposite reaction from the audience than they were looking for.
Let’s start with an example of a particular family group that comes to mind.
The Smith family takes a raft trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
First, they are blown away by the beauty of the Sawtooth Mountains outside of Stanley, Idaho when they arrive the evening before the our river launch.
During the course of their week on this guided excursion on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, each member of the family accumulates the most fabulous memories: the whitewater, the scenery, the excellent fly fishing for Cutthroat Trout, the limitless hiking and other shoreline activities, the family bonding camp life, our exquisite Dutch Oven meals, wildlife and so much more.
All the while, the Smith family is being treated to the stellar service from our Idaho Wilderness Company guides.
There’s many ways we will hear a family group reminisce about their Middle Fork Salmon River excursion but here’s one from the Smith family:
“An unforgettable, irreplaceable family experience. Simply a priceless family outing!”
As is the case when you spend that much time outdoors, nature has a way of taking center stage, and whether rough or warm and fuzzy, those natural events become a large part of the Smith family memories, held close to their hearts for a lifetime smiles.
What may seem dangerous or uncomfortable is actually quite enjoyable for the participants on our excursions and our guides take great care in keeping their launch group safe and having fun!
When the Smiths return home and relate their trip to the Joneses next door, in their excitement they will usually tell a story something like this:
“The whole experience was awesome, Dad lost his fly rod in the river, Mom saw a bear on her hike and ran back to camp, Sis fell out of the raft and Sonny caught lots of snakes! We had a huge hail storm during dinner one night and we all had to use the porta-pot. It was the greatest trip ever! “
With that, the Joneses look at one another, roll their eyes and plan a trip to Disney World. Maybe. Regardless of how poorly the the Smith family have told their story, the fact is, they did have the time of their lives and those memories will be replayed time and time again as the years flow by, and the Smith kids have kids of their own. They’ve never forgotten the memories and now it’s time to take Gramma and Grampa, mom and dad and the next generation of Smiths who will repeat the entire cycle again!
Folks who have recently returned from a Middle Fork Salmon River rafting vacation can quickly lose their visitation rights, as they typically, and incessantly, relive their adventure to a point to cause a numbness of their audience, much like that of a husband hearing a tale of a fantastic shoe sale from his wife and her girlfriends.
The ultimate fact of the matter is simply this: It’s just impossible to give verbal justice to a guided Middle Fork of the Salmon float trip with Idaho Wilderness Company! You have to EXPERIENCE IT!
Of course the river and surrounding wilderness, wildlife and all its wildness create an awesome setting for the rafting adventure!
But it’s our guides the take it “over-the-top”.
Without fail, without exception, trip in and trip out, our guests are blown away by our guides, and rightfully so!
The service, kindness, concern, attention to detail, professionalism and more provided tirelessly by our crew is second to none. Regardless of their individual skills as professional river guides, the greatest unified quality is that they are all MORE FAMILY than employee. They are genuinely good people.
For the past 20 Years, American Adrenaline Company, then Idaho Wilderness Company has been a family owned and operated outfitting business in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area. Raising two boys with wonderful wife in and out of the wilderness, working and living closely with staff, mandated a different level of employee character than most would require. Even now that my wife is gone and the boys are adults, our philosophy has not changed.
If I wouldn’t trust them with my family, I won’t entrust them with yours.
Again, words cannot come close to describing how our guest ultimately feel about the effort and the qualities of our guides. If by chance you or someone you know thinks they have what it take to be an Idaho Wilderness Company guide, be sure to contact me. Rule #1; don’t have your Mom or Dad contact me!
Steve Zettel
Owner of Idaho Wilderness Company
