By Doug Tims

Angela Sherman on the sticks.

Stanley, Idaho – Floating chaos, the only way to describe Dale’s boat. “Where’s my damn four foot strap?” he cried. Scurrying from boat to tent site, what was supposed to be a relaxing time on a wilderness river was anything but for Dale. Angela watched, thinking, “We’ve still got work to do. As long as the Dales of the world are still running rivers there is opportunity.”

Relaxed with an adult beverage, watching the next generation of river runners, her kids, master the SUP in the eddy next to camp, Angela was right where she wanted to be. The pull into camp had started an organized, efficient effort to unload the raft, set up tents and the kitchen, then do what she came here to do – enjoy time close to nature’s wild heart on one of Idaho’s premiere wilderness rivers.

She should know how. At age two she climbed into her parent’s rented canoe and began what has stretched into more than four decades of river life. A degree from U C Boulder, Colorado, working part time as a buyer for a ski town clothing outlet, training as an Idaho guide at 17, and now the 20^th year of work with Maravia Corporation and Cascade Outfitters. Angela was part of the team that managed the 1997 purchase and move of Cascade from its home in Springfield, Oregon to Boise. If it has to do with river running and making your time on the river enjoyable and easy, Angela and her crew at Cascade Outfitters have seen it.

Designing and selecting the best gear for extended river trips is Cascade’s specialty. It starts with a “package” – the boat and accessories that put you on the water – frames, oars, boxes, coolers, and straps. Next is camp – sleeping, eating, playing – a kitchen to produce meals better than home, tents and sleeping accommodations to put the old mummy bag to shame, and clothing designed to allow you to laugh at the changing weather.

Every whitewater river runner eventually comes to Idaho, the home of 50% more whitewater miles than any other state, and no trip to an Idaho river is complete without a stop at the Cascade Outfitters shop on the banks of the Boise River. Stop anyone on an Idaho river trip and they likely have a story to tell of the helpful crew in Boise who made their trip better. Decades of experience can solve any river running dilemma. And if you can’t stop by, the redesigned Cascade website is a shopper’s paradise. A trip to the site is worth it just for the stunning river images.

Cascade Outfitters Para Wing being put to good use.

The Cascade crew can even help Dale. What he needed was a deluxe strap bag and a few other items to stop his scurrying and allow him to join the crew around the campfire living the river life. Rigging his boat in the morning would be a breeze with a Pacific river bag. To store the heavy items on board a Superman drop box is the ticket. Collecting firewood is a breeze with a tough mesh firewood carrier. To make garbage collection clean and worry free just slip the plastic bag into a Superman trash tote. And when all is said and done and the trip is sadly over, protect your raft investment with the ultimate boat case.

Looking for help with your next river adventure? Call Angela Sherman and the crew at Cascade Outfitters at 800-223 RAFT (7238). Or come by the shop at 602 E 45^th Street in the Garden City section of Boise.

By Doug Tims

Chris Frazee Hard At Work

Chris’s eyes switch from the monstrous hole stretching from the center of the river to the right bank back to the narrow slot between the top of the hole and a truck-sized boulder on the left guarding the only possible route through the maelstrom. Right, left, right…back and forth pulling the oars, head on a swivel, adjusting…sensing the back tube of his Maravia Zephyr raft’s closeness to the boulder. Miss the boulder by inches and his back ferry maneuver puts him at the head of a clean chute to the left of the hole. Hit the boulder with the raft and the bounce pushes raft, gear and occupants into the maw of the gaping hole.

This is Velvet Falls, a major rapid on Idaho’s famous Middle Fork of the Salmon. The name comes from the soft, quiet nature of the approach. The sharpness of the drop into the hole hides the sound from rafters approaching from upstream. Only when poised at the brink does a rising roar tell you it’s too late. You are either in position moving left toward the sweet spot, or your day is about to take a very bad turn.

At 15 feet in length and 7 feet wide, the Zephyr is known for its versatility and performance. Big enough to haul the gear for his six-day journey on the Middle Fork, but also the perfect size with four thwarts for a day of paddle rafting with friends and a cooler. Chris’s heart is thumping. If running Velvet doesn’t increase your hear rate you have no business being here. His raft’s flat, inflated self-bailing floor built with Maravia’s unique drop-stitch construction gives him an advantage. With no ridges on the bottom to catch the multiple, churning currents trying to pull the raft into the hole, each pull of the oar prompts an instant response, a sports car-like feel to these experienced hands.

A couple of hard pulls, then a light stroke, or two and the craft slides downstream of the boulder into the clean slick, a slide of water moving past the hole. Looking back with a smile, Chris thinks back on the decades of experience and design that created the Zephyr.

Maravia began in 1972 as a spin-off of Holcombe Industries, an east bay California company with a business supplying inflatable evacuation slides to the commercial aircraft industry. The company faced a challenge when the first jumbo jet, the DC10 arrived. Much larger with a fuselage higher above the ground, the jumbo jet required a slide that would curve up at the bottom to safely slow the passengers as they exited. Ivan Swickard, the company’s pattern expert, looked at the new tubes and commented that they looked like a raft tube. So began the search for the perfect raft built by a company named MAR for marine and AVIA for aviation.

The Zephyr evolved from Maravia’s popular Williwaw series of rafts. It is named, like many of the Maravia line after a wind. Customers asked the company for a raft with tubes that diminished in size at each end. The advantage is more cargo room front and back, and a lower profile in those inevitable afternoon upstream winds. The entire raft is coated in a continuous seamless coating of abrasion resistant urethane with a glass slick bottom and textured surface on top. With no seams maintenance is minimal – no edges to lift or catch, unlike the cut and glued fabric rafts from the early days of rafting. The biggest problem Chris will have is which grandchild will someday own his Zephyr.

Today Maravia is run by President Chris Frazee. A product of Salmon, Idaho, Chris worked Idaho’s Salmon River as a guide, then signed on as a sales rep for Maravia while finishing up a degree from Boise State University, later moving into management. It is a good fit – born with an oar in his hand next to Idaho’s Salmon River, now leading a company with a third of a century’s experience building dream boats for America’s river runners. For your boating dreams in 2015 give Chris a call at 800-TOP-RAFT (867-7238) or contact him via Maravia.com

Middle Fork Of The Salmon Below Vail Cave “Many guides call this rapid Slavin Falls. But that is another story.

Photo Courtesy of Hughes river Expeditions

You and your family have decided to go on a multiple day rafting trip? In this day and age you turn to the Internet for help in planning your vacation. What river? The most popular two rivers in the United States are the Grand Canyon and Idaho’s spectacular Middle Fork of the Salmon River. People usually do the Grand Canyon once. On the Middle Fork people come back year after year. It’s that special. Middle Fork trips ae world-class adventures. Without a doubt the best river trip in the country.

Okay, you decide on Idaho’s Middle Fork. Now, who to go with? There are numerous companies with wonderful web site touting their company as the best one to go with. The prices seem similar. There are some companies that offer half-price for kids or kids go free. Some are using discount promoters such as Groupon, LivingSocial etc. Discounts can amount to as much as 50% off of their regular trip price so the pitch is appealing.

By reading all of the different company’s information it would seem that they are all similar, so why not go with the one offering the biggest discount? You need to ask yourself: ”Why do you think they are offering huge discounts”?  Is it because they are really nice people and want to give you a great deal even though they won’t make any profit? The reason for the huge discounts is because they are desperate for customers to fill all of their empty seats. So why are they desperate for customers? One thought that comes to mind…these discount river companies do not run a quality trip with quality guides and equipment and they serve sub-par food.

Cut rate is cut rate. No getting around it in almost any venue.

Photo Courtesy of Idaho River Journeys

Top quality river companies on Idaho’s Middle Fork offer first class service, top of the line equipment, professional guides and absolutely wonderful food. Why would a wise consumer buy a cut rate trip if they value their safety, look forward to quality service and expect top flight professionalism of the guide crew? With a cut rate company you risk having inferior equipment and poorly paid guides – neither of which contribute to lifetime memories of a trip with friends and family. Cut rate businesses don’t attract top notch, informed and caring guides that are key to a quality trip.

Outfitters who offer ‘cut rate’ trips can’t succeed over time. In the short term they cannot keep a top drawer professional guide crew, replace equipment, camp gear, vehicles and trailers; put money into great meals, and all the things that guests expect. If you hope to have a positive long term relationship with your outfitter don’t buy Groupon or LivingSocial etc.

It takes a fair price for an outfitter to put on quality river trips, stay in business and employ top rate guides. Trip prices vary with what outfitters provide, pay guides, food and other features. Go with a true to the core professional outfitter that you will want to book another trip with and be thrilled to send referrals to your friends, family to. Why would you book with an outfitter whose price cutting is a recipe for his financial failure, and also a large indicator that the company is “in financial trouble”. The highest price doesn’t always mean the best experience, but the lowest definitely doesn’t mean a good or even okay experience. While a “great deal” might be attractive, for a bargain hunting river guest, that potential river guest needs to wonder about the professionalism, quality, safety, of an outfitter that routinely does discounted, furniture store style and used car pricing/sales.

For an outfitter to operate a quality business they must pay top wages for top guides. They must also have sufficient cash flow to regularly replace equipment, vehicles and to maintain “paid on account” positive relationship with river bus/van companies and bush pilots.

Outfitters are the economic engine that keeps tiny towns like Stanley, Challis and Salmon going,

A “discounter” likely can’t pay his bills to these service providers at the end of the season. Just like those deals that sound too good to be true, and usually are, families thinking of taking a week long rafting vacation need to look beyond price before choosing an outfitter. In a business that relies on word-of-mouth and referrals from past guests, steeply discounted rates have their own implications.

Outfitters and guides on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon are famous for the types of trips they offer and the variety of activities available to vacationers. In many ways, a trip on the Middle Fork is the true “all inclusive” vacation. Fishing is outstanding, hiking trails parallel much of the river, campsites are private and pristine, and the whitewater is world famous. The place itself is spectacular but it is the individual companies and guides that define what to expect on a Middle Fork vacation. Outfitters here are known for providing experiences that go beyond rafting. The top crews are famous for preparing exquisite camp cuisine, having traditional outfitted camps that rival resorts and are exceptional tour guides who want you to experience the Middle Fork beyond the river itself.

Choosing the right outfit for your river vacation shouldn’t be daunting but does require asking the right questions. You will be taking your family to the largest road-less wilderness in the continental United States. Make sure you go with an outfit that has a guide staff that returns year-after-year. The best outfits train their own guides and don’t rely on ‘rental guides’ to fill in bookings as they develop. This is especially true with fishing guides. There are lots of raft guides but a far lesser number of quality fishing guides. Be sure you get fishing guide and not a raft guide that says or thinks he is a fishing guide. Ask about menus, and types of boats. Ask about the background of the guides. Have they worked together, are they family friendly and good role models, are there activities that will entertain multi-generational parties. “There are only so many ways to save money in outfitting”, cautions Bob Volpert who owns Idaho River Journeys. www.idahoriverjourneys.com. If an outfit is offering a cut-rate trip they have to be cutting corners somewhere.”

The vastness and remote character of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is a spectacular vacation attraction. But outfitter Jerry Hughes of Hughes River Expeditions www.hughesriver.com offers some cautionary advice. “This isn’t where you want to be looking for the best deal for a family vacation. Save that for a trip to Disneyland. Professional guides and lots of experience are extremely important in the backcountry when you are miles to any roads”

To sum up this article…”The bitter taste of a poorly run river trip lingers far longer than the sweetness of a great deal.

Photo Courtesy Of Hughes River Expeditions

The Kasino Club and Redfish Lake Lodge…hands down the two best places to dine in the Stanley basin.

The quality and consistency of dining in the Stanley area leaves one at risk to sub-bar food and mediocre service. You won’t find either lacking if you drop in at the Graham’s Kasino Club for dinner. Good varied menu at a reasonable price for Stanley. The waiters are top notch, and with a full service bar and wonderful food you cannot go wrong.

Redfish Lake Lodge continues to exceed peoples expectations on quality of food and service. Sitting at the edge of Redfish Lake in an old rustic and historic lodge brings people back time after time.

Beware of places such as The Redd, Bridge Street Grill and Mountain Village Restaurant as the food and service runs the gauntlet from downright poor to mediocre. The Redd has a tiny in-door dining area (about a 12 by 12 dining room) and uses second and third hand furniture with food that one outfitter called Sun Valley Yuppy. If you dare eat here do not eat indoors as the heat is unbearable in the summer. Eat outside at one of the tables on the lawn. Salads and breads do not come with the meal and makes the prices a little stiff.

The Bakery is hard to beat for lunch, but stay away from their overcooked pancakes and the biscuits and gravy. The biscuits are dry and bland, while the sausage and gravy just has to be from a can. With that being said, you will have to travel a long ways to beat the service, quality and varied lunch menu. Don’t miss eating lunch at The Bakery.

The Sawtooth Hotel serves up at times good food and service in a nice atmosphere. What is lacking is any consistency in the quality of the food.

Mountain Village Restaurant has changed ownership but the food is still down right bad. They need a strong restaurant manager and a first class chef to turn around the bad reviews.

Another best seller from the Desk of Chris Santella

“Fifty Places” Author Chris Santella has done it again, this time tackling a recreational topic close to the hearts of those in the greater Stanley Region.  Fifty Places to Paddle Before You Die – Santella’s 16^th book and the 11^th in the Fifty Places series – explores some of the world’s best destinations for whitewater rafting and sea kayaking. Destinations include the Grand Canyon, Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, Baja California, Indonesia’s Komodo Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula…and of course, the Middle Fork of the Salmon.  The book features forty stunning color photographs, compelling stories from paddling experts and enough travel tips to help readers plan their next adventure of a lifetime.  (The Middle Fork chapter features former Solitude River Trips owner Al Bukowsky.)  Santella has just completed the manuscript for his next Fifty Places book (on camping), and is at work on #13 – Fifty Places To Drink Beer Before You Die (we kid you not).  We’d love to tag along for that one!  (Rumor has it that the Middle Fork may be featured in this book as well.)