STORIES

Class IV is in Session

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River is so much more than another meandering blue line on a crinkled map, more than place to dip a line, dunk your head or get your sinuses cleared by Class IV whitewater.
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Middle Fork

Photography by Adam Barker

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River is more than a river. It is so much more than another meandering blue line on a crinkled map, more than place to dip a line, dunk your head or get your sinuses cleared by Class IV whitewater. It’s expansive, dramatic, and fun for anyone who finds themselves along the river’s banks. In simpler terms, the Middle Fork of the Salmon is a gift for those that love the outdoors.

Every year in late May, Jared Hopkinson, owner of Rocky Mountain River Tours shares this gift with his guides. Some are veterans of the river, but most are young, wide-eyed, blank-slate greenies with a thirst for adventure. They’re looking to cut their teeth of one of the most classic wilderness experiences in the Continental US.  It will be their first time on the Middle Fork, and regardless of how many other rivers they’ve run in their modest guiding careers, this will no doubt become a life-long favorite. 

Middle Fork
Starting at an elevation of 7,000 feet in the wilds of north central Idaho, the Middle Fork of the Salmon carves an authoritative path for 100 miles through the largest unbroken wilderness in the lower 48, the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.
Middle Fork
Jared Hopkinson, owner/operator of Rocky Mountain River Tours, gets some well-deserved time behind the oars.
Middle Fork
Hopkinson discusses upcoming rapids with guides Rob De LaCruz and Neil Burk.
Middle Fork
Veteran guide Cody Pugil preps an oar rig at Boundary Creek, put-in for the Middle Fork of the Salmon.
Middle Fork
Where do you put the guides-in-training? In the paddleboat of course—where they have the greatest opportunity to get intimately familiar with the chilly waters of the Middle Fork. Case in point: Rubber Rapid.
Middle Fork
Baptism by fire at its finest. Boundary Creek, put in for the Middle Fork of the Salmon is not for the faint of heart. A steep, 100-foot wooden ramp is the only entrance.
Middle Fork
Breaking camp at Marble Creek
Middle Fork
Chris Proctor gets a little playtime in Marble Creek rapid.
Middle Fork
River life = wet gear by the truckload.
Middle Fork
The best “training meeting” ever? Sure can’t beat the view. These late night talks serve as the perfect opportunity for Hopkinson to share insight and company culture with his guides.

Adam Barker lives in Salt Lake City, UT. When not chasing his three boys through the snow, down the river or into the woods, he can be found on his bike, skis, with fly rod in hand or (gasp) shooting pictures.