The Middle Fork Salmon River begins at the Boundary Creek Boat Ramp. We had unloaded on Day 0 so we were all ready to push off early on the 12th. We arrived early to claim campsites (which it turns out weren't in jeopardy) and had a delicious breakfast of omelets and fruit cobbler.

The raft flotilla at the put in.

Marlin below boundary creek.

From the put in, you can see the first rapids at the river crashes around the first corner and out of sight. There are a few miles of busy water before the first rapid Sulphur Slide (MP2.45). At lower water, this one gets boney. At our decent flow of 3.3, the best line was left to right avoiding the rock on the left bank. Scout left.

Tim scouting Sulphur Slide.

Right around the corner is the next rapid, Ram's Horn (MP3.2). This was a sweet little move that involved missing the rock in the middle with a right to left move in a small constriction.

Sandi making the move at Ram's Horn.

Typical beautiful scenery on the upper part of the MF. (MP4.2)

The next great rapid is Velvet Falls (MP5.1). This is a river wide hole/ wave that can be huge at higher flows. The leadin to this is tricky, and it comes up very fast as the river narrows and drops over the ledge. There is a creek coming in river right about 50 feet above the drop. The large boulder on the left side provides a bit of an eddy to catch or slow down before running over the left side of the ledge (recommended). It can be run down the middle, but expect a beating!

Sandi running Velvet Falls.

Josh and Col below.

Jason's 16 foot Avon is small in Velvet Falls.

We get our one Hot spring camp on night one, at Trail Flat Camp (MP6.9). This camp had a bit of a haul up a hill to get the kitchen and tents setup, but the hot springs down below near the water were awesome. We played a few rounds of extreme wilderness croquet and soaked in the hot pools. While we were soaking, some friends came down from the hills to check us out. Totally fearless of people, the deer were less than 50 feet from the springs. They came down to lick the sulphur put out by the thermal vents. We had Smoked Pork Tenderloin and rice with Dutch Oven apple blueberry cobbler for desert prepared by Judy and Mike.

The beach with hot pools!

We had some visitors while soaking in the pools.

Trail Flat Campground.

Click here for the Day 2 Trip Report.

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