37 Miles on the South Fork of the Snake – Day 1

I asked Nick what his favorite part of the trip was.  He jokingly replied, “Stopping at Golden Corral on the way”.  Yes, this was a great way to start the week-long trip, stopping at an all you can eat buffet before having camp food for every meal.  No, we didn’t stop at the 7-11 for candy.

Since we were floating five days rather than three, we decided to start the float a little higher on the river rather than the usual put-in at Conant.  Checking at the fly shop we found out that Irwin did not have a good ramp and was real steep.  They steered us toward the Palisade Creek put-in which does have a nice cement ramp.  This was fortuitous because there is also a campground and a service station (Huskey’s) there.  Since we were camping after September 30^th, which is the end of the official camping season, we did not have to pay for camping for or pay the daily parking “recreational’ fee for the week.  We still filled out an Overnight Camping Permit.

Since it was still daylight after we pitched the tent, we disconnected the boat and drove up to see the dam.  We were curious to see how much water was being released.  Just that week they had lowered the amount of water released to 6,000 cfs as opposed to the 8,000 to 10,000 cfs that were being released all summer.

It started to rain as we headed back to the campground.  We were glad the tent was up.  We lit the propane stove and started to warm two cans of stew.

We could see eagle’s nests across the river.  It ended up raining lightly all night and most of the next day.  Luckily it wasn’t too cold. 

In the morning, after loading the boat, we placed a tarp over the very back of the boat to cover the items not in the tote boxes, like the sleeping bags and pads.

We floated 12.5 miles on this rainy Tuesday. 

Despite the rain, we saw over a half dozen eagles. 

Also of note was that we floated past the river side of the South Fork Lodge, the side you see in their literature. 

Then shortly thereafter we floated past the Conant valley ramp where we usually start our float trips.  Our Second day camp is just one mile past this ramp.  The camp is called Pine Creek #1. 

Nick caught quite a few fish that evening after setting up the tent before having dinner.  We set the tent up as soon as we got there so it could dry as much as possible before sundown. 

Preparing for a Five Day Float

Last week my son in law Nick and I did a five day float on the South Fork of the Snake River.  A lot of planning goes into a float of this magnitude. Some of the considerations are: Rain, Freezing Temperatures, A weeks worth of food, cooking supplies, protection from raccoons or even worse – skunks, and most importantly six fly rods.

Storage Space

The first thing I did was remove the back seat of the drift boat giving more storage space.  This allowed me to store large totes and even a table top.  It also made space so I didn’t have to skimp on supplies or food trying to save space. 

Rain

To combat the rain, I had to make sure everything in the boat was prepared.  The biggest help was to get waterproof tote bins.  I found the perfect ones; clear, see-through sides with a locking top.  In these bins we could throw coats, duffle bags, food or whatever and know they wouldn’t get wet in a downpour or a splash from a wave. 

The tent and one of the self-inflating mattresses that wouldn’t fit in the tote we put in the middle seat.  The tent I had water-proofed when I bought it twenty-two years ago.  It held up quite well, however the night it rained a couple of drops did seep through the zipper right above Nicks head and happened to hit him in the eye.  One of the sleeping bags came in a dry bag and one we stuffed in a dry bag that we had brought.  We of course, brought rain coats and waders.  If it was actually raining while we were drifting, we would put a tarp over the back of the boat just to keep the rain off the supplies.

Freezing Temperatures

Since it was getting late in the year we knew it might hit freezing temperatures at night.  I had my usual sleeping bags that were fine for warm weather but I didn’t have any rated for freezing temperatures.  A trip to Cabela’s bargain bin solved this.  Jennifer and I were able to procure a Cabela’s Alaskan Guide rectangle sleeping bag rated to zero degrees and a North Face Dark Star mummy sleeping bag rated to -40.  Of course, we had coats, waders and hats for the day time.

Food

Nick and I are two growing boys so we needed plenty of food… but also didn’t want to distract from our fishing time by having to prepare food.  A cooler was another thing I had to buy for the trip.  I had a small cooler that was great for day trips or even an over-nighter, but not for a whole week.  Another trip to Cabelas solved this problem.  I bought a 5-day rated cooler.  This handled all the refrigerated items we brought.  Two blocks of ice stayed frozen the whole time. 

For breakfast we had cold cereal and milk.  Cinnamon Toast Crunch was our favorite.  We also had shredded wheat and Life Cereal.

For lunch we had sandwiches prepared the day before the trip.  These consisted of whole grain bread, pastrami, roast beef, Swiss and cheddar cheese, butter and mayonnaise.  The sandwiches were made so there was a slice of cheese immediately next to the bread so it wouldn’t get moist.  A small amount of butter and mayonnaise was spread on the inside side of the cheese.  The meat went in the middle.  Each sandwich was placed in a zip lock bag. 

Dinners were prepared after dark when the fishing was done for the day.  These consisted of various pop-top cans of stew, meat and potatoes or ravioli.  A little portable propane stove was used to warm the cans of food.  

For snacks we had Fritos, nut bars, and Butterfinger candy bars that Karen had given to Nick for his birthday.

For drinks we had fruit drinks, gator-aide and bottled water.  The bottled water lasted until the last day when we refilled the empty bottles of water with water from the 6 gallon jug we brought.

Table

For the table we brought the top of a desk which was just a plastic board and placed it on top of two of the totes.  This worked as a table for cooking as well as for eating.  For chairs we used the cooler and a bucket with a life jacket as padding.

Protection from the critters

At night we would place a tote on top of the cooler and place totes on each side with the table top on top.  This seemed to protect the food from the critters we encountered on the trip. 

The Fishing Equipment

The fly rods we would keep assembled and placed on each side of the boat in the rod holders, which handled two of them, or right on top of the rod holders.  For each of us, one rod was for nymph fishing, one for streamer fishing and one for dry fly fishing.  This way we could easily switch from one method to another without having to re-rig every time.

Darkness

We had the usual flashlights but we also had a candle lantern.  This lantern provided light while we ate dinner.  It also served as an insect repellent as it contained citronella. 

Buckets

Buckets served a couple of purposes on this trip.  One was to serve as a bailing tool.  The first night and day it rained and the boat took on some water.  Before setting off on the float the second day we used one bucket to scoop out as much water as we could.  The other served as our tool to take on nature hikes, with toilet seat and all.

Checklist

Before every trip I like to prepare a checklist.  Depending on the details of the trip, with boat or without boat, staying in a hotel or camping; I prepare a different list.  I use the list to make sure I have everything needed and prepared for the trip.  Then, after everything is loaded, I go over the list one last time checking off each item to make sure nothing is forgotten.  There is nothing worse than getting to your first campsite and finding out you forgot the matches, or something even more critical.

Fall Colors

Hey, I finally got on a river last week.  Paul and I hit the Weber River.  The weather was perfect, 88 degrees.  We went to one of our favorite stretches of the river.  The water was only a little high but it was quite off color, not the typical clear water you usually find in the fall. 

This season has been quite difficult.  Using a disco midge and a pink scud I managed to catch four white fish.  Paul caught one rainbow.  After lunch we headed up Beaver Creek Canyon.  The creek is very small but Paul was still able to catch a nice cutthroat. 

The colors in the canyon were spectacular.  This was September 29^th.  Check out the picture below of how the mountains look this week.