North Fork Salmon River

 Yesterday we passed into Idaho down Hwy 93. At North Fork we followed the Salmon River a short distance to a picnic spot where Michael processed 30 Gallons of veggie oil while I biked along the river. In this area it was broad and meandering, dotted with fly fishermen. Fire had scorched the north side of the road which was rocky and bare. Later the canyon narrows and has extremely rocky cliffs in loose, jagged jumble. Along our daytime section though things were more idyllic and I could see the knapweed covered in bees-- Rocky had said they are the lifeblood of bees in late summer but in the Bitterroot behind us they'd already dried up.

 After processing we followed the river west until dark. We camped above the rushing river... well chocked against my rolling fears.

 This morning, after a short distance along the Salmon we came to an alcove with a wooden platform and some signage and were treated to 8000 years of human history. The "sheep eater" people, later to become the Lemhi Shoshone, had used this overhang seasonally throughout their nomadic history. Now hunters, boaters (on the River of No Return,) miners, ranchers and general tourists are the ones coming through...

 We did see a lot of animals on the dirt road loop to Challis-- Besides the sheep there were mule deer, a tiny cub (didn't see the sow but hope she was around,) a fleeing wolf and then sandhill cranes down by the middle fork of the Salmon once we were back out to Hwy 93. Tomorrow we hope to paddle this section of the river-- it's around freezing in the morning but warms up by afternoon. The smoke is less and even if it is a shallow run we do want to try at least one river adventure before returning home.