On a 6-day raft trip down the Main Salmon River in Idaho with OARS, July 2023.
Ask people on the same river trip what resonates most — what they will remember —and everyone has a separate answer.
For me, just being able to go on this trip was a huge milestone after what the knee replacement ordeal I’ve been through the past year
We also meet Bill “Bronco” Burchak who is one of the first wooden dory boatmen in the Grand Canyon and trained our trip leader
“I had not learned to advocate for myself,” she explained. “I went from being an active kid to being told I’d be in a wheelchair by 30″
Today we travel roughly 20 miles through nine named rapids, stopping to see an ancient pictograph and sample Barth Hot Springs.
There are 22 of us on this adventure. Most have rafted before. We range from 30- to 70-somethings. The group includes five former guides