Northwest Voyageurs Featured in Outdoors Northwest
March 15, 2007

excerpt written by Karen Kefauver
...Day 2: Salmon River
I was eager to raft the Salmon River, one of Idaho’s most popular whitewater destinations. Also known as the “River of No Return,” it is the longest free-flowing river in the country. The guide for our half-day excursion was Andy Nachman, owner of Northwest Voyageurs.

Perched literally on the bank of the Little Salmon River on Highway 95, Northwest Voyageurs offers its guests lodging as well as a variety of trips in the U.S and abroad ranging from mountain climbing to multisport. We set off in a van and drove parallel to the water, stopping occasionally for Andy to scout the rapids.

“These are Class III rapids for us today,” he noted. “Those are the most fun because you can hit the biggest things in the river and be fine if you follow the right lines.”

Wearing helmets and life jackets, we piled into the raft, which was equipped with oars for Andy to steer the boat. We set out on our excursion on the fast-flowing water. Andy knew the river like the back of his hand, skillfully steering us past holes and precarious spots in the river where a boat can easily capsize.

I screamed when we hit the first rapid but loved the jolt of excitement. On calmer waters, we coasted while Andy pointed out magpies, sheep and elk. We marveled at the steep granite walls on either side of us as Andy steered us to a beach and whipped up an impressive lunch buffet.

A half hour later we returned to the boat to finish our amazing adventure at the small historical town of Riggins (population 410), which is located just east of the famous Hells Canyon at the confluence of the Salmon River and the Little Salmon River in west Central Idaho.

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