If you want to spend a unique day outdoors, drive up the Salmon River from Riggins to Vinegar Creek. Twenty three miles of mostly unpaved road follows the river along some impressive cliffs and pristine river views. When you get to the boat ramps you can board a jet boat to head up river to a destination about 25 miles upstream at Mackay Bar. This time of the year the river is flowing at 4000 cubic feet per second, low water with many exposed rocks and treacherous channels. You would not want to take this excursion without an experienced Captain. Imagine the same river flowing at 55,000 CFS early in the spring and during one extreme run off year at over 100,000 CFS. The ride up the canyon was invigorating at 20 plus miles and hour, dodging through the rapids, with a periodic wild life or geology lesson stop. We saw many eagles, osprey, and wild sheep on the trip. Mackay Bar is just before Ledger Falls which are passable in a small boat but not advised at this water level. The geology of the canyon is very interesting as you learn about the huge Idaho Batholith that forms one of the deepest canyons in the country. It is also called the River of No Return by the early settlers as the boats could make the journey down but could not go back up the river that only flows north. A main Salmon float trip takes 6-8 days and covers 80.7 miles of the river from Corn Creek to Carey Creek just below our Vinegar Creek launch. Not for the faint of heart but I have a full Salmon trip in a raft on my things I must do before the end of the fourth quarter of life.
We stopped at Polly Bemis’s on the way back down the river. Polly is a famous character in these parts. A 4 foot 5 inch tall pioneer who lived at this site in the canyon. Polly was born in Lalu Nathoy in Northern China in 1853. At 18, her father was forced to sell her during a prolonged drought for two bags of seed. She was smuggled to the United States where she was sold for $2500 to Hong King, a saloon keeper in the booming gold mining town of Warren. Charlie Bemis was also a saloon keeper. Both Bemis and Hong King were gamblers and the legend has it that Bemis won Polly’s freedom in a poker game. Once free, Polly did laundry and ran a boarding house. Polly earned lifelong friends as her good humor, cleanliness, and delicious cooking endeared her to those whose path she crossed. Warren was a boom town and it is said the population reached over 5000 before the gold petered out. Polly saved Charlie’s life after a gun shot wound. They married in 1894 and built the place on the river about 20 miles from Warren – the place that she called home until 1933. Polly created an oasis on the river maintaining a beautiful garden and planting many trees. Folks passing through the canyon could be sure of a warm welcome. Polly always loaded down the guests with food gifts to be delivered to friends down river. As we learned about Polly, you cannot help but appreciate the life she built in this land of opportunity in spite of the challenges she must have faced each day. Diversity in our country should be valued and protected.
President Jimmy Carter said it perfectly, “we have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” From business leader, Malcolm Forbes, “Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.”
Enjoy your week end. Mike