Riggins SCAT machine closure requires Idaho river floaters to find alternatives - FAST!

Drew and Dad on the Main Salmon River ... my old rocket box toilet won't be the best to use anymore!  

Hi all,

This week's tip is for Idaho's river floaters. News flash: The SCAT machine in Riggins has been shut down by Gem Stop and the city of Riggins. The U.S. Forest Service is working on a new solution, but not until 2019. If you're planning on running the Main Salmon River - River of No Return Wilderness section this summer, you'll have to find another way to dispose of human waste.

I wrote a full story about this debacle in Idaho Statesman Outdoors. Click on the link to read all about it! Not everyone reads the paper these days!

My solution? Invest in a new portable toilet that has a 3-inch hose that hooks up to an RV dump. Then I'm not dependent on SCAT machines. If I'm floating the Bruneau or the Owyhee river, I'll have a good way to dispose of human waste in Boise after the trip. See the article for information on RV-compatible portable toilets.

If you liked seeing Shoshone Falls in full glory at big river flows, you'll love seeing the 212-foot falls illuminated with lights and lasers synchronized with music! Southern Idaho Tourism is putting on a light and laser show for three nights running next Thursday-Sunday, May 17-19. River levels are still big and impressive! Tickets are on sale now, and they will sell out. Should be super-cool!  

A couple of other tidbits: 

• Ridge to Rivers is hosting a volunteer trail project in the Hillside to the Hollow area on National Trails Day, Saturday, June 2. R2R will be constructing a 1/4-mile neighborhood access trail in the H2H Reserve from 9 am to 1 pm. Volunteers should come prepared to work.  Gloves, closed-toed shoes and long pants are all highly recommended. Also, bring something to eat (snacks) and plenty of WATER! A backpack to carry these items is also a good idea. Plan on 4-5 hours of work. R2R staff will provide tools and instruction. To sign up, follow this link: https://bit.ly/2w7YRjn
  
• Friends of the Owyhee are hosting a cleanup party and noxious weed knock-out event at Succor Creek State Recreation Area on Sunday, June 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Also highly recommended to wear long pants, bring gloves for pulling weeds, and bring plenty of snacks and water. More information on their Facebook invite page.

- SS

Here are some camping, outdoor adventure ideas for Labor Day weekend; avoiding the smoke Part IV

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Fun events! Big Water Blowout River Festival; Sheep, Music and Lamb Feed in the Foothills

Now that's one big river hole! (all photos courtesy of the Big Water Blowout)

Swimmer? 

Music this year is by the "Wasteland Kings"

Hi all,

The weekend forecast looks quite dandy with temps in the high 70s in Riggins, the self-avowed whitewater capital of Idaho, and home to a super-fun annual event aptly called the "Big Water Blowout River Festival."

It's all happening on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. in Riggins. Meet at Riggins City Park (on the right, on the north end of town, as you're traveling north). Check out the vid.

A big bonus associated with the Big Water Blowout event is that guided river trips are available for only $30, which is less than half the price of a typical guided half-day float trip. So for those folks who don't have their own river gear, it's a great opportunity to go rafting through some fun rapids with the pros, and then have a blast in the whole party scene that follows the river trip, including live music and a Dutch oven cookoff.

If you're a river nut, you've got to go. If you've always wanted to try whitewater rafting, you've got to go. If you think you're a river god or goddess, show up and see how the river trip and the D.O. cook-off shakes out. Dress up! Get the river attitude cranked up!

Here's how the event is described by the hosts in Riggins:

This is an action packed, family fun event with experienced Outfitters and Guides offering discounted raft trips all day. Come paddle HUGE Rapids, and enjoy the magnificent scenery and wildlife in the second deepest gorge in North America. Get your thrill seeking in, and see all the rafts, catarafts, kayaks, and dories go BIG and ride boat munching waves with names like The Pencil Sharpener, The Pancake Wave, The Big Easy and The Haystack.

The Salmon River is running 25,000 cubic feet per second at Whitebird, so it's up, but not at a death-defying  level (could be 75,000+ in a bigger snowpack year). The Salmon probably has peaked, according to the snowpack/river flow experts, so if you're into running big water, seize the day NOW.
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Sheep move into the Boise Foothills near the Corrals Trail in April. 

Closer to home, there's a cool event going on Saturday at the Foothills Learning Center. It's called "Sheep in the Foothills." It's a family friendly event, great for kids, to learn about the domestic sheep that graze through the Boise Foothills in the spring as they make their way into the high country in the Boise National Forest.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be herding-dog demonstrations, sheep, sheep camps, sheep-shearing, music by Gary and Cindy Braun, a lamb feast for lunch (my favorite!), wool crafts and more.

Because of limited parking at the Foothills Center, transportation is being provided to the event at no charge. Park at Fort Boise Community Center near St. Luke's. Shuttles begin at 10 a.m. and continue every 30 minutes through 1 p.m.

The event is co-sponsored by Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission, Idaho Wool Growers Association, and Boise Parks & Recreation.
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Juicer at 5,000 cfs 

The North Fork Championships are happening again next week, June 6-8, on the world-renowned North Fork of the Payette River, near Banks, Idaho, with an expanded menu of events. Besides the qualifier race on the lower three miles of the North Fork at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 6, and the Elite Race at noon Saturday, June 8th in Jacob's Ladder Rapids, the single-steepest and most challenging drop on the North Fork, there will be a "Boatercross/enduro" race at 5 p.m. Friday, June 7th on S-Turn Rapids near milepost 90 on Idaho 55. Read Roger Phillips column in the Statesman for all of the details. That's a must-see event!

Have fun!
- SS