When we bought River's Fork Lodge just over four years ago, we didn't know what we were doing. Jed and I had only completed one (guided) weeklong rafting trip down the Salmon River the previous summer, and Drew had never even been to the area. Shoot, we hadn't even really seen the inside of the property in person before going to the title company and signing the paperwork.
The river looked nothing like it did the previous August when we rafted it—it was 10 degrees outside in the middle of the day and huge chunks of ice were hurtling downstream and colliding into each other, forming a traffic jam of icebergs directly in front of our newly purchased property. The canyon walls were so steep and the sun so far south that we wondered if this was the paradise we remembered. Our wives told us that we were crazy and stopped talking to us, and we were beginning to think they were right.
On top of all that, we now had a pretty big loan to repay and no experience setting up and running a reservation system. We didn't even have a list of upcoming reservations. We were staring at seemingly nothing, and the only one of us that had any hospitality experience at all was yours truly... at a restaurant that didn't even require me to take food orders from the guests.
A month went by, and we figured out how to access the website and set up an online reservation system. We set up a new phone number and polished our listing on Google. For a few weeks, the phones were dead and the future seemed bleak.
We started to finally get calls at the beginning of March, 2021. Each caller asked, "Is Deadwater open?" My first thought was "What the hell is Deadwater," but I'm sure I phrased it differently. Come to find out that although Deadwater sounds like the name of a dangerous pirate, it is instead the portion of river immediately downstream from our property. At Deadwater, the river flattens out and the current is so slow that the water actually freezes like a lake; hence, the icebergs stacking up in front of the lodge.
When the weather warms in early March, Deadwater thaws and a deluge of steelhead trout begin making their way upstream. It's one of the best times to fish on the Salmon River, and we're fortunate enough to witness this event every March and to be the first place that many anglers call for a river report.
This has become one of our favorite times of the year in North Fork. To see the fish, hear the birds, and feel the warmth of the sun and the rush of the Salmon River is a reminder of nature's endless cycle that was here long before us and will hopefully remain long after us. It's still a little brisk, don't get me wrong, but it's always exciting to get a taste of what is to come. It's also nice to find out that you're not actually crazy and that purchasing the lodge was an okay decision after all.
We still don't know what we're doing, but we're having fun doing it. Jed has committed to raft the wild and scenic stretch of the Salmon River every September, Drew has embarked on several successful hunts in the area with his boys, and my wife is talking to me again ;)
The iconic Salmon River for life,
Christian
P.s. Yes, the ice at Deadwater is gone. Check out some recent photos from our resident river guide Earl at Rawhide River Trips.
