52 - 7/15/2011 - St Joe (Idaho)

The Canyon Run

The day before this was our only day off from kayaking. We were waiting for friends to show up, and we decided to scout the river and scout Marble Creek, a tributary downstream of the confluence with the NF St Joe. We had intended to do a run, but in the end we decided to relax.

We started the morning running Skookum Canyon, which is a class II+ run with a class III+ gorge and a few more class III rapids below that. This was a fun warm-up and I had thought we were going to run two laps. Instead, we did another run above that called the Canyon Run. This is a class II+ run with a couple of easy, fun class III rapids, and a high-walled canyon near the end.

After the run, Lee and I decided to "cook" dinner. It really wasn't a big deal, since a lot of the food was pre-prepared, but it was a nice break from sandwiches. After dinner, we made the decision that the next day we would go and run the Moyie River. It had come down to a lower level and we figured we should be able to handle it without a guide. Our friends tried to convince us that it would be way too low, but we decided to take a chance.