Wild & Scenic Raft

Wild & Scenic Raft is back on land from their five day adventure on the Lower Salmon River! Our time on the water was special, picturesque, eye opening and wild! We were with a gifted raft guide group of five strong and inspiring women, Olivia, Jackie, Jaid, Brooke and Abby! Two gear rafts and three rafts full of Alpengirls and we were off! Our first day we paddled ten miles to a large private beach and set up camp. We took advantage of sleeping out under the stars on the sand and all set up together! The guides busted out one of their favorite fun activities and flipped over a raft for ... a Slip' n 'Slide! We all lined up with our excitement un contained and showed off our moves in the air for an Alpenolympic! Jin Jin had impeccable form, Eames had wildly creative style and Eri demonstrated the most beautifully executed front flips we've seen! After the slip n slide fun, we all got dry and ready for a delicious alfredo pasta dinner! Lots of hair braiding ensued, courtesy of Sasha and some raft guides! :') Then our raft guide Abby introduced a piece of their own appreciation circle for the day, with a silky courage robe she calls the Shirt of Courage! On this day, the most courageous camper stood out, on the rapids and on the slip n slide, and was awarded to Ellie! Bravo, Ellie! We all curled up under the stars and slept to the sounds of the rapids nearby.

The next morning, we all took down camp and got ready for our next adventure! The rapids gave us all their mighty strength and we breezed through Class 3 and 4 waves with ease and laughter! Lots of river singing, chanting and silliness to keep us in the highest of spirits! Once we set foot on our campsite, everyone paired up and practiced their talent show acts for the evening! Mo and Julie chef'd up a yummy Alpengirl Friendship Stew and we all got ready for the show! Even the raft guides put together a little skit :) Lauren, Jin Jin and Matea took our breath away with their rendition of Frozen's Let it Go, beautifully sung by Lauren and executed by all three! We were thoroughly impressed! Our following winning act was Lip Gloss by Ceci, Ellie, Eri, Maddie and Addison! It was fierce, powerful and left us all with a desire for lip gloss! We ended the night with so much appreciation for all the talent in our group & the Shirt of Courage was passed to Eames! We then went to sleep for another night under the stars and rested up for our big day tomorrow!

The next morning, the rapids tested our strength and we gave our all! Our first rapid was named Change of Heart and we felt it! Our next rapids were class 4 and they were wild! Our first was Snow Hole and we were whipped and splashed to galore! Sasha & Julie's boat filled nearly to the top with water! The next was China & we didn't have our passports but that rapid took us to another level! Snow Hole and China were our two huge highlight rapids! Once we arrived at our private beach for the night, we all set up camp (and tents) and the Best Nest alpenolympic began! Campfire Cabin, aka Zen Den, blew us away with their yoga studio, campfire pit, guest book, shoe rack and altar. Bravo to Ellie, Ceci, Mia and Maddie! After, Mo and Julie cooked up some delicious veggie burgers for dinner and more hair was braided! Our Shirt of Courage was passed to Addison, for her powerful spirit all day through the rapids! We ended the day with an appreciation circle and all cuddled up for some good sleep!

The next day was our longest mileage rafting day! Our guides were beasts! Olivia, renamed Muscles, led us through the waters as the guide boat! We stopped for epic jumping and there were no hesitations to get into the water! Ella ran up those rocks and was the first to dive! Eri and Eames right after! Once we were all wet and giggled out, we got back in the rafts and continued our journey! We took turns on the front of the rafts, practicing our best Titanic poses (Brielle loved it!) and had lots of fun chanting and singing! When we arrived to our campsite, Jin Jin, Mia and Matea all shocked us with our shelter-making capabilities! An awe inspiring sunset awaited us while we all wrote our Alpenessays and cooked lasagna for our last night on the river. Our Shirt of Courage for our final day was passed to Maddie, for her amazing spirit all day!

Not only were we on the Salmon river, but we also had the honor of merging into the Snake River!

Being on the Snake and Salmon Rivers were both wonderfully beautiful and we left as a tight knit group of silly yet strong Alpengirls! Jackie, one of our raft guides, left powerful words for all of us to dwell on for many years to come ... "Remember who you are and what you stand for!” Onward we go Alpengirls - see you next summer!