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A blue oar raft drives through brown standing waves in a Snake River rapid
Trip Report

Snake River — June 2020

3 days 22,000 cfs 4 people raft raft
Season summer
Launch June 1, 2020
Flow 22,000 cfs
Takeout June 3, 2020
Conditions

20,000 CFS day 1, 22,000 CFS day 2, 24,000 CFS day 3 — rising daily

3 days
22,000 cfs
2 boats
16 photos
Day 1 June 1, 2020

Day 1 — Alpine Canyon, 20,000 CFS

A phone screenshot of a photographer's proof contact sheet, four stacked frames labeled DSC_4277 to DSC_4280 showing a blue raft buried in an exploding whitewater hole, then standing nearly vertical on its side, then broadside with an oar swung out, then flat again with a crew member in the water beside it.
A blue oar raft punches head-on into a silty whitewater rapid on the Snake River, the rower braced upright on both oars in an orange PFD, a standing crew member behind him and two crew ducked low in the bow as spray breaks over the tubes.
A blue oar raft rides up on edge in a brown Snake River rapid, the tube lifting toward the camera and an oar swung out low over the froth, the rower dropped behind the frame seat while two crew hang on at the stern and conifers line the far bank.
A blue oar raft runs broadside through a silty rapid, four crew aboard in PFDs and ball caps, one hauling an oar high across the frame and a black paddle blade dipped at the left, with green willows and dark bedrock on the bank behind.
A blue oar raft drives through brown standing waves in a Snake River rapid, one crew member standing on the tube with an arm raised in celebration while the rower pulls on the oars and two others ride low in the bow, a dark bedrock ledge and green willows on the far bank.
An exploding wall of tan and white whitewater fills the frame of a Snake River rapid, only a blur of blue raft tube and a hint of a blue helmet visible inside the foam, with a dark bedrock shelf, bleached driftwood and green brush along the bank behind.
A blue raft stands nearly on end in a Snake River rapid, its pale underside turned to the camera and a blue oar shaft raking down to the left, one crew member visible over the high tube, with a bedrock shelf, deadfall and conifers along the bank.
A blue oar raft climbs a breaking wave in a Snake River rapid, the rower leaning back at the stern and a second crew member forward driving a blue paddle into the water, with a rock shelf, deadfall and dense green willows on the bank behind.
In a churning Snake River rapid a crew member stands waist-deep in the whitewater hauling on a blue oar while another person is in the water to the left, and the blue raft floats off to the right with two crew aboard, a bedrock shelf and green brush along the bank.
Day 2 June 2, 2020

Day 2 — Alpine Canyon, 22,000 CFS

A blue raft is thrown up on its side in a Snake River rapid, the rower flung sideways off the frame seat with an oar raked down to the left while two crew hang onto the high tube, a spray curtain across the middle of the frame and a bedrock shelf with deadfall behind.
A blue oar raft runs in profile through a long train of silty standing waves on the Snake River, four crew aboard in caps and sunglasses, the upstream oar extended out over the water and a dark conifer bank with driftwood behind.
A fully rigged blue oar raft sits in the tail waves of a Snake River rapid seen from above, the rower standing at the oars in an orange PFD, a crew member crouched forward on the tube and two more at the stern, with dark stepped bedrock ledges along the right bank.
A blue raft is knocked up on edge in a Snake River rapid, a wall of spray between the rower being thrown sideways at the left and two crew clinging to the raised tube at the right, with a bedrock shelf, bleached deadfall and conifers on the bank behind.
A blue raft is swamped and tipping in a Snake River rapid, two crew braced at the oars with mouths open and the frame seats lifting free, while a third person is in the water at the right holding onto the blue tube, brown foam filling the lower half of the frame.
Near-duplicate head-on frame of the blue oar raft in a wide silty Snake River rapid, the rower on both oars in an orange PFD with a crew member behind him and two riding the bow tube, brown boils and whitewater on all sides.
A blue oar raft comes head-on down a wide brown rapid on the Snake River, the rower in a navy jacket and orange PFD pulling both oars, a crew member behind him and two more riding the bow tube as silty standing waves break around the boat.
Day 3 June 3, 2020

Day 3 — Alpine Canyon, 24,000 CFS

  • Ran the Alpine Canyon three times over three days as flows rose from 20,000 to 24,000 CFS.
  • Peter from South Carolina hitchhiked in and joined the trip.
Data

Flow: USGS , 20,000–24,000 cfs daily mean.

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