In Memory of Warmer Summers

White Bird, ID to New Meadows, ID

Friendly horn taps: 1

Miles: 60

Miles so far: 4,025

The Salmon River

We followed the Salmon River going upstream this morning in the startlingly beautiful Salmon River Valley.  We took a fork and did the same with the little Salmon River.  The route in Idaho seems to be a river’s route as  a theme.  It needs to be, as the countryside on either side of these valleys cut by the rivers is deep and steep.

At lunch we stopped in a little restaurant in Riggins, Idaho.  It was called the Cattleman’s.  One of the owners, a little gal in her mid-sixties used to be a fly fishing guide.  She made a good living from an exclusive list of clients, but gave up the work and bought a restaurant so she could be more of a help to her mother.  She says she hasn’t been fishing in two years and misses it terribly.  then she laughed and said, “During the two years, I bought three fly rods though!”

Just upstream from Riggins on the Little Salmon River, we came to a spot where there was no parking available on the highway, and fishermen were everywhere on the water.  I saw fishermen working the swift water, literally shoulder to shoulder.

During an afternoon break at a little country store on the Little Salmon River we got a brief lesson on the habits of salmon by the owner there.  He explained they are running right now, trying to make it back to the places where they were first hatched.  According to this man, salmon are driven to spawn and come back to the exact place where they started life, after two years time.  He explained that what we witnessed below, what he referred to as, “combat fishing” is generated by the fish trying to get to the hatchery, on the banks of the Little Salmon.    The hatchery happens to be at the place where we saw all the people fishing.  These are hatchery released fish.  He says the creeks are full of “natural” salmon doing the same thing, but the natural salmon are protected and if caught must be released, unless caught by a member of the Nez Perce Indian tribe.

Something new I learned today, is that salmon always have their noses pointed upstream, even when they are migrating (do fish migrate?) out to sea.  Essentially, they are swimming backwards.  It is said that is how they never lose track of where they came from.

The day was full of meeting nice people and riding through some gorgeous country.  I don’t know the first thing about salmon, so I was particularly interested in the explanations about their behavior. I’m not so sure about the swimming backwards thing though.  I may have to look that one up.

Another span of "bridge art" by the Idaho DOT

One of the creeks running into the Little Salmon River

The Little Salmon River

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Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Raelene Pearce

Raelene Pearce

Raelene Pearce, age 22 from Couer d’Alene, Idaho was killed on April 20, 1998.  She was a passenger in a car operated by a drunk driver.  The car went into the Couer d”Alene River, and Raelene drowned as a result.