Blogs are Reflections from a Salmon River SUP Adventure

March 5, 2026 2:52 am

Last fall, my wife, Toria, and I completed the first known self-support stand up paddleboard descent of the entire Salmon River. We launched from Stanley on October 3rd. 398 miles later, on October 27, we made it to Heller Bar on the Snake River. The journey was an incredible adventure, and definitely one of the best months of my life. There’s something about being outside, away from your daily life, that allows you to take a step back and reflect on what you are doing. Here are a few of my reflections from a month spent on the Salmon River:

The Salmon River is worth fighting for. I’ve long known the Salmon River was special but seeing it from its start to finish made me fall even more in love with it. River protection is an ongoing fight- and one that is worth fighting.

You can find and build routine anywhere. 2025 was an incredible year for me but one that lacked a lot of routine. The last place I thought I would find routine was on a fall whitewater SUP expedition and yet, there it was! It was a much needed lesson that just because each week doesn’t look the same doesn’t mean that good routines can’t be developed.

The vast majority of people in the world are friendly and want the best for others. When we pushed off of the shore in Stanley, I was prepared for a month of minimal social interaction with anyone except for Toria. I was so wrong! We interacted with people all over: from steelheaders along the river corridor, to miners in bars, to van lifers in gas stations, to e-bikers in hot springs. Almost every person that we met was kind to us and many offered to try to help us in various ways, from offering rides, materials, or their homes. It was a much needed reminder that most people in the world are overwhelmingly good, even when people try to make us feel divided.

Sleep is good. Sleep has never been a forte of mine but it turns out when you paddle all day and it gets dark and cold early that getting into your sleeping bag is really nice! I slept more on our trip than I think I have in my whole adult life and it was awesome.

The SUP is actually a really great expedition craft. People were always stunned that we were able to carry everything that we needed on our SUPs. And while it wasn’t quite as deluxe as a rafting trip we definitely carried luxuries such as cheese, multiple stoves, my Surfer’s Journal magazine, and the things to make a chocolate olive oil cake. The weight on the boards actually made it easier to punch through big rapids and we were able to maneuver well through all of the exposed rocks in the low water.

It takes a long time to develop the skills to pull off something big. Five years ago, I was totally unprepared to do this trip. And while lots of people still thought what we did was pretty out there, it felt totally within the realm of what we were capable of. There were lots of skills that went into it, from running whitewater, to trip planning for a long expedition, to outdoor cooking, to staying warm in cold conditions, to gear repair and more. If you’ve got a trip that you dream about doing but aren’t capable of doing yet, keep working on all of the different parts of it. Someday you’ll be able to make it happen!