Accepting the Challenge of the Turbulent Staircase Rapids

“If you are bounced off the raft into these rapids, try to float through the rocks feet forward, in a sitting position.”

Our guide was briefing us for the challenge of the Staircase Rapids, that spectacular body of water that has long fascinated vacationers and attracted white-water rafters. It’s also the site of the National Kayak Championship competition.

None of the small group around us that early summer morning seemed likely to ever compete for a national white-water championship, but they did seem eager to sample one of Idaho’s memorable wilderness river experiences.

The Staircase Rapids of the South Fork of the Payette River are less than an hour’s drive north of Boise and about the same distance south of Cascade.

My wife Elfriede and I had spent two days jet-boating on the Snake River below Lewiston, through the wonders of Hell’s Canyon, deepest gorge in North America, with overnighting and patio dining at the Copper Creek Lodge in the canyon.

‘River of No Return’

The Salmon, “River of No Return,” is another of the state’s river adventure options. When Jimmy Carter was President, he rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with his security force and accompanying press corps.

You can try the Staircase Rapids even without white-water experience. Six paddlers are assigned to each raft in addition to the guide who sits in the stern and gives commands. Three are seated atop the pontoon on each side. Our crew was evenly divided between men and women, and about half had little or no rafting experience.

We were given rubber wet suits and booties to wear. Life jackets and safety instructions came next: how to anchor your inside foot and position your weight to minimize chances of being bounced into the rapids, and what to do if you are tossed overboard.

The proper paddling stroke was demonstrated, stressing the importance of instant response to the guide’s commands: “Left forward . . . right forward . . . left back!”

Raft Was Zooming

“High side!” would be the command if the raft were swept onto a rock. It meant we should lean into the rock, resisting the natural inclination to bend away from it.

The instructor’s final advice: If anyone wished at this point not to try the Staircase, there should be no hesitation in speaking up. No one did.

Now our raft was zooming downstream toward the first descent of the Staircase. “Left forward . . . right back . . . left and right forward together . . . left back, hard!”

Following the commands, we plunged bow first into a narrow opening between the foaming rocks and bounded through, continuing to paddle to maintain control. Then came the moments of relative calm between the Staircase steps, and we began to feel like experienced white-water rafters.

The second raft came through without mishap, followed by the backup guide in a kayak who was ready to respond to any emergency.

Steps of rocks, turbulent with foaming water, followed one another, and openings would appear where none seemed to exist. Forward paddling and back paddling furiously, we hit them all bow first. By the end of the run our spirits were in orbit and we felt ready for at least the national championships, providing our guide could come along to give the commands.

Trip Price is $245

Steve and Mary Jones own and operate the Cascade Rafting Co., based in the town of Cascade. They prefer to have rafters take the full three-day rafting trip with them in preparation for the Staircase run. The trip price of $245 includes tents, all meals, wet suits and booties. Bring your own sleeping bag and personal gear. For reservations and help in planning a white-water rafting trip on the Payette River, call Cascade at (208) 462-3639.

Our two days of jet-boating Snake River and Hell’s Canyon were another kind of memorable white-water adventure. Running northward on the last stretch of its 1,000-mile run, the Snake River has carved a canyon more than a mile deep and 15 miles long, bordered at one point by Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

From our jet boat we looked up at walls of basalt and granite towering to an average height of 6,600 feet, flanked on the east by the Seven Devil’s Mountains in Idaho, and on the west by the 10,000-foot Wallowas in Oregon.

This “Grand Canyon of the Snake” once separated the territories of the Nez Perce and Snake Indians. Stone carvings on the cliffs could be up to 3,000 years old. Legends nurtured by the petroglyphs tell of young couples who would climb a rock at nightfall. If the girl stayed all night, tribal law decreed that she was agreeing to marriage.

The French-Canadian exploration party of 1811 called this part of the Snake “la mudite riviere enragee” (the accursed mad river).

We jetted past Nez Perce Crossing, where the heroic Chief Joseph led his people across the raging river. They had been ordered out of their homeland by the U.S. cavalry. Near Deep Creek Rapids, 35 Chinese laborers taken there to help dig mines in the gold rush era were tortured and murdered by bandits who believed they had a hidden fortune in gold.

Near many of the rapids, iron rings cemented into rocks are mementos of the steamboat period, when captains and crews struggled to bring stern-wheelers up the Snake.

The modern jet boat doesn’t face the problems that broke up so many stern-wheelers. At high speed, the steel bottom of our shallow-draft jet could skim through rapids on 10 inches of water. The skipper curved and twisted the jet boat around the rocks.

High above the cliffs we could see cowhands and sheepherders tending their herds. Rocky Mountain sheep grazed at the edge of thousand-foot drops. Eagles, red-tailed hawks and prairie falcons nested below them. Wildflowers grew out of mossy ledges.

We skimmed, bounced and slalomed through the canyons of the Snake aboard a Beamer’s Landing jet boat. Wally and Myrna Beamer began their jet boat tours more than a decade ago, and are one of the top-rated jet boating companies in the West.

They’ve built lodging and dining facilities at Heller Bar and Copper Creek in Hell’s Canyon. Their captains are certified by the Coast Guard and Red Cross.

Beamer passenger jets are of various sizes; the one we were aboard comfortably seated about 20. The Beamers also deliver mail every Wednesday to homes and ranches at remote locations in the canyon.

Our cabin at Copper Creek was comfortably furnished. It’s the only modern full-service resort in Hell’s Canyon. We sipped wine on the patio overlooking the Snake River, and could choose between salmon and steak for dinner.

The Beamers have tours from one to three days, and two overnights. We stopped often for photographs and hikes to ancient petroglyphs. There are fishing tours during salmon, trout, bass and sturgeon seasons. One of the most popular tours is with the overnight mail run to meet the people of the canyon as well as enjoy the spectacular scenery.

The two-day/one-night jet boat excursion to Copper Creek, including all meals and accommodations, costs $165 per person. For complete information, contact Beamer’s Landing Jet Boat Tours, P.O. Box 1223, Lewiston, Ida. 83501, phone (208) 743-4800.