Paddling along Middle Fork

From the Boundary Creek put-in to its confluence with the Main Salmon 100 miles away, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River offers some of the most remote white water in the contiguous U.S. The river threads its way through the 2.7-million-acre Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness—the largest roadless tract of land in the contiguous United States—culminating with the infamous Impassable Canyon, named by Lewis and Clark when they passed through the area in the early 1800s. The same Class III-IV rapids that they deemed impassable, however, draw river runners in droves. The best thing about the Middle Fork, of course, isn't its solitude or raft-soaking rapids. It's the nine riverside hot springs scattered throughout the trip that can make you look like a well-ripened prune after each day of paddling.