Whitewater Shooting Idaho’s Raging Rapids

The tourist from Boston, dripping wet, is explaining his philosophy about river rafting.

“Anyone can stay in the boat,” he says. “You’ve got to get out of the boat to enjoy the water.”

Actually, he didn’t have much choice in the matter. The Lochsa (a Shoshone word for “rough water”) was given its name for a reason, and the rubber rafts in our party have been dumping some - or all - of their passengers with regularity on this sunny afternoon.

“All you’re going to remember from this trip is water in your face and a voice from the back of the boat yelling, ‘PADDLE! PADDLE!’ ” says our guide, Jo Deurbrouck. The 32-year-old has been guiding trips for River Odysseys West for five years and she knows the Lochsa - which rises near the Montana border, runs west along U.S. Highway 12, then joins the Selway to form the Clearwater River east of Lewiston - better than most people know their back yards.

We’re bumping through rapids with names like Grim Reaper, County Coroner, Bloody Mary, Killer Fang and Ten-Pin Alley, so named because the river bounces riders around rocks the way a bowling ball bounces pins. Before each set of rapids, Jo briefs us on the game plan, which - in practice - usually boils down to paddling as hard as possible and trying not to fall overboard.

If we do, it’s no big deal. The company has provided wet suits, helmets, life jackets, booties, fleece jackets and rain jackets. With my shiny helmet, orange life jacket and bright yellow slicker, I resemble a pest-control man from Mars.

Our inflatable raft (made in Japan, for some reason) is 14 feet long and holds seven people. My fellow riders are Joan Collins, 45, of Spokane, and her daughters, Jaime McCoy, 21, Kendra McCoy, 19, and Jill McCoy, 17. As the only male on board, I feel like a Hatfield among all those McCoys, but there’s a minimum of man-bashing, except when Jo decides to sing “The Manly Men” song, a parody.

Kendra earns the dubious honor of being the first person in our group of four rafts to fall out. We haven’t paddled hard enough going through a rapid, the boat loses momentum, we hit an enormous standing wave and Kendra - in the bow - disappears, knocked overboard by the force of the water. She pops up like a cork about 20 feet upstream, swims in our direction as we paddle backward to slow the boat, then is unceremoniously hauled aboard, none the worse for wear.

A few minutes later, another boat loses half its members, including the Boston traveler and water bottles and paddles that our raft chases down to claim as booty. And at a stretch of rapids known - appropriately - as Termination, an entire raft flips (moments after Jo has said, “I can’t believe they’re not going to flip”) and everyone aboard takes a swim.

This causes considerable jubilation aboard our boat - first, because it’s kind of fun to see other people falling overboard, and secondly because Jo and the other guides are going to get free beer later. The guides have a friendly betting system: If a guide dumps all his passengers but manages to stay on board, the other guides owe him a case of beer. But if the guide goes overboard, with or without passengers, then he or she has to buy for the others.

There’s no beer at our lunch, which creates some grumbling by the guests (River Odysseys West takes the position that alcohol and whitewater don’t mix), but the food is excellent: fresh and pickled veggie hors d’oeuvres; soup; grilled teriyaki chicken, with pineapple, served on an onion roll; a seafood pasta salad; and cherry or strawberry/rhubarb pie, with real whipped cream. With a pretty view of the river from our picnic site on an island, we are full and happy.

These are happy days in general for Idaho’s river rafting industry. This year has seen some of the best water in a decade, thanks to a generous snowpack that has created plenty of runoff (the more water, the more exciting the rapids). And the Meryl Streep whitewater adventure movie “The River Wild” has also boosted interest.

“It’s been a great year for water and customers,” says Kim Fisk of Hughes River Expeditions, based in Cambridge, Idaho. “We’ve had a lot of people calling us because we’ve had such a good snowpack. We get customers from all over the country, and we’ve had tourists from as far as Japan and Great Britain.”

“It’s probably been a decade since the weather for rafting has been this good,” agrees Peter Grubb, owner of River Odysseys West, based in Coeur d’Alene. “There’s going to be plenty of water throughout the summer. That means good rafting, especially in the Salmon.”

Idaho is considered one of the nation’s premier rafting states, with more than 3,100 miles of whitewater rivers. Trips are offered on a dozen rivers, including the Snake through Hells Canyon (the deepest gorge in North America) and the main Salmon, dubbed the “River of No Return” by early explorers.

And you don’t have to be a thrill seeker to enjoy the sport. While our trip was on the Lochsa, one of the state’s wilder rivers with mostly Class III and Class IV rapids (Class V is considered unrunnable), many other rivers offer the fun of boating without as much risk, or sweat. “Not everybody wants to work on their vacation,” says Lark Hall, a booking agent for Holiday River Expeditions, based in Grangeville.

Our trip used a self-baling paddle raft, where everybody paddles and the guide steers. “Oar rafts” feature a guide with two oars in the middle of the boat, doing most of the work. Another increasingly popular option is inflatable, one-person kayaks.

Trips range in length from half a day to more than a week. Some feature camping along the water; others include overnight stays at comfortable lodges. Some trips combine boating with hiking, biking and horseback riding; others cater to hunters and fishermen.

Some are suitable for small children. “I started taking my kids when they were 4 years old,” says Bill Bernt, owner of Aggipah River Trips. “The key thing is having moderate water levels and having some other kids along.”

On our trip on the Lochsa (pronounced lock-sah), the minimum age is 15, primarily because everybody has to be able to paddle. The paddling, in fact, gives us some problems, because we’re having difficulty doing it in unison.

Like a finicky band conductor, Jo frequently stops us after issuing the “paddle” command, then makes us start over the right way. The McCoy sisters jump into the act, too, and start criticizing their mother for her technique. “C’mon, Mom,” they say. “You’ve got to watch Kendra and stay in time with her.” (Naturally, I join in, enjoying the opportunity to criticize somebody named Mom without the possibility of repercussions later.)

But in those few short stretches when we’re all in unison and working hard, the surge of the boat is gratifying. We power through the rapids, laughing and shouting, ducking our heads and shoulders when the big waves hit, trying to keep up with Jo and her shouted commands: “Paddle. Harder. DIG, DIG, DIG! Back left! Right side forward! Stop! I said STOP. Now paddle! Harder. Harder! HARDER!”

Then we glide into calmer water on the other side of the rapids, raise our paddles above our heads in triumph, then whip the blades down to the water in unison, with a resounding smack. (The guys in the manly boats look at us like we’re crazy.)

Jo was right. I do remember the water in my face and her voice from the back of the boat. But I don’t remember when I last had so much fun on - or in - the water.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 5 Photos (4 Color)

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: If you go What it costs: Prices typically range from $65 for a one-day paddle raft outing to $1,300 for a six-day camping trip. Safety: “There is an inherent risk in whitewater rafting, which is a large part of the reason that people enjoy it,” says Peter Grubb, owner of River Odysseys West. “As professional guides, we do the best job we can to manage that risk and provide thrills and excitement, while at the same time trying to prevent any sort of injury.” Rivers pose different degrees of danger, depending on the geography, water flow and time of year. Any good outfitter should be able to match up a customer with an appropriate river. ROW’s advice on the Lochsa River, for example, is straightforward: “The Lochsa is not to be taken lightly. All participants must know how to swim. People who are intimidated by the idea of big whitewater should not go on the Lochsa.” Says Georgia Smith, information officer for the Idaho Department of Commerce: “If people are new to whitewater rafting, they should go with a licensed outfitter or guide. Nobody knows the river like they do.” When to go: Rivers are usually highest, with the wildest rapids, in early May, but the weather can be cold and rainy. The rivers are lower in summer months and more suitable for children and less adventurous riders. Some rivers - the Lochsa, for example - end their season by July because the water becomes too low. Sources: A sampling of Idaho river outfitters: River Odysseys West, Coeur d’Alene. (800) 451-6034 or (208) 765-0841. Company offers a variety of rafting trips from 1 to 7 days, including the Salmon, Snake, Lochsa, Selway, Moyie, Woyhee, St. Joe and Clark Fork rivers. Some are combined with walking tours. The company also offers overseas programs. Equipment includes kayaks, paddle rafts and oar rafts. Hughes River Expeditions, Cambridge, Idaho. (208) 257-3477. Offers trips on the middle fork of the Salmon, the Snake River through Hells Canyon and the Salmon River Canyon, part of the main salmon. Equipment includes paddle boats, oar rafts and kayaks. Has camping trips and programs for hunting and fishing. Northwest Voyageurs, Lucile, Idaho. (800) 727-9977 or 208-628-3021. Covers Salmon River in Riggins area, also has 3- and 6-day trips in Hells Canyon. Has paddle boats, oar boats and kayaks. Also offers international trips to Costa Rica and India. Aggipah River Trips, Salmon, Idaho. (208) 756-4167. Specializes in the Salmon River, with whitewater trips, fishing trips, and trips featuring overnight stays in lodge. Also has trips suitable for children. Idaho Afloat Wilderness Adventures, Grangeville, Idaho. (800) 700-2414 or (208) 983-2414. Company has camping trips of 3 to 4 days in the lower Salmon River gorge and Hells Canyon. Also can provide fishing. Has special half-price rates for children on some trips in July and August. Holiday River Expeditions, Grangeville, Idaho. (208) 983-1518 or (800) 628-2565. Company does trips on the main and lower Salmon, the Snake through Hells Canyon and the Lochsa. Also has a Utah office. Trips run from 1 to 12 days. Exodus River Trips, Riggins, Idaho. (800) 992-3484 or (208) 628-3484. Company has raft trips of one-half to 6 days on the main Salmon and lower gorge. Mostly oar boats, paddle boats on request. Company also offers jetboat and fishing tours. Highly recommended: Buy a disposable, waterproof camera (with plastic casing) for about $15 to take on your trip. Trying to keep your own camera equipment dry will probably be an exercise in futility. For more information on Idaho rivers and river trips, contact the Idaho Department of Commerce at (800) 847-4843.