Getting one-up on Smith River misery

RIVER RUNNING — Last week I posted an item and photo to illustrate how this year’s wintery spring made it tough on anglers launching to float Montana’s Smith River on April 22.

So a friend reminds me, with the photo above, that April 30, 2010, on the Smith River wasn’t like a tropical vacation, either.

Facebook friend Todd Hoffman says Montana doesn’t have a corner on the cold spring weather:

“I ran the Jarbidge River this weekend (on Idaho’s south border). There was 4 inches of snow at the put in, and it got down to 27 degrees at night.”