Hundreds of unread emails were just what I needed when I returned home to Los Angeles from Idaho. I had spent the previous week without Internet access, braving white water on the Bruneau, one of North America’s most remote—and most exclusive—rivers. There were no computers, no Blackberry signals, no World Wide Web connections, not even a cell phone charger among our party of five rubber rafts, which included several guests, a massage therapist, a gourmet chef, and a host of river guides. At first I felt awkward without my iPod, and even a little alone. When traveling, I typically call the Four Seasons’ IT department within the first five minutes of checking into a hotel room and become annoyed if I find myself “unplugged” during any part of my stay. Last week on the Bruneau I had no choice and left my electronics behind.
If this is the first you’ve heard of the Bruneau River, you are not alone. Fewer than 200 people raft the Bruneau each year, and Steve Lentz—owner of Far and Away Adventures, the Sun Valley, Idaho-based rafting outfitter that holds one of the Bruneau’s few commercial rafting permits—guesses that 90 percent of Idaho residents don’t even know the river is there. However, in March of this year the U.S. House approved a public lands bill that deemed the river and 517,000 wilderness acres surrounding it protected by the Wild and Scenic Act of 1968. Among other things, this means that the Bruneau will remain remote and unplugged for years to come.
To give you a little context, floating through the narrow canyon of basalt and rhyolite rock walls feels like visiting Arizona's Grand Canyon in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. In fact, thousands of years ago the volcanic hot spot currently underneath Old Faithful used to be where the Bruneau is. As the hot spot erupted and the molten lava cooled, layers of basalt settled at what is now the top of the canyon. Some of the lava cooled more slowly and became the rolling rhyolite formations now rising up from the water. Rocks shaped like raised fists, pointed fingers, and alien faces hide within the canyon walls like Magic-Eye 3D illusions.
Needless to say, I forgot about emails and deadlines and spent the first three days of our trip looking up. The entire last day I was looking down at Five Mile Rapid, five continuous miles of class three and four rapids that turned, twisted, and dropped down the canyon with us excitedly shrieking and hollering the whole way. I would have climbed right back up the canyon and done the whole trip again, but at this point I’ll have to wait until next year. The Bruneau’s water level can safely accommodate rafters just a few weeks each year, from late May to early June.
The good news: Summertime is the time to raft another wild and scenic river in Idaho. You may have heard of the Middle Fork of the Salmon, which sees about 7,000 rafters annually. Far and Away Adventures is just now kicking off its 2009 summer rafting season, for which there is still some availability and runs through September.
When you see my “out of office” reply in your inbox this summer cross your fingers that I learned a thing or two from the Bruneau, haven’t asked about my hotel’s wireless policy, and won’t be emailing you back immediately! (800.232.8588, http://www.far-away.com)