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Snowbound on the St. Maries: Rock gardens, railroad trestles, and wildlife are highlights of unofficial SCKC float

By Brent Clark

ST. MARIES -- When it comes to boating in March, you can usually find yourself sliding your kayak or canoe across the snow at least a few times. The group of Larry and Mary Wright, Brian Burns, Dave Jones, Gene Black, Kevin Barker, Vic and Robbi Castleberry, and I had the urge to put our paddles into the chilly water for an early season run on the St. Maries River. For some, it was a time to take some rust off, but for others who had already been boating, it was time to hone their technique.

This 15-mile-long float is a great Class II-III run to get warmed up for the upcoming season, but "STAYING WARM" were the two important words to remember on this trip. Additional words to keep in mind were "Dry Top" or "Dry Suit," and a pair of neoprene gloves. A few in the group even got to test the integrity of their dry suits on one rapid. Read on!

The remote canyon float doesn't allow you to stop a motorist on a nearby highway to ask for a ride to find your lost boat downstream in an eddy. The only way out is on foot and that is by walking to civilization on the now defunct railroad track that has retired from its primary function as a supply and transportation route for timber towns in the area.

As you drive to the take out, you are almost bored to death if you are looking for whitewater because the lower section looks like it is well-suited to a lazy day float with Tom Sawyer. The river takes on a different character as it flows into a constricted canyon several miles downstream of the put-in. There isn't any road scouting, so it makes it even more adventurous for first-time floaters (i.e. Mary Wright) to hear "war stories" from river veterans of previous St. Maries River Floats during the shuttle to the put-in.

The river's banks were lined with about a foot to a foot-and-half of snow as we set out from the put-in near Mashburn off of Highway 3. We weren't more than a half-hour into the float when the group saw its first deer make a river crossing in front of us. It would be the first of about 20 deer we would see along the banks of the river that were still on winter range. In addition, Merganser Ducks, Canada Geese and other waterfowl were flying overhead and swimming away from our approaching canoes and kayaks.

About one-half mile downstream of Flat Creek, the rock gardens start popping up and getting the blood flowing as paddle strokes start to mean more to you when you are dodging a rock or small hydraulic. Our group coursed its way through the rapids without mishap until we paddled into Loop Rapid, a Class III rock garden with several large holes. The rapid is found right below the first railroad trestle.

One of the canoes in the group took on some water and capsized its occupants out of craft, but the SCKC group quickly responded to get the tandem canoe out of the drink and back to its rightful paddlers. Gene and Vic received the "Kudos of the Trip" for their teamwork on this save-of-the-day.

We pulled up to the lunch site to find one deer that hadn't had enough lunches throughout the winter and had succumbed to starvation. It's now known as "Dead Deer Bar" by those of us in the group. The river takes a hard left turn at Dead Deer Bar as the current pushes against a large basalt cliff. Everyone stayed on course, which was inside on the turn and then it was back to dodging boulders through several more rock gardens.

Tandem canoeists Larry and Mary tried to test their limits by allowing at least one hundred gallons of water to fill their canoe from the splashy waves and then trying to maneuver through the rock gardens. With some energetic paddling, they were able to find the calm water of an eddy under the largest of the train trestles to empty their canoe.

After working their way through a few more rock gardens, the group found a surprise in the river, a 30-inch diameter cedar tree spanning the river. Jones said he wanted to roll over right before the log and roll back up on the other side. Instead, Dave opted to seal launch with some assistance from I on river left, while the rest of us went the safer way, which was river right. At higher levels, this log could be submerged, but hopefully the higher water will blow it out of the channel. Remember to tell your friends who plan a floating adventure on the St. Maries this year.

After the third trestle, a few of us fought for time on a surf wave before heading to the take out and foot-chilling walk in booties through the snow to vehicles parked above on the access road. So, if you are seeking whitewater, wildlife, train trestles, basalt cliffs and solitude, give the Saint Maries River a try.

Luckily, the only snow on this "Snowbound" trip was on the walk at the take-out, but be prepared for snow falling if you make this trip in March next year.