Floating the Blackfoot

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the summer that was over 80 degrees and without wind.  Because the snow melt is about done, we knew the river water levels will now begin to drop. So my husband, a friend, myself, and several hundred other people all decided to float the Blackfoot this weekend.  The parking lot where we launched our raft looked like Wal Mart the day after Thanksgiving by 3:00 in the afternoon.

Since we had already launched our raft, I had the luxury of being amused when some rafters displayed their ignorance of river etiquette and consideration for others.  The launch point put me in mind of movies I've seen portraying Grand Central Station at 5:15 pm. The busyness of the ramp didn't phase my oblivious rafters.  They unloaded their deflated raft directly onto the ramp and tied up one side of a very busy launch for forty-five minutes while they inflated their raft and stowed their gear.  I'm not positive, but I think they were  making lunches and folding a batch of laundry, while one of the women updated her recipe file before launching. Meanwhile, two drift boats who were ready tried to squeeze by them.


Fortunately, we saw only a few other watercraft once we were on the water.   During our float we saw two bald eagles, cliff swallows, and a trout that Dave reeled in.  All in all, a great day.