{"id":39756,"date":"2026-08-20T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/?p=39756"},"modified":"2026-08-11T12:46:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T19:46:33","slug":"midway-on-the-selway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2026\/08\/20\/midway-on-the-selway\/","title":{"rendered":"Midway on the Selway"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cBy such a river it is impossible to believe that one will ever be tired or old.\u201d \u2013 Wallace Stegner.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But as any rafter worth their salt knows, one could still believe that one might die\u2026 which is why all nine of us were trudging down a rattlesnake-infested trail to scout Goat Creek Rapid, a long and complicated set of rapids at mile 11.5 on the Selway River.<\/p>\n

It was the second day of a seven-day river trip. We were a party of nine men in six rafts and one cataraft. Our group launched on May 31st from the Paradise Launch Site, at the confluence of White Cap Creek and the Selway River. We all recognized our good fortune: a Selway permit at perfect water levels, with a perfect weather forecast. Like tumblers in a lock, everything about this trip had aligned, which is maybe why I was ill at ease. It was, after all, a rafting trip\u2014something was going to go wrong.<\/p>\n

Sporadic reports of wood in the river had kept us at the ready throughout the first day. There hadn\u2019t been any mishaps, but the speed of the river, the water temperature, and the continuous nature of the rapids had prompted enough comments for me to suspect that most of us were wondering if we were up to the challenge. We had plenty of river experience between us. Two of our crew still guided, and a few more had at one time in the past. But none of us had ever run the Selway.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Staring at the complicated moves and scary consequences of Goat Creek Rapid, my apprehension felt justified. There was a right-left sequence required just to set up for the rapid and then there was a right-left-right move through the bus-sized boulders that blocked the channel.<\/p>\n

Brad, a guide on the Gauley River in West Virginia, pointed out a cheat that might take some of the worst consequences out of play. We all gave it a look. It did get rid of the side-to-side moves, but to enter the \u201ccheat,\u201d you had to make a cut in front of a rock that could cause a pinned boat. After some group consultation, I opted to follow the by-the-book route. I wasn\u2019t feeling up to any experimental rafting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was right-left-right-left-right? Right?\u201d I asked Justin, my passenger. He shrugged. Justin and I were running sweep. We watched the boats peel off the bank and drift into the quickening current, one by one. Then it was our turn.<\/p>\n