NOTE #2: Note that there is significant overlap between the Buckhorn-Stanley map and the Stanley-Mormon Bend map. Some of the topics listed below could easily be put onto the following map page.)
Gold Creek is the upper most placement of one of the unified, thematic "Salmon River Signs." Since it is on the map, it does bear some description in the guide. It is not a convenient RAP and parking is very limited.
Note that in June 2012, Boise's Idaho Canoe Club (an ACA affiliate) conducted a large scale day float on a this section of The Salmon River. The group put in near Decker Flat and took out below Gold Creek.
The Sawtooth Hatchery and Kids Pond definitely deserve some descriptive narrative on this map page. The IDFG trout stocking program is definitely worth a mention on this or or in conjunction with the next map page.
Buckhorn Bridge is occasionally used as a River Access Point. The SNRA maintains a registry box for the free self-issue river permit here. It is the upper most such registry box on The Salmon River within the SNRA. The area receives heavy fishing pressure during any given chinook salmon fishing season.
The SNRA has a dispersed "no fee" camping program that stretches from near Buckhorn Bridge down river to Stanley. Sites are marked by a standard sign and a fire ring.
We feel it would be advisable to describe the stretch of river between Buckhorn Bridge and Stanley. However, there may be some liability issues in providing too specific of a description of this stretch.
We believe it is very dangerous at medium-high to high water. Likewise, boating or floating this stretch at low water could be equally dangerous in different but significant ways. We talked with people who have run this stretch so we know it is definitely runnable with the proper skills and equipment. A swim at higher flows would almost inevitably be as much as a mile in length with very cold, potentially hypothermic water temperature. The rocks are shallow, the current is extremely swift and the potential for ankle entrapment is very high. Although the current speed is much less at lower water, the water is still moving swiftly. Ankle entrapment might even be more of a danger at lower water. Anyone swimming at lower flows is highly likely to suffer bumps and/or bruises.
We looked at this stretch at high water June 18 and decided it was not worth the risk to run it.
Redfish Lake, Redfish Lake outlet and the Redfish Lake outlet confluence are all three potentially worth a mention on this page.
Sunny Gulch Campground might be worth a mention, too. Many of the SNRA's designated dispersed camping spots are located between Buckhorn Bridge and an up river point close to the Stanley Ranger Station. They are some of the best available "no fee" camping spots anywhere along The Salmon River inside the SNRA.
Here are some additional topics for consideration for this map page:
Endangered sockeye salmon
Salmon headwaters
Sawtooth geology
Glaciers
SNRA's formation & purpose
Stanley
Salmon River Bridge RAP
The SNRA maintains a self-issue river permit box here. This is one of the more undeveloped and primitive RAPs on The Upper Salmon River. There is no toilet, parking is unorganized and it is very rough and dusty. The nearby bridge is basically private property. At low flows it is very difficult to launch a larger boat here because the river is very shallow next to shore. Boat must be pulled over rocks out into the main current to reach water deep enough to float. The river deepens at the confluence with Valley Creek. However, it is still wide and shallow and boats can easily hang up on the underlying alluvium.
Valley Creek
Lower Stanley
The best photo op on the river
There are numerous location in and near Lower Stanley from which to capture the classic boating photo. The paddler(s) are in the foreground and a fine horizon of jagged Sawtooth Mtns. are in the background.
Four Aces
Stanley Museum
Stanley Interpretive & Historical Association
Of particular note here is the major change in the river's direction. Up to this point (end of Map Sheet #1), The Salmon River has been essentially flowing northward. At Stanley, the river turns and begins to flow generally eastward. This major bend in the river is one of the major such bends along the entire length of The Salmon River from headwaters to confluence with the Snake River hundreds of miles downstream.
Either the Buckhorn-Stanley or Stanley-Mormon Bend maps are really the only two logical places to discuss the Sawtooth Mountains and Valley. Since there is ample pre-existing interpretive material widely available for both topics, we would suggest a focus on the role of glacial geology in the fluvial characteristics of The Salmon River here.
It is very interesting to note that the alluvium in the Buckhorn-Stanley stretch is much larger in diameter than below Stanley. Also the Valley Creek alluvium is much smaller diameter than The Salmon River's alluvium above Stanley. An explanation of this phenomena could be easily tied into general comments about the Sawtooth Mountains and Valley.
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