When the River Gets Quiet

The last trip of the season ends much like every other NOMAD trip.

Boats come out of the water. Gear is unloaded, sorted and loaded again for the trip home. Boats are secured to the trailer, the take-out is cleared, and the crew piles into the rig for the ride back to Cascade. There’s even one last decidedly unglamorous piece of river business along the way: the groovers have to be emptied. But when the rig finally pulls into home base, something is different.

For the first time in months, there isn’t another trip waiting.

Normally, take-out starts the clock all over again. Rafts and gear have to be unloaded and checked. Coolers and dry boxes need to be emptied and cleaned. Laundry piles up. Food and supplies have to be inventoried and replenished. Anything damaged needs attention. Before long, another group of guests will be arriving, and everything has to be clean, organized, repaired, packed and ready to do it all again. Not this time.

Eventually, everyone eats.

Before a trip, our crew traditionally gathers for homemade meatballs and pasta—a good meal before heading out to spend the next six days taking care of everyone else. After the final trip of the season, the tradition is considerably less ambitious.

Burgers at Thunder Mountain.

It’s fast. It’s easy. Everyone is starving. Then come showers—and, once the immediate unloading and cleanup are handled, maybe a nap. The coolers are emptied and rinsed because, well, some things really shouldn’t wait until tomorrow. Dry boxes are unloaded. Food, kitchen gear and equipment are sorted and put where they belong. Anything wet or needing immediate attention gets dealt with. The boats, at least, stay right where they are on the trailer for now

The laundry can wait.

Not everything can. Gear that needs to dry gets spread out. Food gets put away. Anything that could spoil, mildew or disappear into the wrong pile gets handled now. Most of the inventory can wait, too. We’ll keep track of things as they’re borrowed and used over the next several weeks, but the real inventory happens in October, after there’s been enough time for the dust to settle. One thing doesn’t wait, though.

We talk.

While the trip is still fresh, the crew sits down to remember what worked, what didn’t, what surprised us, what needs attention before next season, and what we want to do better. There will be another debrief later, when everyone has had some distance. But there are things you remember differently when you can still feel the river in your bones. And then comes the strange part. For months, the crew has moved at a relentless pace. On the river, there’s always something—or someone—to think about. Breakfast. Boats. Safety. Lunch. Camp. Dinner. Tomorrow. Water. Weather. Gear. Timing. Most importantly, there are guests who have trusted us with a piece of their summer. A good trip should feel easy to them, even when a lot is happening behind the scenes to make it that way. We love that responsibility. Being part of someone’s vacation—watching families laugh together, seeing someone discover the river for the first time, creating the little moments they’ll hopefully talk about years later—is why we do this. But when the last guests head home, there’s also relief.

For the first time in months, no one is relying on us.

And if we’re being truthful, we feel a little lost without them. The boats will eventually come off the trailer to be cleaned, inspected and stored. The coolers will get scrubbed. Every piece of gear will be counted, cleaned, repaired, replaced or tucked away for another season. But not today.

Today, we’ll eat burgers.

FROM THE RIVER

Why wait until October for inventory? Because a rafting season doesn’t end neatly on the day the last boat comes off the water. Gear continues to move, people borrow things, equipment gets cleaned and repaired, and there are always a few odds and ends that haven’t quite found their way home. Sometimes the best way to get an accurate count is to give everything—and everyone—a little time to settle.

Until next time...

The river will keep moving even while we’re away from it. Over the coming months, we’ll share some of its stories, traditions, people and places with you here. For those who have traveled with us before, we hope it brings a little bit of the river back. For those joining us next summer, your turn is coming. And for those who haven’t made it to the Main Salmon yet, we hope you’ll enjoy getting to know one of our favorite places.

See you on the river.

— The NOMAD Team