Page 6 - ISI_146_FebruaryMarch

PAGE 6 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT • FEBRUARY // MARCH 2019
All About Idaho

LOCAL PEOPLE•LOCAL STORIES•LOCAL FUN•LOCAL BUSINESSES

A Life on Wild Waters

far north full time.
BY HOLLY ENDERSBY He chose Riggins
because of the big,
“Once you’re a hard boater, it’s hard to go back to pushing rubber,” bra wny Sa lmo n
said whitewater guide Gary Lane about his fondness for wooden dories. River, the long sea-
In the central Idaho recreation town of Riggins, where most son for guiding, and
whitewater trips are taken on rubber rafts, Lane stands out with his the great climate.
gleaming wooden dory as it gracefully glides through the roughest “ Riggins ha s
of whitewater. everything I want,”
The siren call of wild rivers has been luring Lane for over 40 years. Lane said. “It’s got
He said it’s a lifestyle that combines his college education in wildlife great whitewater,
management with his passion for helping people care more about wonderful steelhead
their environment. fishing in the fall
“It’s the intimate, small trips that I love the most,” he said. “Years and winter, awesome
ago, I worked for Grand Canyon Dories, and the trips were large, and chukar hunting, and
sometimes I couldn’t even remember the names of all our clients.” lots of wildlife. It’s
Lane said he wanted something different: he wanted to really know got everything an
his clients, helping them learn to love the rivers as he does. outdoor person like
Despite having a job with the Forest Service in Oregon as a wild- me wants. In the
life biologist when he got out of college in 1971, Lane yearned for a winter you can even
different life. be skiing in an hour
“I really wanted to put my body where my mind was,” he said. without ever having
While kayaking on Idaho’s Yankee Fork of the Salmon River, he to shovel snow!” Gary Lane at the oars powers through Ruby Rapids on the Salmon
asked a fellow river-rat if he knew anyone with a long season who Lane still has River. BOOK COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF GARY LANE.
was also conservation minded and might be looking for a guide. The strong connections
name passed to Lane was the famed Martin Litton, owner and operator to, and has guided trips on, the famous Owyhee River in SE Idaho and
of Grand Canyon Dories and a committed conservationist who also the Grand Rhonde in NE Oregon.
loved wooden boats. Several years ago, my family took a four-day trip on the Owyhee
“I found the nearest phone booth and called Litton’s office,” Lane with Lane. The awe-inspiring beauty of the canyons, the exciting
recalled. “The lady I talked to said they would call back if they had an whitewater, and the interesting daily hikes lead through slot canyons
opening, but I wasn’t too hopeful that would happen.” to see hidden pictographs, waterfalls, and weird rock formations made
A week later, Lane got the call to come work as an apprentice guide this a top-ranked family trip we’ll never forget.
on a trip on the Snake River through Hells Canyon. After that one week, Four years ago, we rafted the lower Salmon into the Snake River
he was hired as a permanent guide. with Lane and our two oldest grandkids, and they still see that trip as
He wound up spending five summers working for Litton, and his the highlight of all the summers they’ve spent on our ranch in Idaho.
love for dories just got stronger while the appeal of an office job got Lane has a wonderful way with kids, helping them understand and
a whole lot weaker. appreciate the unique ecosystem of the Salmon River Canyon and
“I gave up a full-time job as a wildlife biologist with the Forest Hells Canyon.
Service to stay on rivers,” Lane said. Our oldest grandson started river running with Lane when he was
The first trips as a guide with his own business were on the six, and our youngest started when he was four, which is a testament
Grande Rhone in NE Oregon and on several rivers in south-central both to Lane’s ability to relate to kids as well as his serious attention
Alaska. He was one of the first guides to offer drift-boat fishing to safety.
trips on Alaska’s fabled Kenai River. Alaska gave him one of his Once Lane bought a lower Salmon River gorge permit from a guide
most memorable experiences. going out of business, he made Riggins his permanent home. Today,
“There we were, right in the middle of the river when 20,000 his eclectic home sits above the river he loves so much.
caribou began surrounding us as they crossed the river,” he said. “The The Salmon River, on its run just west of Riggins as it comes
whole herd just parted around our raft. It was just a totally amazing out of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, is wild and
experience and one I never anticipated.” rambunctious in sections, with gnarly whitewater early in the season.
As much as he loved Alaska, Lane said he missed the warmer, The photo on the cover of Lane’s book, Idaho’s Salmon River
drier climate of Idaho and was sure he didn’t want to live in the Chronicles, shows the famed Ruby Rapids, where in May whitewater
guides run monster waves to cheers of onlookers along the shores.
“When that photo was taken, I was the most vertical I’ve ever been
in a raft without flipping over,” Lane said. “Every once in a while, the
rivers let you through.”
His book takes you from his early life as an outdoor kid to his life
as a professional whitewater and hunting guide. The book is sprinkled
with terrific stories, sharing many of Lane’s personal challenges and
laughable experiences.
It’s easy to read and hard to put down. The author’s enduring love
of rivers and respect for nature shines through.
As he said, “Rivers
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