Steelhead on the Salmon River? Yeah, it might sound a bit strange, but that was what we were there for. Well, yes, there’s also the camping, being on the river, a bit of wildlife, time around the campfire, all in a place not too far from home. Throw in a chance for steelhead? Count us in. And yes, there are salmon as well, but that season was winding down while steelhead should be ramping up.
In 1863 Lloyd Magruder was murdered while he traveled through the Bitterroot Mountains on the southern Nez Perce Trail. The travel route that now bears his name was used for centuries by the Nez Perce to travel between buffalo hunting grounds to the east and salmon fishing rivers to the west. In the 1930’s the Civilian Conservation Corps built the road through this rugged country. In 1980, when the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness was designated by Congress the “corridor” was formed, as this is the only road that divides what would otherwise be 3.5 million acres of contiguous wilderness between the Frank Church River of No Return wilderness and the Selway Bitterroot wilderness.
We nearly let 2023 slip by without getting out backpacking. We planned a trip in September but it didn’t work out. October was here, we got the backpacks loaded and headed for the Seven Devils Mountains, towering above the Salmon River in Idaho.
