# East Fork Owyhee in a raft: Fear and Boating on the loneliest river in the lower 48



## Spintowin (May 23, 2018)

Bitchin!


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## yak1 (Jan 28, 2006)

Nice write up and prose.


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## Eyedaho (Dec 6, 2017)

Awesome write up! Thanks for sharing!


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## Duce (Sep 5, 2011)

That was worth the read. Nicely done by you two, sounds like a cool trip.


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

Very excellent work, one of the best posts here in a long time! This could be the Lazarus of Mt Buzz, hell we all thought it was dead. Making Mt. Buzz Great again!

When we rolled into Cable Rapid to scout during flood stage in 2011, 2 guys were just preparing to run it, each in their own 12 to 13' oar raft. They had just come down the east fork and were heading all the way to Leslie Gulch. There is some vid of it someplace on the interwebs, I believe one or both were guides for Wilderness Rivers Outfitters. 

So you got screwed by the BLM guide and the Outlaw eh? surprise surprise surprise 

A couple items you have listed need a little correction. The easy one, the hot springs you stopped at is called Warm Springs Creek and also referred to by some as Tudor Warm Spring. Snively hot spring is on the lower Owyhee below Owyhee Dam.

The hard one, is the "Pruitt/Helfrich cable" you refer to. This mythology has long been propagated and is even listed in the BLM map guide. It is probably about as accurate as the rapid ratings you encountered. Jon Barker related to me that he had a firm account and conversation with one of the elderly Pruitts and was adamant that the Helfrich group did not install the cable. And furthermore, they didn't know who did. Based on the information available, I don't believe there is any evidence that Pruitt/Helfrich actually installed the cable. Just a long standing rumor at best. If anyone of the Helfrich clan reads this and has any other info on the topic, it would be great to hear about. Unfortunately Prince is long passed away and so is his eldest son Dave (RIP).


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## IDRAFTER (Jan 14, 2013)

Dope! Awesome write. Brings back so many memories. Thank-you for posting.


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## tetonadam (Apr 30, 2019)

Thanks man! I appreciate your comments and corrections.
I also ran into Shane and his friend in 2011 at the Rome campground during their epic descent. They were in this bad ass little wall tent with a wood stove! Incidentally I bumped into Shane in the Bar at Pommerelle after snowboarding this January. Solid guy. 

Thanks for filling me in on the cable. If those guys were still around I would send them a thank you note for sure.


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## ScottM (Jun 24, 2010)

Awesome read. Can't wait to get out to that river!


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

Congratulation! I understand the need of the extent of your excellent write up. Having been there it really leaves you with the feeling that you have to talk about it just to let people know where you've just been.

About 25 years ago three of us launched on Deep Ck and went down it for over three days just to get to the East Fork. Where we launched was so tiny cowpies created dams to help float your kayak. 

Incredible country and incredibly remote. The volcanic geology created by the passing of the Snake River Plain mantle plume was spellbinding. Imagine being in the middle of the top of the magma chambers in bowels of the Yellowstone Caldera, of course solidified and thousands of degrees cooler, exposed it cliffs hundreds and seeming over a thousand vertical feet tall. 

Kinda like the Bruneau but far, far more remote.


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

O.K., 
Now for the real frog strangler. A report on the first known descent of the East Fork Owyhee in boats. The image quality is poor, but readable. Followed by Prince Helfrich's obituary. What a human being he was.


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## tetonadam (Apr 30, 2019)

SO cool... Thanks Shapp!


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## tetonadam (Apr 30, 2019)

by the way, what exactly is a "frog strangler"?


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

tetonadam said:


> by the way, what exactly is a "frog strangler"?


Out of the mouth of Prince Helfrich himself at about minute 30:02 on the Owyhee at Montgomery rapid:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzSDqn09_i8&t=19s


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## koster (Oct 7, 2015)

*East fork*

Thanks for the story...to this day, if I want to get a big laugh from my boater friends, I just say:'East Fork'. I floated it (hiking with raft?) five years ago...didn't see anyone else til 3 forks. We had planned to go to Rome, but low water, large storm at the warm springs, and 11 days of challenge was enough for us, so we bailed. There is nothing like the canyons up there. the solitude. the old homesteads. the nasty Garat Gorge. I will never go back (I am 63!) but am ever grateful for the chance to have seen it once.
Larry Koster, Ashland, Oregon


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

koster said:


> Thanks for the story...to this day, if I want to get a big laugh from my boater friends, I just say:'East Fork'. I floated it (hiking with raft?) five years ago...didn't see anyone else til 3 forks. We had planned to go to Rome, but low water, large storm at the warm springs, and 11 days of challenge was enough for us, so we bailed. There is nothing like the canyons up there. the solitude. the old homesteads. the nasty Garat Gorge. I will never go back (I am 63!) but am ever grateful for the chance to have seen it once.
> Larry Koster, Ashland, Oregon


Please take a moment and write up a trip report and post here.
Thanks!


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## theat (Mar 30, 2017)

All kinds of great stuff on this one! Thanks for sharing!


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## mania (Oct 21, 2003)

I am heading home now from an EFO Garat to Rome 7 days. You described the trip quite well. It was a lot of work, stunning scenery, flat water, wind, portages, boulder choked class IV+,complete solitude. I did run Cabin, Halfmile and even the Widowmaker without mishap but the portage of Owyhee Falls was a struggle as well as Cable.I think we saw your permit in the box at Garat since we were the third group so far. The shuttle to Garat is class V driving for sure but Barker’s truck got us there. Thanks for picking up trash we tried to leave it pristine.

By the way we found a wrecked drift boat below halfmile and managed to free the gear bag thinking maybe we could haul it out for the owner. It turned out to be a BLM boat with too much gear for a single raft and some kayaks so we left it river right around mile 11 below three forks. I am sure the BLM will be going back there soon to pick up their crap.


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

mania said:


> By the way we found a wrecked drift boat below halfmile and managed to free the gear bag thinking maybe we could haul it out for the owner. It turned out to be a BLM boat with too much gear for a single raft and some kayaks so we left it river right around mile 11 below three forks. I am sure the BLM will be going back there soon to pick up their crap.


Why in the holy hell would the BLM be taking a drift boat on the Middle Owyhee. Gooberment employees got some splainin to do about how they are spending our money on this one. 

Just curious, was it a wood, glass, or aluminum Drift Boat?


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## koster (Oct 7, 2015)

Just back from a cold wet lower Owyhee trip. Re-read your account and was reminded once again of our journey up on East Fork. Thanks again for writing your adventure down. Hope we meet on a river someday


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## crossfox21 (Feb 27, 2010)

Excellent write-up Teton. My small group of 3 was about 5 days behind you. We saw your permit at Garat Crossing checkin box and wondered how you fared with just one boat. I about fell out of my chair when you mentioned the "tiny carved wood canoe" We camped at same said campsite and I picked it up as a souvenir for my son.


Your assessment and description of all the runs and portages was spot on. It is by far the most challenging and daunting rafting run I have done period. A guy must plan well head to be in tip top shape and be on his A-Game through the entire trip. In one word to describe the East Fork Owyhee: 
"Humbling"


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## JimD (Jun 3, 2019)

Awesome tale, lived near Owyhee county for several years. Magical, remote country. Awesome read...thanks


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