River Booty: What the Salmon River Gave Back in 2025
- Justin Smith
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Every rafting season, there is an unspoken competition among our guides.
Who can find the most interesting thing left behind in the river.
We call it River Booty.
River Booty is anything the river claims and sometimes gives back. Lost gear from trips gone sideways. Moments that got a little too exciting. Things people definitely did not plan on donating to the Salmon River.
Most years, the usual suspects show up.
Paddles. Oars. Sunglasses. Jackets blown away in camp. The occasional rope that clearly had a rough day.
That is normal. But 2025 was not normal.
This season delivered some of the most interesting, unexpected, and downright unbelievable River Booty we have ever seen.
The Definition of River Booty
River Booty is not just lost gear.
It is evidence.
Evidence that people were present. Laughing. Pushing themselves. Living in the moment enough to forget about stuff. When people are truly engaged, things get dropped, blown away, or left behind.
The river keeps score.
And sometimes, it gives things back.
The Standout Finds of 2025
Along with the usual paddles and sunglasses, our guides pulled out phones, extra oars, ropes, and gear that made us stop and ask, “How did that even get here?” Then there were the standouts.
The Puppy
One of the most memorable moments of the season had nothing to do with gear at all.
After a large rainstorm, a mudslide tore across a nearby farm, spilled over the highway, and poured straight into the river. Our guides were on the water when they watched the muddy debris flow into the current.
Then they saw movement.
A puppy was struggling in the mud at the river’s edge, being slowly pulled toward the water. Without hesitation, one of our guides waded in waist deep as the flow slowed and reached the dog, pulling it free from the mud.
The puppy was shaken, muddy, and very much alive.
We were able to return it safely to its owners shortly after.
The Moped Scooter
Earlier this season, our guides put their rescue and Wilderness First Aid training to work when a rider on a moped scooter crashed along the highway right next to them.
They stabilized him, bandaged him up, and helped get him safely into an ambulance.
He turned out okay.
As a thank you, the rider gifted the moped scooter to our guide crew.
That scooter went on to log over 1,200 miles in the final weeks of the season and became a legendary part of camp life. If you were around, you heard it coming long before you saw it.
Best of all, our guides painted it the same color as our rafts.
That is River Booty.
The Truck
And then there was the big one.
Yes, really.
A nearly brand new Ford F-150 tumbled more than 100 vertical feet into the river. It was not connected to any of our guests or guides. Miraculously, the driver walked away unharmed.
The truck did not.
It sank and went missing for a couple of weeks.
Our team went diving in the area and was eventually able to locate and report it.
Not something you expect to find in the river.
The Most Valuable Thing We Found
But the best thing we found in 2025 was not gear, vehicles, or river curiosities.
It was connection.
Shared laughs. Inside jokes. Stories that only make sense to the people who were there. The kind of camaraderie that comes from long days on the water, cooking meals together in camp, paddling in sync, and being fully present with the people around you.
That kind of River Booty never washes away.
What Will You Find in 2026?
Maybe a pair of sunglasses. Maybe a story you tell for the rest of your life. Maybe a photo where everyone is actually smiling. The river always gives something back. Sometimes it is gear. Sometimes it is perspective.
If you are ready to find out for yourself, we would love to have you join us next season.
See you on the river.
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