Trippin' With Scott

Debauchery on the Blackfoot River

By Scott Poniewaz, 8-02-05

	Photo by Scott Poniewaz/New West Rafts or tubes, it doesn't matter just so long as it floats. People take advantage of a quiet weekday float down the Blackfoot River.

Alright, so this week’s Trippin’ with Scott isn’t necessarily the most hardcore adventure and I can’t even say I’m the only one that has done it or know how to do it, but its pretty darn hot out there and Lolo Peak was a brutal climb in the heat the other week. The temperatures have been hanging in the 90’s and about the only way to enjoy weather like this without air conditioning is to sit back on an inner tube with a tallboy of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

So this week’s “adventure� was nothing more than relaxing and kicking back with a few friends down the Blackfoot River. This weekend was a good one to float among the masses. The Blackfoot cleanup went down giving the river a refreshed look after a couple months of heavy summer traffic. Additionally, there was The Bodega’s diving contest, which I was (not-so) fortunate enough to round the bend of the river just in time to see the last diver. I think my buddies and I might copy the Speedo look he had down for our next float. But maybe not the uniform he donned next. After we spotted those sweet speedos, the next thing we know, the guy is just wearing his birthday suit with his arms in the air as people laugh and cheer. He stepped to the edge of the six-foot boulder in the middle of the river, turned his back to the edge and sadly, and I mean very sadly, attempted to back flip off. Now, I didn’t see the rest of the competition, but something tells me the reason this guy won had nothing to do with his diving talent. It also made me realize that its not the best idea to jump into a cold river when you’re naked if you've got a crowd.

Now, this sounds like a crazy place, and yes, weekends tend to be that way. But, during the week the crowds thin out quite a bit, making it a little less of a party. This year, Blackfoot River Rentals has stepped onto the playing field by offering tube and raft rentals as well as shuttle services to floaters, which should help alleviate some of the traffic on the narrow gravel road. Darla Hand, who runs the company with her husband Gary, say's the summer has been busy. On weekends she estimated that they shuttle 50 people a day and they operate seven days a week rain-or-shine. They’re also in the process of building several rustic, or as Darla prefers to call them, “homey� cabins, as well as a small cafe and convenience store that will be operating year-round.

The company is a pretty good deal, with rates starting at $10 for a rental tube and a ride up to Whitaker Bridge. You then float down to their place on Highway 200 at McNamara Bridge. It sounds like a great idea, but I still did it the old fashioned two-car shuttle method. We started at Thibodeau campground and left a car there and at the Johnsrud beach, which by the end was a swarming mess of tubes, rafts, kayaks and pretty much anything else you could imagine floating. That float took us about three hours, which was perfect, since we didn’t get on the river until about 3:30.

Sometimes you just need to take a lazy day on the big Blackfoot and let the river carry you.

Directions:

Take Highway 200 north from Bonner about 11 miles to McNamara Bridge (this is where Blackfoot River Rentals is located...on the left), just past there you’ll see a sign for Johnsrud, take a left turn there. You’ll want to leave a car at the Johnsrud recreation site, which is about 0.5 miles up the road on your left. Head up the road and you can either put in at Thibodeau day use or campground, or head twelve miles up the road to Whitaker Bridge. You can really plop your tube down just about anywhere there is a parking area though.

Float directions:

As long as you stay on the river, it should be pretty straight forward. Just be weary of rocks in the shallow areas that are beginning to appear, they could mean a bruised tailbone, which is never any fun! If you need to purchase tubes, there are several locations throughout town, such as Roemer’s Tire Factory, the Conoco on Broadway next to the Pizza Hut, and several other places throughout town. Otherwise, you can take advantage of Blackfoot River Rentals, whose rates are:

$5 (tube rental only)
$10 (tube and shuttle)
$20 (2 person raft and shuttle)
$40 (4 person raft and shuttle)
They can be reached at (406)244-5593 for more information.

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