Well, we went all the way to Montana to float the Smith River, but it was an awfully long drive to not see a sight or two on the way home. So with that in mind, after we pulled off the Smith we stayed a night in Missoula and then it was on to a day trip on the Bitterroot river just outside of town.
Montana. If the word doesn’t conjure an image in your mind I don’t know where you have been, but you need to go there. For me, it brings to mind green valleys surrounded by forested mountains.
But the Smith River? If you have heard of it you probably talk to people in the rafting world. When I told most people we were going I got a blank stare. Where is it? Well, it’s not really by anywhere you have heard of really. And that is part of the charm.
Sometimes life gets busy. Well, maybe it is busy more than it isn’t. Anyhow, it leaves you wondering how you really get away from it all on what could be a hectic 3 day (Memorial Day) weekend. Are you going to end up “getting away from it all” with 10,000 of your closest friends at the nearest lake? Or maybe just stay home and avoid the crowds? Or is there a place you can go, float over 40 miles of river and have your pick of campsites, and hardly see a soul? Why yes, there is such a place.
There are occasions where you might ask if you should just stay home. In those times I usually am reminded of one of my favorite passages by John Muir.