Last winter (2009) the snowpack in the Salmon River drainage was slightly below average, with a late spring--very similar to the previous winter and spring. March and early April were unusually cool, delaying snowmelt, preserving the snow we had. Our spring steelhead season continued a week and a half longer than usual, with river temperatures staying in the high 30s and 40s until mid-April. We had some slush ice flowing in the Salmon area just before the middle of March. Spring flowers were one to two weeks behind usual flowering time. June was wet, which greatly reduce yellowjackets and fires in August. The snowmelt was moderate, without an extremely high peak, but a relatively high, even, flow for about three weeks. A higher spike would have flushed some rapids out, which would have been a good thing.
Overall, it was an easy season--decent water, no fire concern, little rain to deal with--we were between trips during the one serious rain. River traffic seemed less, as to be expected with the economy as it is. We saw a similar slump in the early 80s during that recession. The 07 fires left an imprint on the upper Middle Fork, but visual impact was not as severe as we had been concerned about. Grasses and shrubs bounce back quickly. Yes, there are dead tree skeletons, but that is part of natural processes. The single fire that I was aware of in the river corridor was suppressed within hours--a major change in approach from two years ago.
