Corona Virus and Your 2020 River Trip

We are weathering this storm, waiting for good news along with all of you. We have come to count so many of you as close friends over the years. We are looking forward to new friendships with those of you we’re hoping to meet this summer. Your safety, and that of our crew and family, is of the utmost importance. 

At this point, based on several meetings with our Forest Service representatives and the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association, we are preparing to run our trips as planned. We are currently working on equipment and scheduling crew. According to Brad Little, Idaho’s governor, restrictions will be eased in stages through May and early June, with details being worked out on a daily basis. Our outfitters associations are in constant communication with various regulating agencies about dealing with this situation.

We are optimistic/hopeful that by the summer season we will be looking back, not ahead, at access restrictions, especially as the summer progresses.   Trips are two to three months in the future. New tests or medications emerge daily. Risk assessments change daily. Upgraded tests are discussed daily. Unfortunately election year politics are part of the process. The crystal ball is cloudy; all we can do is be prepared to operate normally. We cannot wait until trips are about to begin to prepare for them. We are doing so under the assumption that we will be allowed to operate.

Availability of commercial flights to the area could be an issue. Those of you who can drive instead of flying might consider that option. If you have purchased cancellation insurance, you might check the fine print on the policy.

It seems to us the remote Idaho wilderness environment is one of the safest places for a vacation. We will continue, as always, to use the sanitary procedures we have been using for 45 years, with great success. We will be keeping up with any new recommendations outlined by the CDC.

We do have some flexibility to push some scheduled trips to later in the summer. If this is of interest, please call (208) 756-4167 to discuss options. Also, do not hesitate to call or email with any other concerns you may have so we can help alleviate worries. As they keep saying, “we’re all in this together.”

As always, we STRONGLY SUGGEST purchasing trip insurance. A source we recommend is Travel Guard. 877-506-2870.