Selway Gear Checklist
The Selway River is a permitted float of about 47 miles from the Paradise launch to the Race Creek take-out inside the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Permits cover May 15 to July 31, with one launch a day, and a float group tops out at 16 people who must carry their sealed toilets out. People who made the trip packed bags they could stuff around a boat, a tarp or tents for sudden rain, throw ropes and first aid for rapids up to Class IV, and a plan for a cold, rocky river that roughly doubles in volume at Moose Creek.
What shapes your gear on Selway River
- Length: three sources, three counts
- A 2004 paddling report says 47 miles, a newer kayak report says 47.9 miles, and a creek guide says 47.7 miles. A guided raft trip took five days at about 12 miles a day, a self-support kayak trip took four, and a private paddling group took six. The creek guide plans on five or more. Selway Falls, a Class V to VI drop, sits just below the take-out.
From Oregon Kayaking, NRS Duct Tape Diaries, California Creeks and From the Desk
- Permit window and one launch a day
- The agency requires a float permit from May 15 to July 31 from the Paradise launch to Selway Falls. Reports put the yearly count at 62 permits, or around 60 spots with odds under 1 percent for over 10,000 applicants. Only one group launches per day. Floating outside the window is possible but flows can be too low after July 31.
From USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest, NRS Duct Tape Diaries, Oregon Kayaking and From the Desk
- Flows reports ran
- A Memorial Day 2004 group launched at 15,000 CFS at the Lowell gauge, about 4.5 feet at Paradise, and saw it peak at 18,000 CFS. The creek guide wrote its trip at about one foot on the Paradise gauge and puts the raft minimum at 0.9 feet. A July guided trip described a river 3 to 4 feet deep at the top and 8 to 10 feet after Moose Creek.
From Oregon Kayaking, California Creeks and From the Desk
- Rapids that made rafters work
- The difficulty was rock placement more than drop size. On the first day all the large rafts hung up on a rock. Ladle is the biggest drop, called Class IV to IV plus. Wolf Creek is IV plus with a swift current straight into a large rock in one report and the last Class IV drop in another. The 2004 group also described Ham, a Class IV minus with a big horizon line, plus Double Drop and Wa-Poots.
From From the Desk, Oregon Kayaking and NRS Duct Tape Diaries
- Weather by trip
- A July trip had four hot days, then rain at about 1 AM on the last night. A May kayak trip had favorable weather, snow on nearby peaks, an upstream breeze and a caddisfly hatch so thick that the writer paddled with eyes closed at times. The Memorial Day 2004 group met rain the night before launch and sun on the last day.
From From the Desk, NRS Duct Tape Diaries and Oregon Kayaking
- Where the good camps start
- The creek guide says the best campsites do not begin until after mile 10. A ranch near mile 6.5 keeps horses, so early camps get horseflies until the bridge where horses cross. After that, nearly every night has a sandy beach, wooded tent sites and a swimming hole. The 2004 group made its first camp about 10 miles down on river left.
From California Creeks and Oregon Kayaking
- Getting to Paradise
- The road ends at Paradise Campground after several hours on dirt road, in what the writer calls the most remote, least populated part of the country. The creek guide gives the shuttle as 275 miles one way, or 6.5 hours. The 2004 group hired a bus out of Montana and split an $800 fare plus a $50 tip nine ways to avoid a 500-mile round trip.
From From the Desk, California Creeks and Oregon Kayaking
What the agency requires on Selway River
A float permit and a group of 16 or fewer
From May 15 to July 31 a permit is required to float from the Paradise launch to Selway Falls, and float groups over 16 people are prohibited. The general wilderness limit is 20 people and 20 head of stock.
Sealed portable toilets, packed out
On a float, the agency requires sealed portable toilets and says to carry them out. On overland travel it says to carry a small shovel or trowel and bury waste.
A small fire at most, with no foil or plastic
Fires are allowed only when no restrictions are in force. Build a small one from dead or downed wood of small diameter. Do not burn foil or plastic, and do not build fire circles or other camp structures.
A camp well away from water and from other parties
Camp out of sight and sound of others and keep 200 feet or more back from rivers, streams and trails where possible. Wash dishes and rinse at least 200 feet from water. Groups of more than 6 should choose a site that is already impacted. No one may stay in one location, within a 5-mile radius, for over 16 consecutive days.
What hikers carry on Selway River
A few big dry bags plus small ones to stuff around you
A self-support kayaker found her sleeping bag filled nearly her whole stern bag, then learned that modular packing worked better. Small bags tucked around the seat and into the bow spread the weight, and she moved her seat up a notch to balance the stern load. The July guided group loaded its gear into dry bags too.
From NRS Duct Tape Diaries and From the Desk
Group safety kit: breakdown paddles, first aid kits, water filters and a satellite messenger
A group of 13 kayakers split these between boats at the Paradise launch rather than duplicating them.
Throw ropes, set before the big rapids
The 2004 group sent kayakers ahead to set ropes above Double Drop so loaded gear boats could stop, and strung lines along a cliff to haul a raft that missed an eddy back upstream. Throw rope also failed to reach a cataraft surfing in Ladle for about 45 seconds, so keep it ready.
From Oregon Kayaking
A tarp and tents for sudden rain
The 2004 group put up a tarp at the first camp when rain moved in. A kayaker in May packed a tarp with a ground cloth and a warm bag. A July guided group left tents uncovered and took a light rain at 1 AM.
From Oregon Kayaking, NRS Duct Tape Diaries and From the Desk
A trout rod and small flies
The July guided group fished catch-and-release with decoy flies and grasshopper lures, and says it landed over 100 westslope cutthroat in five days.
From From the Desk
Dry ice kept off the food
The 2004 group packed dry ice in with the food and found everything on the bottom of the coolers frozen solid. It then ate frozen eggs for breakfast. Whatever touches dry ice over several days will over-chill.
From Oregon Kayaking
Dinner food that lives in a bag, not a cooler
On the self-support trip people ate dehydrated meals, ramen and sushi rolled from seaweed sheets with instant rice, avocado and sardines. One paddler carried a raw steak wrapped inside an insulated dry bag and cooked it over the fire.
16 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Selway River
A bocce set or other heavy camp games in a kayak
The kayaker called it a must-pack on raft trips but far too heavy for a kayak, so the group used river rocks instead.
A party-size bag of snacks in a kayak
One paddler brought an entire bag of chips and guacamole where space was tight, and lost a float bag to appetizers.
A camp in the first ten miles
The creek guide says the Selway's good campsites start after mile 10 and the horses at a ranch near mile 6.5 bring horseflies to the early ones.
From California Creeks
Dry ice packed against the food
It froze the eggs and everything on the cooler floors on the 2004 trip.
From Oregon Kayaking
Gear questions for Selway River
Do you need a permit to float the Selway River?
Yes, from May 15 to July 31 between the Paradise launch and Selway Falls. Two kayak reports say 62 permits are given out each year and only one group launches per day. The Forest Service caps float groups at 16 people.
From USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest, NRS Duct Tape Diaries and Oregon Kayaking
How long is the Selway River float?
About 47 miles, from Paradise to the Race Creek take-out. Reports give 47, 47.7 and 47.9. Plan four to six days. A guided trip averaged about 12 miles a day over five days, and the creek guide plans on five or more.
From Oregon Kayaking, California Creeks, NRS Duct Tape Diaries and From the Desk
What do you do about human waste on the Selway River?
Use a sealed portable toilet and pack it out. The Forest Service says floaters must use them. Wash and rinse at least 200 feet from the water.
What are the hardest rapids on the Selway River?
Ladle is Class IV to IV plus and the largest, with a nearly river-wide hole. Wolf Creek is IV plus. Ham is IV minus with a horizon line, and Selway Falls, just below the take-out, is Class V to VI and mostly unrun. In rafts, a lost line near rocks tends to mean a stuck or flipped boat.
From Oregon Kayaking, From the Desk and NRS Duct Tape Diaries
Sources
- Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness · USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest · Agency
- Trip Report: Rafting the Selway to Heaven · From the Desk, Miles Farnsworth · Trip report
- Self-Support Simplicity on the Selway River · NRS Duct Tape Diaries, Ellie Friedmann · Blog
- Selway River, Idaho · Oregon Kayaking, Jason · Trip report
- Selway River in northern Idaho · California Creeks, Bill Tuthill · Blog