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| Bill & Peggy Bernt |
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Whitewater rafting began as recreation and a summer job during college, but became the central portion of our lives. We have been running rivers for over 30 years. The river is a way of life as much as a living. In 1977 we decided to start our own business as Salmon River rafting outfitters. Aggipah River Trips is a small, family, Salmon River-only operation, yet by offering trips on various sections of the Salmon and different times of the year we have a variety of trips available. We think it is better to stay on one river, and know it better, than to spread out over a number of rivers in different areas.
Bill began floating on the Green, Colorado, Salmon, and other rivers in the late 60s, working for other outfitters. A winter-range thesis on antelope led to off-season employment for several winters as a wildlife biologist in the Salmon area, working primarily with big game distribution, while continuing to float during the summer. Now, preparing for the coming season occupies the winter. Bill has been active in management issues in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, served six years on the Board of Directors of the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association, and a dozen years on the Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board for the State of Idaho.
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The old log cabins along the river have a particular attraction for Bill. His great-grandpa homesteaded in a sod house along a prairie river in the 1880s, on property that is still in the family. Bill grew up in an area that, while fully road-accessible, had a strong pioneer heritage. As a small kid, electricity had not replaced kerosene lamps, indoor plumbing had not yet been installed, the telephone was hand-crank, grade school was one room, and the cows were milked by hand. Later, when guiding whitewater trips on various western rivers, the harshness of the Southwest environment did not appeal as much as the richer, more productive, Salmon River, where the early prospectors, trappers, and homesteaders had scratched out a living and become part of the environment instead of just visitors.
Peg runs a boat during July and August, providing a woman’s perspective to river trips. During the school year, she teaches high school biology and science in Salmon, Idaho. Personal interests include astronomy, flower gardens, and travel.
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| Steph & John |
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Our kids started going on Main Salmon trips when they were four, and on the Middle Fork when they were seven. Stephanie has just finished a history degree at Boise State, with the intention of staying in the family business. After several years of helping in the shop, around camp, and running a duffle boat before she was old enough for her license to carry passengers, she is now a major member of the crew. She has had eight seasons of licensed boating plus a dozen years of tagging along as a kid. Personal interests include hiking, downhill skiing, travel, river history, and, of course, whitewater rafting. She spent a year in Anchorage at the University of Alaska, and spent several falls as cook in a pack-in elk hunting camp. Hunting, fishing, horses and local history are personal interests. Our son John is in the army, figuring out what life will bring. He has a strong interest in hunting, fishing, and horse activities, and goes on some river trips.
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John |
We live on 40 acres a dozen mile from the historic town of Salmon, just under the Continental Divide. The Lewis and Clark trail crosses the property. While their name has become attached to the route, it was the major passage for generations of Indians and later explorers, and, later, for stagecoaches carrying gold shipments from the downriver mines-- lots of history to stimulate the imagination. A creek runs through the place, which borders public land. Elk, deer, and antelope roam the ridges above the house, and we have seen mountain lions, bears, and wolves. We keep a few horses, mustang and mustang/Morgan cross, to access this back-yard back-country.
All the elements of western history, from prehistoric Indians, Lewis and Clark, fur trappers, prospectors and miners, cattlemen and sheepmen, to current wilderness, water, and endangered species controversy, have intermingled in the Salmon River country. From the depths of Hells Canyon to the peaks of the Continental Divide, sagebrush to subalpine fir, its diversity has a fascination that holds us on the “River of No Return”.
Bill & Peggy Bernt |
