Any recomendations for “camp sites” along the smith??? They all have specific names and wondered what you former Smith Paddlers have camped at.
Looking for scenic good locations for upcomming trip.
any good hikes you can recommend too?
thanks
n
a couple ideas
Canyon Depth is awesome. You camp beneath a 4-500’ cliff. I had a pic of the week of it a while back. It is 16.9 miles from the Camp Baker put in. The second night we stayed at Fraunhofer (35.4), and it is very nice too, on the edge of a huge meadow with a few big conifers at the camp site, nice swimming hole. there are other nice camp sites, but these two I would stay at again. Lucky you, I assume you drew out. Have a great trip. You have to be careful where you hike, lots of it is private.
old news
Been there done that!!!
Got Permit Number #1…first canoe of the season…didnt see another person the whole week!!!
yes
we stayed at both the sites you mention…nice!!!
too cold for swimming. Had two inches of snow on the canoe on day two. Gotta love montana!
flow?
Very cool. I’ve wondered what it would be like in the spring. I’ve paddled it twice, and hope to many more times. What was the flow like?
well
as you probably know the “guide-books” and rangers say canoes can do it at 150 and rafts about 200…BS!!!
We hit more rocks in five days that ALL OF MY 35 years of paddling combined…honestly!!! Glad i had a MR Royalex canoe or it would be trash…those things really do hold up better than any other material.
When i got back and checked the weeks flows…the info said it was about 143-149cfs when we were on it…However if we did not have 6 cases of beer and heavy camping gear we probably would have been better. By the end of the week after some serious quaffing we were much lighter.
I think they need to say “canoes 175+ and rafts less” we saw the 2nd permiters the last day and they didnt drag as much. Its running abou 700cfs right now or higher… Great trip with the snow.
and NO people
funny
I could have written what you said, as my group was the last down the river last July. I would do it again in a minute, but it was pretty rocky. We too would’ve packed a lot lighter, in hind sight.
Varies with geology, but my criterion
for running creeks new to me in Georgia is 250 to 300 cfs. The Smith looks wide enough in the pictures to make 150 cfs pretty painful. You are to be praised for your persistence.
no choice
no choice…you cant pull out and drive home…no roads for 5 days…
just bounce along the rocks and enjoy.