Scouts' excursion down river was trip of a lifetime

(There is going to be a special reunion at 10 a.m. today, Aug. 1, at the Sandpoint LDS Church. It is to be a special time for the 13 “kids,” and their families, who participated in “the trip of a lifetime” 40 years ago.

Curtis Snyder, who organized the venture, will show the movie he made on the journey and he is looking forward to seeing “his boys.” I asked Curtis to share his story of the excursion down the Salmon River with 13 boys and three adults. Guy Marks, who lives in Sandpoint, shares some of the things he recalls as one of the 13 scouts who took the trip.) 

Curtis Snyder: “I moved to the Sandpoint area in 1952 from Utah. I was active in my church and the bishop wanted me to become a Boy Scout leader. I consented to do it for one year if I could provide something that they would remember all their lives. I had 13 boys and they were 13 to 14 years of age.

“I had worked with these boys for several years and I wanted to do something special with them. I had heard of another group that went down the Salmon River so I asked my boys if they would like to do the same. They were all enthusiastic about the idea and they worked hard to raise enough money to pay for the trip. We got a raft from the navy at Farragut. The raft was used for supplies and for the four adults who went along on the trip. The boys were going to float down the river on inner tubes. We had a motor for the raft and we made paddles so that every boy had a paddle. I can still see those kids on their tubes with a homemade paddle and a life jacket.

“We started the trip at a place called Corn Creek, which is down river from Salmon. We were on the river for four days and we went 90 miles. We would pull in to shore before it got dark and camp.

“We did not have tents and things like that because it was in August and it was warm. The kids would get very wet and we would have to pull in to shore and dry them out. It was a rough trip.

“The first rapids we went over we lost the propeller on our boat. We had one sweep on the raft but without the motor, that was no good. We stopped at a place where the Forest Service had torn down some buildings and got enough boards to make another sweep. We used that primarily to get out of still water. I remember the times we were caught in still water and we all had to paddle like maniacs to get out.

“Along the way, we stopped and talked to a man called, “Wild Bill of the Salmon River,” and the boys really enjoyed doing that.

“I was 47-years-old when we made the trip and I was not scared but when I later talked to those boys, it was the scariest thing that ever happened to them. By the time we got to the end of those 90 miles, the kids wanted out of that river as fast as possible. It was dark when we got to the end but they did not want to camp; they wanted to go home.

“I am now 87-years-old and I am looking forward to our reunion. They are coming from back east and one is coming from Arizona. About four of them live in this area. It was a trip of a lifetime. The trip took place in 1970 so this is the 40-year reunion at the LDS Church in Sandpoint.”

Guy Marks: “When you are a 13-year-old, the trip we made really was something you will always remember. I was surprised my folks let me do it but after making the trip, I would let any son of mine do the same.

“Two things really stand out in my mind. All of our food was in cans so we didn’t have to spend time cooking. That was working just fine until all the cans got wet and all of the labels came off. From then on, we did not know what would be in the can we were opening. It could be some kind of meat, a vegetable, or some fruit.

I think the scariest thing that happened was going over what they called some falls. They were not very high but they were swift. We were told to get out of our inner tubes and get on the raft before going over those rapids. If we had not done that, I may not be here to tell you anything about the trip. It was a great experience.”