Middle Fork Salmon River – magical moment
About ten years ago I was kayaking the Middle Fork Salmon River in Idaho. It was the second time that I’d been on it. It’s an amazingly beautiful river, one of the first rivers to get its Wild and Scenic River designation. Six days of kayaking and camping going downstream on a 100 mile run. Absolutely fun and sometimes scary, but oh my goodness I’ve had such a good time.
So ten years ago I was with a group of friends.We were a little bit spread out but I was in the back with one of my friends who was behind me, and all of a sudden I hear him shout my name really really loud.I quickly paddled to an eddy behind a large rock in the middle of the river to see what was going on. I look up and nearly right beside me is a baby bighorn sheep swimming in the water. It was heading to the other side of the river, but it seemed to be struggling a lot, fighting against the current, and occasionally it would just go down. Anyway, I paddled up to it and I just stayed by its side and paddled with it as it swam across the river to the other side. I have to say it was one of the most magical magical things that has ever happened to me on a river. I felt like the luckiest woman alive.
A couple months later, I was starting an intensive graduate program in global health sciences, that I knew would feel challenging and overwhelming at times. I reflected that I was both the bighorn sheep that was swimming across the river, struggling, and I was also the person that was by its side, making sure that everything would be okay.
emily Rosenberg • emily/she/they • grew up in Chicago, swimming in Lake Michigan; currently live in San Francisco
Angelic troublemaker, global health researcher, educator, peacekeeper, documentary photographer, athlete, tree hugger, dog whisperer. Grew up in Chicago; moved to San Francisco 30 years ago. Have done photography projects and other work in Kosovo, Israel and Palestine, Sri Lanka, Liberia, India, and Zambia.
