Today's post is by Steve Hawley. Hawley's book, Recovering a Lost River, documents the prospects for tearing out dams on the Lower Snake River. The book will be published by Beacon Press and is due in bookstores by spring 2011.

"Late summer's low flow barely bumped our kayaks down one of the main veins draining the vast wilderness of north-central Idaho, delivering us to the mouth of a place I'll call Bigfoot Creek. The thin skin of water over rock made the prospect of a 10-mile side canyon hike sans socks seem like a better idea than sticking to some lame compulsion to make miles on the water. Besides, it would be worth the blisters if we got to see chinook salmon finning in a clear, deep pool we knew lay up there. Before we'd even tightened the straps on our sandals, we startled three napping wolves from their creekside beds along the Bigfoot. The looks on their faces gave the impression they were as surprised as we were."

To continue reading, please visit patagonia.com.