Raft the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with Tim Cahill and Michael Shapiro
One of the original rivers in the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and a centerpiece of Idaho’s 2.2 million acre River of No Return Wilderness, the Salmon River deserves its reputation as one of the premier whitewater runs in North America. Especially the Middle Fork which boasts more than a hundred rapids in as many miles. What this means is a rip-roaring ride through narrow canyon walls, with glimpses of bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain elk on the shores and eagles and ospreys flying overhead. Once you reach land, you can hike up side canyons, soak in natural hot springs, fish to your heart’s content, or use the time to gather your thoughts and write down your notes. The Middle Fork, after all, is great fodder for a travel story. And lucky for you, you’ll be traveling with two of the finest travel writers in the business, Michael Shapiro and Tim Cahill. I had the good fortune to travel with Shapiro to Kenya last November and he made my life easy, always asking that poignant question before I had the chance. He’s also incredibly sociable without the slightest hint of pretension. Cahill is known for his uproarious romps in such books as Jaguars Ripped My Flesh and Pecked to Death by Ducks. Together, they will be teaching the craft of storytelling to aspiring writers on a five-day jaunt down the Middle Fork August 17-21. Cost is $1895 per person, including guides, food, and one finished manuscript (which you’ll hopefully sell and recoup some of that cost).
(Photo by Woods Wheatcroft)
It might be the second day of October, but I was gone so much in September that I never had the chance to discuss the 
In March 2015, I had the privilege of traveling with Rob Barbour around northern Tanzania, with stops in Arusha and Arusha National Park, the southern Amboseli plains, Mwiba Wildlife Reserve, Ngorongoro Crater, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Kusini Camp in the southern Serengeti, the Grumeti Wildlife Reserve, and the Lamai section of the northern Serengeti, where the legendary wildebeest migration takes place across the Mara River. Rob not only serves as director of African operations for the safari operator, 
Once you venture beyond Mizpah Springs Hut to Mount Pierce, you’re above treeline, walking through the Presidential Range on the historic Crawford Path ridge walk. You’re entirely exposed to the weather since there’s really nowhere to hide. Perhaps it’s this vulnerability that allows people to open up as individuals, sharing secrets and stories they wouldn’t normally share with others down below. Or maybe it’s simply the chance to join in the same adventure as your fellow backpackers, partaking in a memorable experience you’ll remember for years. Whatever the reason, folks are more apt to open up when hiking hut-to-hut. During the course of the week, we heard poignant stories about people overcoming breast cancer and recent divorces by meeting a new challenge like hiking up some of the 48 peaks that are over 4,000 feet in the White Mountains. 
Pressured by travel editors to write flowery prose about a destination so that publications can secure those necessary advertising dollars, most travel writing is a bore. Even worse are travel writers who pen stories in return for a free press trip. Their writing is often indistinguishable from a publicist’s press release. Take it from a travel expert. Rarely have I ever encountered a perfect trip, where the travel, accommodations, and destinations are all stellar during the same jaunt. There is always some adventure you’re thrust into willingly or not, some bizarre local you meet that helps define the place, and a slew of mishaps. Place those anecdotes into the article and you have a great read, not unlike the writings of Bruce Chatwin or Paul Theroux.