Officials warn boaters of tricky spot on North Fork

Rafters on the North Fork of the Flathead River have been getting wetter than expected while attempting to cross a hazardous rapid responsible for flipping multiple rafts so far this season.

The spot, known as Shelf Rapid, is a drop in the river just below the end of the asphalt on the North Fork Road and a half-mile above Glacier Rim where rocks under the water cause a shift in the water flow.

Rafts going over this shelf can get caught in a circulating eddy nearby. There, the changing current holds the front of the craft while the back end continues forward, often flipping the raft and dumping its contents into the river’s chilling waters.

According to North Valley Search and Rescue, the shelf has flipped multiple crafts since the first of July, throwing several people into the river and sweeping away their belongings in the current.

The search and rescue team has managed to recover several lost items, including two dogs that were shaken but otherwise unharmed.

Not everyone who goes face-to-face with the shelf gets through with such luck.

“This rapid ate us up a week ago. Three of us nearly drowned,” said Justin Spilis, a Kalispell resident who took on the rapid a couple weeks ago.

According to the Flathead County Search and Rescue Coordinator Chris Roberts, the last incident on July 5 flipped a raft carrying five people.

All five passengers, including a 12-year-old, were rescued by passing kayakers, but several of their personal belongings were lost to the Flathead.

And rafters aren’t the only ones affected. Roberts said boaters, inner tubers and other recreationalists struggle going over the shelf.

The way the current flows in that area, Roberts said, people and animals that end up in the water are swept toward the Glacier National Park side of the river. Those unable to swim back across are trapped on the far bank until passing boaters or search and rescue personnel can retrieve them.

According to the Flathead National Forest spokesperson Janette Turk the Forest Service is aware of the problems the rapid is causing, and their law enforcement officers are currently discussing potential ways to help educate people before they put in.

Those options include possible signage to warn boaters of the shelf, according to Roberts. However, Turk said the rapidly changing conditions of the river make it difficult to pinpoint specific problem areas.

According to Turk, as the water level drops and the water flow continues to decrease, the shelf will become more and more exposed until it becomes impossible to get over.

Her best advice to rafters is to be aware of river conditions and their own skill level before taking on the river.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey website, the Flathead River is currently flowing at around 4,300 cubic feet per second at a temperature of approximately 60 degrees.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.