Join Momentum River Expeditions and Chef Matthew Domingo of Wilder Projects on the Wild and Scenic California Salmon this spring for an active, wood-fired, farm-to-table gourmet river safari. Combine one of the most spectacular class V trips in the country, our comfortable pop-up base camp, and Chef Domingo’s seasonal farm-to-table communal feasts. This might be the most unique wilderness gourmet trip in the country.

The California Salmon combines beautiful, lush coastal scenery, an intimate, marble-smooth, granite inner gorge, a seemingly endless number of waterfalls cascading in from above, emerald-green waters, a comfortable pop-up base camp with hot showers and a wood-fired sauna (think ‘glamping’ or luxury camping) and unequaled class IV-V pool-drop whitewater. This is truly a world-class, high-adventure whitewater run.

While all guests on Cal Salmon trips need to be active and in reasonable physical condition, with our Wilderness Gourmet trips guests can choose the level of whitewater that works best for them. There will be the more active itinerary with some of the best class V in the country. Or an itinerary where guests will still experience one of the most beautiful river systems in the country, but the whitewater will only go up to class IV. Each afternoon all guests will return to the same basecamp and chef-prepared meals.

For the past 12 years we’ve partnered with Matthew Domingo, a classically-trained chef with a wide range of culinary experiences (director of culinary agritourism at Farm to Fork Event Co., executive chef & culinary director at Traeger Wood Fired Grills, chef & food stylist at Wilder Projects).  Matthew’s passion and expertise in off-the-grid cooking and hospitality brings him back to Momentum’s riverside kitchens each spring, summer and fall.

Chef Domingo and his team will be the chefs and hosts, and each afternoon we will pull into our unique and comfortable riverside  ‘pop-up’ base camp set deep in the Salmon River canyon. There are walk-in tents with cots set among the trees, a tented dining room and hang out zone, hot showers, a sauna, an outdoor bar, and a communal fire pit. Late afternoons can be spent hiking, biking, and playing games in the sun. For those who like road and mountain biking (and have the energy after a hard day of paddling) the narrow and remote roads in the area offer beautiful riding. Or, for those looking to unwind, we recommend heading over to our sauna trailer, rinsing off in the outdoor showers, grabbing a cocktail at the bar, and relaxing by the fire to watch as Chef Domingo and crew prepare dinner.

Each evening’s 5-course meal is designed to flow together in a single theme – which often coalesces around a certain culture, cuisine, cooking-style, and/or set of ingredients. Every menu is unique to each river and each year, meaning that your culinary experience on this trip is 1 of 1. Guests begin with a spread of appetizers and aperitifs, followed by three more hearty courses of scratch-made, seasonal recipes, served “elevated family-style” at a communal table. Meals end with dessert and drinks, capped off with a comfortable night under a sky far away from any city lights. Note: Email us if you’d like example menus for the Wilderness Gourmet season. Vegetarians, vegans, and guests with most standard food allergies are welcome (note: advance notice of non-omnivore diets and food allergies must be provided).

Join us this spring for what may be the most unique and active wilderness gourmet trip in the country – complete with three days of whitewater, tons of additional outdoor activities, views of a truly spectacular river canyon, comfortable nights at our safari style pop-up camp, and epic, multi-course, seasonal feasts served in a dining room where the sky and stars are the ceiling.

And for what might be the most unique and active wilderness gourmet trip in the country…