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 nearly 10 years, Chef Domingo has been preparing seasonal feasts out on some of the most beautiful rivers in the Pacific Northwest. He spent his early years cooking in some of Portland, Oregon’s original farm-to-table restaurants, he founded one of the nation’s preeminent farm dinner companies in Farm to Fork Event Co., worked as the Corporate Executive Chef for one of the country’s leading outdoor culinary brands, and today when he’s not cooking riverside with the Momentum team, he is the Culinary & Creative Director at Wilder Projects – a marketing company that works with artisan food & beverage brands. Chef Domingo’s cooking is centered on the use of locally-sourced seasonal ingredients from land & sea, and his meals feature creative, elevated takes on classic recipes and flavor profiles across a variety of regional cuisines & cultures. Chef Domingo’s communal culinary experiences are designed to allow guests to slow down, reconnect with nature, savor the moment, and create lasting memories.
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 will start with appetizers and a communal feast cooked over the flames, followed by dessert and drinks, and capped off with a comfortable night under a sky far away from any city lights.
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…