Royal Gorge
The photo of the paddler above is the Editor's wife, Susun McCulla, in front of our AIRE Lynx II as we approach the head of Cronks Canyon in 2010. Last May 31, 2012, in honor of this photo, we thought we would take time to talk a little bit about the intriguing area of Cronks Canyon, also known as The Royal Gorge of Idaho. While that's a tad bit of hyperbole, some folks think the label fits. In our opinion it's little too short, shallow and small to receive such the grandiose title of a Royal Gorge. The canyon is named for James Cronk, an early day cattleman who ranched in the area. Many local creeks, rocks, canyons and other places received their enduring names from whoever settled or ranched there first. Such was the case with Cronks Canyon. As everyone knows, the geology of The Upper Salmon River covers a lot of bases. The majority of the upper river's ramparts are mostly volcanic in origin and many a story can be told or invented about the "where, when, why...