FREEFLOW RIVER CAMP

 

RIVER CAMP IS FOR YOU IF...

• you are a female or female-identifying human who is keen to learn river skills in a low-stakes, high-optimism environment
• you have a lot of/ some/ or zero river experience (it doesn't matter!) and you're excited to put new skills into practice
• you want to build or expand your river community
• you are interested in creative synthesis of experience, correlating art to place, thinking expansively, and paying attention to what the river has to teach us all
• you have an open mind and appreciate an innovative instructional framework

 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

Freeflow River Camp combines expert instruction in river-running skills, ecological science, and creative expression. River Camp is designed to support women who are interested in experiencing confidence and autonomy on the river, as well as expanding their capacity to communicate, express, and create. You can expect to make friends and learn about rivers through direct experience. The Freeflow instructional model is unique in that it's designed to represent the interconnected nature of learning, integrating art, phenomenology, hard skills, and self-awareness into our framework. Through this and all Freeflow programs, we aim to foster meaningful connections between humans, the natural world, and creative practice.

Among the river skills you can hope to learn, re-learn, or polish:

• Rowing techniques
• Essential river knots
• Camp selection + set-up
• Trip integrity + river awareness
• Reading + running whitewater
• River communication
• Basic swiftwater safety protocols
• Kayaking basics (or, for those participants with basic kayaking skills already: skills for kayaking with rafts + other crafts)

Each day at River Camp, you can also expect to:

• Explore relationships between prose, poetry, and the river
• Consider the delightfully entangled nature of ecology, experience, and expression
• Engage in deep creative inquiry + reflective exercises
• Sleep soundly in comfy riverside tents
• Eat nourishing meals
• Stretch beyond your comfort zones with the support of devoted instructors + a collaborative cohort of learners
• Bask in the singular beauty of the Salmon River corridor

What is creative ecology? Creative ecology is the interweaving of the arts, sciences, and communications with and about the natural world. It empowers artists and communities as creative catalysts of positive change. It aims to shrink the divide between scientific knowledge and public perception, between experience and interpretation, between places and people.  

 

THE DETAILS

Our home base for 2026 River Camp is the glorious Salmon River Adventure Company, located deep within the Salmon River corridor at 1276 Salmon River Rd, in North Fork, Idaho. We will spend long days on and with the river. In addition, we will write, discuss, observe, and witness. There is no prerequisite for participation in River Camp, though you should be excited about spending five days physically immersed in natural elements and intellectually immersed in discussion; building community with other river people; and angling your learning toward wonder, discovery, and creative inquiry. You should expect to be tired in the evenings. You should expect to emerge fully (re)charged up with fresh skills and a supportive river community.

Tentative itinerary:

August 21 | Travel day/ option to spend Night Zero at basecamp (no official programming)

August 22 | Programming begins in the morning + sleep at basecamp

August 23 - 25 | Three-day river trip on the upper reach of the Salmon + sleep on the river

August 25 | Return to + sleep at basecamp

August 26 | Final day of programming

Your program cost of $2799 includes:

• intensive, focused instruction from Freeflow faculty
• pre-camp logistical support + preparatory guidance
• all meals and snacks from breakfast on August 22 through lunch on August 26
• all river permitting + fees, camping, and shuttles
• river gear (if you need it)

River Camp serves as an introduction to the Freeflow galaxy of writers, leaders, and thinkers. Our alumni receive discounts on future Freeflow courses.

We ask for a $35 application fee when you apply; that fee is deducted from your total balance due. 

We offer a small discount to our alumni. Because we believe in paying our instructors, facilitators, support staff, and guides an equitable wage, we do not offer individual discounts that compromise the integrity of those wages. If you need financial support, please consider applying for our scholarships. We also encourage you to seek financial support from your organization or employer, as Freeflow courses may be taken for professional development or continuing education. 

If you have your own gear, that's great! We will just check to make sure it's river-ready. If you don't have your own gear, no worries: we've got you covered.

Space on this adventure is limited to 12 participants. We will close registration once the roster is full. Please apply early.

All deposits and payments are non-refundable. Payment plans are available. Payments can be made by mailing in a good old-fashioned check, or by credit card or bank transfer via our online payment system.

 

MEET YOUR CREW 

CHANDRA

Chandra Brown (she/ her) is an Alaska-born writer, river guide, and educator. She has worked within the realm of river conservation and communication since her 2010 Fulbright grant to Ecuador. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Art Education and Spanish Education and a Master’s of Science in Environmental Studies. She founded Freeflow Institute in 2017. Links to her writing, editing, teaching, and interviews can be found on her website.

 

 

 

MANDELA

Mandela van Eeden (she/ her) is an educator, conservationist, and international river guide whose life’s work sits at the intersection of wild rivers, storytelling, and cultural exchange. Raised between Montana and a private nature reserve in South Africa, she developed an early reverence for wild places that now informs her work as a steward, outdoor instructor, and expedition guide leading trips in the Grand Canyon, Africa, Alaska, Idaho, and New Zealand. A longtime student of Ashtanga Yoga, she blends movement, mindfulness, and traditional outdoor skills to help students cultivate resilience, curiosity, and respect for the natural world. She also creates and hosts the long running radio series and podcast called "The Trail Less Traveled", where she travels the world recording conversations with scientists, adventurers, and culture bearers in the planet’s most remote landscapes. Known for incorporating the didgeridoo into moments of reflection in wild places, she has spent decades guiding and leading outreach programs that inspire the next generation of river stewards and mindful travelers while also advocating conservation policy on Capitol Hill. Whether in a classroom or deep in the wilderness, her work is grounded in a simple belief: Conservation is not a spectator sport, and protecting wild places begins with curiosity, humility, and a willingness to listen.

 

DAGNY

Dagny Deutchman (they/ she) was raised by the canyon walls and waters of the Middlefork of the Salmon in present day Central Idaho. The tributaries of her background often coalesce around research, dance, storytelling, art, and freeflowing rivers. As a career-long backcountry whitewater guide, Dagny knows deeply what it means to find a sense of wholeness in a river camp setting. With a robust understanding of nervous system health, mindfulness facilitation, and a twinkle in the eye for some fun and mischief—there is nothing Dagny loves more than helping others find home within themselves and the outdoor settings they find themselves in. 

 

CLAIM YOUR SPACE

If you're ready to make it happen, please click the red APPLY NOW button. If you have questions, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

WE CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE AN ADVENTURE WITH YOU.