Impact

My experience with River Discovery was deeply profound.  The beauty of the Salmon River will always stay with me- it felt healing in a way that's hard to put into words.  Being surrounded by other cancer survivors was incredibly inspiring.  Watching people try new things, face fears, and step outside their comfort zones reminded me how strong we all are.  The rafting guides were knowledgeable, kind, and genuinely fun to be around, and amazing food they prepared made each day even more special.  River Discovery gave me an experience and friends i will carry with me for the rest of my life!

River Discovery aims to expose cancer survivors to the healing power of being in nature. In 2022, I participated in the 6-day rafting trip and it changed me! Being with people that just get it, becoming family with strangers in six short days, and finally being able to accept my story as being amazing and powerful were just a few things that changed me forever.  The Tonsmeire Family started an organization that is truly amazing and deeply impactful.  I can never thank them enough for what they have given me.

I had the incredible opportunity to go on a three-day rafting trip on the Salmon River. I can’t say enough about this experience. The participants & crew that River Discovery brought together were a phenomenal group of humans – super inspirational, kind, strong & adventurous. Strangers quickly became friends, cheering each other on through rapids, cliff jumping, baby snake wrangling & sleeping under the stars w/ spider buddies. Mountain River Outfitters gave us the best guides, the hardest working, the most genuine, the most fun 4 you could ask for (thanks Darin, Tyler, Ainsley & Nick!). Three days felt like so much longer in the best way. 

Out there, beneath wide, star-filled skies, where life moves through ancient basalt canyons...if you look around, you’ll find what you thought was lost. Beauty. Awe. Strength. Inspiration. Not only in the wild places around you, but reflected back from within yourself. You rediscover the parts of you you believed cancer took away. And the most beautiful part of it all? You experience it alongside others who know these battles intimately—who walked the same long hospital halls, carried the same fears, and kept going anyway. Out there, in the heart of Idaho, I found myself again.

It’s hard to just come up with a line or two. Everything about the trip was beyond anything I could have imagined. I love meeting new people and I especially loved having my sister friend with me. She’d never floated the river before and experiencing this through her excitement, awe and laughter made it that much more special for me. The food, games and tasks, water, rapids, new friends - UNBELIEVABLE!! I look at this picture and I have a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. 

The best way to start each day, a dip in the river before breakfast . COWABUNGA!!