BANKS, Idaho — The unseasonably warm and wet weather this week melted pretty much all snow except at the highest of elevations. While it's a bummer for skiers and snowboarders, kayakers got a December gift.

The South Fork of the Payette River doubled this week to 1,200 cubic feet per second, giving kayakers water levels they would normally see at the end of summer. The temperature on Wednesday was in the mid-50s when we prepared our boats for the Staircase section.

Check out the video to see some kayaking and the conditions up at Bogus Basin Lemons into lemonade: Kayakers get a unique opportunity while snow conditions worsen

Five of us set off down the class-four section. Northern Idaho experienced the same to an even greater degree, as the Lochsa is running at the highest it has run

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