the Salmon River, flows over Hideaway Falls. A half mile below Final Falls, Copper Creek joins from the left and, a mile later, Bighorn Creek joins from the left and the river leaves the wilderness area. About later, the South Fork Salmon River—which drains about of rugged mountains northeast of Squaw Mountain—enters from the left about a mile above Green Canyon Campground. From here the river flows on a comparatively level grade, receiving Cheeney Creek from the left just above Welches. The river then flows roughly parallel to Route 26 past Wemme, then goes through Wildwood Recreation Site near Wildwood. Receiving Boulder Creek from the left, it crosses (again) under Route 26 and merges with the Sandy River near the community of Brightwood. This is upstream of the Sandy's confluence with the Columbia River. Flora and fauna The lower canyons have black bear, blacktail deer, cougar, badger, fisher, and marten. Dense western hemlock, Douglas-fir are mixed with western red cedar, red alder, and vine maple. The rare Alaska cedar is found in patches around the Salmon River Meadows. The upper reaches of the river support cutthroat trout. Downstream of the waterfalls, the river has excellent spawning habitat for steelhead, Chinook salmon, and coho salmon. The river is named for the fish (salmon). Recreation Boating Whitewater enthusiasts sometimes run a stretch of the lower river that begins downstream of the Salmon–Huckleberry Wilderness boundary. The run of "fairly continuous class 2 rapids with great wilderness scenery" begins at a bridge near a wilderness trailhead and ends at the Arrah-Wanna Road bridge. This stretch of water is rated class II+ to III (intermediate) on the International Scale of River Difficulty. Hazards include logs along the banks and a stretch of boulders ending in a ledge. Expert kayakers have rarely completed runs in the Salmon River gorge further upstream. Oregon Kayaking says, "The Salmon River Canyon may just be the Mount Everest of Oregon Kayaking. Huge, marginally portageable waterfalls combined with crumbly, near-vertical canyon walls and questionable rescue possibilities make this a very serious venture indeed." These gorge and waterfall runs have been rated class V to V+ (expert, extreme). Camping Alpine Campground lies to the east of Salmon River about halfway between it and the West Fork. The highest campground in the Mount Hood National Forest, it is near Timberline Lodge and offers access to trails for hiking and mountain biking. It has