
Deep in Idaho’s remote wilderness, three seasoned kayakers set out to conquer the legendary Middle Fork of the Salmon River—only to face the most terrifying moment of their lives. When exhaustion, overconfidence, and hidden dangers collide, Marc...
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Holly Worthington
Before we begin, this episode is made possible by angel studios. Go to angel.com Miracle Files to show your support.
Emily Jones
Mark and his friends were halfway through their journey on the middle fork.
Mark Nelson
We thought, let's hike up Loon Creek and kayak down some of these classified rapids.
Emily Jones
The friends could tell that the water pushed violently left toward the cliff, so they decided to stay far right.
Mark Nelson
Well, when we finally got in to run the river, my friend who was in front of me ends up rolling upside down, rolls back up and doesn't have time to respond to this, so he ends up just paddling as hard as he can and goes over the top of the log.
Emily Jones
Mark could only watch as both of them rushed straight toward the fall.
Mark Nelson
I watched them go over the four foot drop. I could see my friend's kayak is just circulating, just flipping over and over in this hole.
Emily Jones
AJ Was gone. There was no sign of him, and Mark was being pulled in the wrong direction. As this is the Miracle Files, I'm Emily Jones.
Holly Worthington
And I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters who love a captivating true story, but we're also seeking more light in our lives.
Emily's Sister
So we're on a mission to find.
Emily Jones
And share unforgettable, uplifting stories of God's miracles.
Emily's Sister
We hope you'll join us on this journey.
Holly Worthington
Welcome back to the Miracle Files. If you listen to our Van in the river episode, then you are going to recognize our guest today.
Emily Jones
Yes.
Emily's Sister
We were interviewing Mark Nelson about his experience in helping rescue this family from the river. And it was interesting because he mentioned to us that just a couple weeks after this happened, he actually experienced another miracle. And as he was telling us a little bit about his story, we were like, hey, we need to tell this as a full episode because it's also an incredible story. And. Yeah, two for the price of one.
Holly Worthington
Yeah. And his story is one that not only affirms God's hand in our lives, but it's also one that is just a great reminder to choose faith over fear.
Emily's Sister
Yeah, for sure. All right, let's jump in.
Holly Worthington
Okay.
Emily Jones
There's a stretch of river deep in the Idaho wilderness so remote that once you launch, you're cut off from roads, cell service, and civilization for nearly a week. It's called the middle fork of the Salmon river, and it draws only the most experienced kayakers. With its legendary whitewater and breathtaking solitude, Mark Nelson and his two close friends, Levi and AJ Were all husbands and fathers taking a break from everyday life to enjoy an adventure together. They knew how important it Was to get back to their families. But they were skilled and well prepared. They had paddled wild rivers for over a decade and were no strangers to class by rapids, which are comprised of powerful currents, Steep drops, and complex obstacles. Still, as prepared as they felt, Nothing in their years of experience, not even recent runs through the monstrous buda river in chile, could have prepared them for what happened in June of 2020. It was the fourth day on the middle fork, A day that would be unforgettable, but for all the wrong reasons. Mark and his friends were halfway through their journey on the middle fork when they reached a tributary called loon creek, A notoriously powerful stream that feeds into the main river. Mark remembers it well.
Mark Nelson
We thought it would be a great experience, great opportunity. Let's hike up loon creek and kayak down some of these classified rapids. So we did. And there's something that they call a heuristic trap. A heuristic trap is your brain sets up like a cheat sheet for the world around you. So, like, a good example of heuristic trap would be, I just saw somebody go down that hill, so I'm going to assume that there's no avalanche danger and go do it myself. And then there's an avalanche and they die, right? In our particular case, we ran into a few of these heuristic traps because we were hiking up. It was a long hike, it was hard, you're carrying the boat. And we were tired. So when it came to the most difficult rapid, we looked at it, but we didn't pay very close attention to it. We kind of got lost in this, like, oh, I'm tired and I want to get to the end goal already, kind of heuristic trap. We also had just been on the river for four days. We were kind of, I would say, a little bit too cocky.
Emily Jones
The three friends were already exhausted from the day spent on the water, Their arms aching, gear heavy on their backs in their state of fatigue, the hardest section of loon creek didn't look so bad, at least not from the limited vantage point.
Mark Nelson
They had the worst rapid on this particular section. Drops off of about a maybe a four or five foot vertical drop and was kind of like hidden by some of the cliff edges. So we didn't get a very good view of this river. But again, I kind of looked at it. I said four or five foot drop, that's not a big deal. I can manage that. I can come off, I can get a good powerful stroke and land and be okay.
Emily Jones
All too casual, all too hurried. The three Friends missed details, skipped thoroughly scouting the area, and were unable to see one other critical factor. What lay below the drop beneath the surface of the tumultuous water. What the three friends didn't know was how much the river narrowed and accelerated with force as it funneled over the drop and smashed into a boulder the size of a small car, just submerged enough to be invisible until it was too late. All that energy rebounded leftward toward the cliffs, creating a lethal undercut, a gap beneath the rock wall where water flowed violently, pulling anything or anyone underneath.
Mark Nelson
About 50ft above this particular rapid was a big log that had about this much water flowing over the top of it that was jammed between two rocks. So you had to miss that by going to the left or to the right.
Emily Jones
The plan was to start above the log, past the log, congregate in an eddy, which is a slow, backward moving part of the river, and then continue on together over the drop. The friends could tell that the water pushed violently left toward the cliff, so they decided to stay far right away from the crushing current. AJ Went first. Mark and Levi followed.
Mark Nelson
Well, when we finally got in to run the river, my friend who was in front of me, ends up rolling upside down, rolls back up and doesn't have time to respond to this log. So he ends up just piling as hard as he can and goes over the top of the log. He's fine. I'm right behind him. I get to the right side where we were supposed to go, and my second friend that's behind me ends up going over the log to chase my first friend.
Emily Jones
Mark sat waiting, but AJ Was unable to get to the eddy. Levi followed after AJ And Mark could only watch as both of them rushed straight toward the fall.
Mark Nelson
I watched them go over the four foot drop, and I think everything's fine because I can't see them. They disappear, right? So I come out of the eddy that I was in, and because of the way it was set up, I only had 50ft. I got set up too far left when we wanted to be right again. I didn't think anything of it. I thought, no big deal. So I took one really powerful stroke off this drop, and as I did, I could see my friend's kayak is just circulating, just flipping over and over in this hole that is created by the drop.
Emily Jones
Levi had hugged the right side just as they planned, while the current tried to pull him left. He drove through it with precision, threading between danger and disaster. But AJ Was gone. There was no sign of him, just the furious Churn of the river spinning his empty kayak. And Mark was being pulled in the wrong direction as well.
Mark Nelson
As I come off, I see that the water is flowing off of the drop, going about six feet and then hitting a massive Volkswagen sized rock that's only about this far under the water. But what that does is it forces the entire river off, hits that water, and then shoots it off to the left. So when I land it, that immediately pushed me to the left, which is where a cliff edge is, and that created what we call an undercut cut. So essentially, that's a overhang rock with all the water hitting it and going underneath it. Really dangerous situation. My friend who had gone off first, ended up landing, flipping over, going into that undercut and pulling out of his kayak. So for him, he was now underwater underneath this cliff.
Emily Jones
Mark scanned the churning water, heart thudding, nothing. No movement. But Mark didn't have time to process what he'd just seen because now it was his turn. The current slammed him sideways, driving his kayak into the cliff with crushing force. He tried to correct, tried to stay upright, but the river didn't care. It seized him and flipped him under.
Mark Nelson
I came off in the middle, landed, and went straight into that cliff edge where I was able to keep myself upright for at least a little bit before all the water force ended up flipping me over upside down. I went to try to roll up one time, and as I rolled up, I hit my head on the cliff edge, went back upside down, and then ended up kind of flowing around where there was a big log jam. There were probably like three logs that were stacked on top of each other that were pinned up against me, these rocks. I went underneath the log jam upside down and then pinned up against the rocks so I was underwater, upside down and underneath logs.
Emily Jones
Essentially, Mark's kayak was sucked beneath the surface and wedged between the rocks and log jam. Mark struggled to free his kayak, but it was impossible. He clawed around blindly. His lungs began to burn. He knew if he stayed in his kayak, he would have no chance of survival. Mark had trained for this. He'd rehearsed this exact scenario hundreds of times. What to do if you are flipped, what to do if you were spinning, what to do when everything went wrong. His muscle memory should have kicked in, but panic was louder.
Mark Nelson
And I went to pull out of my kayak, but in that moment, I was in full panic and I kept missing this little grab handle that we have on our spray skirts. Kept missing it, couldn't grab it just in Panic. And so I popped my knees out from my kayak and I was trying to just jam my knees into the spray skirt to get it to come off, but it wouldn't release. I just couldn't get the thing to release.
Emily Jones
Time was passing. Each second crucial. All that training buried under sheer, blinding fear. Desperation surged through Mark. But then, in that moment of absolute despair, deep beneath the surface of the water, trapped in churning, spine chilling rapids, Mark heard something unexpected. A voice. It cut through the chaos like light in a tunnel. Clear, calm, steady. Not Mark's own voice. Not imagined. A voice that didn't belong to the fear or the panic or the river. It came from somewhere deeper, somewhere beyond. One word spoken into the depths.
Mark Nelson
And I remember as I was upside down, that I heard a voice that said, relax.
Emily Jones
Instantly, Mark felt a stillness wash over him. The panic evaporated.
Mark Nelson
And the second I heard that voice, everything complete. Like I just. I just laid back. And I swear I could have held my breath for probably another five minutes. I was as calm as humanly possible. And I leaned forward, I grabbed the handle, I pulled it off. And the second I did, I went between a hole in the rock. I don't even know how big it was, but I got forced through. A hole came up on the other side and I was out from the surface.
Emily Jones
Levi had climbed to the shore and watched helplessly as his two friends had disappeared beneath the undercut and its seething rapids. Finally, Mark's head appeared.
Mark Nelson
I remember coming up and I was in an eddy kind of behind these rocks. So I swam to the side as quickly as I possibly could. And I remember I sat there and I took a really deep breath and I didn't see my friend.
Holly Worthington
Hey guys, we just have to take a moment to share some really exciting news.
Emily's Sister
Yes, we have a sponsor. Angel Studios could not be a better fit. They're an online streaming platform. They focus on family friendly content and especially cool. They have a show called Miracle which tells real life miracle stories. If that sounds familiar. Can you believe that? Awesome. It's such a good show.
Holly Worthington
Yeah, it's hosted by none other than Bear Grylls, if you know who he is. I love him. And I love your voice, Emily, but you probably need to work on your British accent.
Emily's Sister
I can talk in a British acc.
Holly Worthington
Anyway, Angel Studios also has something called a guild membership that gives you access to all their amazing shows. Plus you get two movie theater tickets for anytime one of their movies comes out in theaters.
Emily's Sister
So don't miss out. Join the angel guild@angel.com Miracle files to stream Miracle, their new series from Angel Studios. Unlock all eight episodes and be a part of a movement celebrating faith and miracles in action.
Holly Worthington
That's angel.com Miracle Files. And thank you so much for supporting Angel Studios, whose partnership helps bring you this podcast. And now back to our story.
Emily Jones
Mark's kayak had followed him through the hole, and that was a relief. But Mark felt no joy. Instead, dread filled his chest. Where was AJ Mark feared for his friend. He'd watched him disappear into the deadly undercut, swallowed whole by the river. What if it never let him go? And then came the moment Mark will never forget.
Mark Nelson
So immediately, I stood up, and right as my head pops up from the rocks, his head pops up at the exact same time. We just see each other at the exact same time, assuming one of us was dead. And, yeah, just, like, hugged and, yeah, it was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced.
Emily Jones
But as scary as it had been in that instant, with his friends around him safe on shore, all the fear and chaos gave way to sheer, overwhelming relief. They had made it. Somehow, against everything, they were all still here. The rest of the trip was a mental battle. For two more days, they paddled through remote wilderness with no way out except downriver. Every rapid brought flashbacks. Mark's muscles were tense. His heart pounded. He couldn't relax. He could barely function on the water. And that feeling stayed with him, not just for the final days of the trip, but for years.
Mark Nelson
For about three to four years, I've struggled getting back into my boat. Every rapid I came to, my heart rate went up to like 180 beats per minute. I was breathing hard. I was just. My body was responding in a very fight and flight kind of response. I'm finally getting to the point that I can do a river without having as bad of a response.
Emily Jones
But the miracle stayed with him, too. The voice, the peace, the impossible escape through the rocks and trees. The perfectly smooth log that didn't trap him with jagged branches. The spray skirt that finally came off, the kayak that followed him through the hole and didn't pin him. And the friend who survived by climbing underwater out of an undercut, grabbing blindly at cracks and stone to pull himself free.
Mark Nelson
The miracle that day is that despite everything going wrong, everything went really right. It's a miracle that everything just kind of worked out, that both me and my friend are still here. And the biggest miracle, above all, I think, is the voice that I heard that help me just calm down, relax, and understand the situation that I was in and be Able to get myself out. Panic is what kills people. And that voice to come to me at the time that it did was God saying, like, you're going to make it out of this. As long as you calm down, as long as you relax, then, like, just trust me. You're going to be fine.
Emily Jones
Later, Mark would reflect on the deeper meaning behind what happened, on the nature of miracles.
Mark Nelson
I think everybody's worthy of miracles, and I think miracles happen every single day. Whether or not you recognize them is a different question. Right. And I think that if we spent a little bit more time to really think about things, maybe a bad thing happens to you, and you could curse God and you could be upset. But if you took time to sit down and really look at this and say, well, is he actually here? You would see his hand, you would see his miracles, and you would be grateful for everything.
Emily Jones
It's been five years since that fateful day on Loon Creek. Mark still loves kayaking. He still navigates fear, and he still listens for that voice. Mark and his friends have run more rivers since then. In fact, just weeks before this experience, they helped save a woman and her children when their car drove into a river. And through it all, Mark has come to see his life through a new lens. Because sometimes a calming word in the midst of chaos is more than a voice. It's a miracle.
Holly Worthington
I love this miracle because of its simplicity. Like, he just heard a voice, and yet hearing that voice of the holy spirit is so, so powerful.
Emily's Sister
Yeah. I mean, you compare it to the last miracle that he was part of, and they're quite different. Like, one is very simple, and the other one was a lot more complex. Yeah, but they're both powerful at the same time. I probably wouldn't get back in a kayak if it were me. Right.
Holly Worthington
Okay. So our family, Emily, you know, grew up whitewater rafting, but kayakers are a whole different breed of whitewater enthusiasts. Like, they go places that no one would dare go.
Emily's Sister
I know every time we would see him, like, flip over underwater as they're, like, heading into these huge rapids. Nope, nope, not for me. I'm not doing that. These guys are crazy. But it looks fun. Just.
Holly Worthington
Yeah. Scary, but scary. Yeah, but seriously, like, even though both of these experiences ended with miracles, I know that Mark and his friends did experience some trauma.
Mark Nelson
Yeah.
Emily's Sister
Mark said that for years he was anxious just getting back in his kayak. I mean, he didn't give up on it. But every time he would go over.
Emily Jones
A big rapid, it would just bring.
Emily's Sister
Back These flashback moments of the trauma that he experienced.
Holly Worthington
Yeah. And his friends said the same thing.
Emily's Sister
Yeah.
Holly Worthington
But these incredible men chose faith over fear. So five years after this happened, Mark, AJ And Levi went back to the middle fork of the Salmon River. This time, Mark took his camera with him, and he actually interviewed his friend AJ before the trip. And here's what AJ Said.
Mark Nelson
I look forward to being able to go back to that place that has sort of haunted some of my dreams and my memories and be able to work through it again and kind of recreate, have some closure, develop the memories that allow me to move forward. I've never been the same since that trip five years ago.
Emily's Sister
So these three guys, along with their family and some friends, go back to the Salmon river five years after that happened. And Mark brought his camera, and he was able to capture so much beautiful photography and interview the guys about their feelings and their emotion along the way. I mean, if you watch our YouTube video, most of the footage that we.
Emily Jones
Used was actually from Mark.
Emily's Sister
He is such a talented videographer.
Holly Worthington
He really is. The footage was incredible. But what stood out to me even more were Mark's reflections after that. And we asked him permission to share them because they're really profound.
Mark Nelson
Yeah. A friend of mine once told me a story about the canyon walls. They're beautiful and majestic. The canyons and peaks seem so powerful and strong, yet its beauty comes from the river finding cracks and weaknesses within the impenetrable stone you see worn by the river over time. It's the weaknesses that makes this life so beautiful. Mill fork of the Salmon, Wilderness of no return. What am I leaving behind? I'm leaving behind the trauma. I'm leaving behind the hold that Loon Creek has had on my life for five years.
Holly Worthington
How powerful is that?
Emily's Sister
I know. I love what he said about the cracks and the weaknesses in the river. That's what makes us beautiful.
Holly Worthington
And the curves. Don't forget the curves, too.
Emily's Sister
And the curves, of course. Can't forget the curves. But really, like, we are all imperfect. Right. And God loves all of us anyway.
Holly Worthington
Yeah. God loves us no matter what.
Emily's Sister
Yeah.
Holly Worthington
So we want to thank Mark for sharing not only one, but two incredible miracle stories with us.
Emily's Sister
Yes. And his wisdom with us.
Holly Worthington
Yes, absolutely. And if you all enjoyed this podcast, please share it with a friend. Leave us a review and join us next time for more incredible miracle stories. Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle to share, contact us@the Miracle Files.com or find us on Facebook.
Emily Jones
We're now releasing multiple episodes each month. So subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content as well.
Holly Worthington
Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles. And don't forget to look for his light in your own lives.
Release Date: October 20, 2025
Host(s): Holly Worthington & Emily Jones
Guest: Mark Nelson
Episode Length: ~22 minutes
This episode of The Miracle Files follows Mark Nelson’s harrowing and miraculous experience during a kayaking trip on Idaho’s remote Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Mark and two close friends, AJ and Levi, encountered a life-threatening situation in the wild rapids of Loon Creek. The story vividly explores themes of divine intervention, listening to God’s voice, the struggle between faith and fear, coping with trauma, and ultimately finding healing and hope.
“We kind of got lost in this, like, ‘Oh, I’m tired and I want to get to the end goal already’... I would say, a little bit too cocky.” — Mark Nelson (03:29)
“I watched them go over the four foot drop, and I think everything’s fine… So I took one really powerful stroke off this drop, and as I did, I could see my friend’s kayak is just circulating, just flipping over and over in this hole.” — Mark Nelson (06:57)
“And I remember as I was upside down, that I heard a voice that said, relax.” — Mark Nelson (11:33)
“Right as my head pops up from the rocks, his head pops up at the exact same time. We just see each other at the exact same time, assuming one of us was dead… it was one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced.” — Mark Nelson (14:19)
“For about three to four years, I’ve struggled getting back into my boat. Every rapid I came to, my heart rate went up to like 180 beats per minute… I’m finally getting to the point that I can do a river without having as bad of a response.” — Mark Nelson (15:19)
“The miracle that day is that despite everything going wrong, everything went really right… the biggest miracle, above all, I think, is the voice that I heard.” — Mark Nelson (16:10)
“I think everybody’s worthy of miracles, and I think miracles happen every single day. Whether or not you recognize them is a different question.” — Mark Nelson (16:55)
“I look forward to being able to go back to that place that has sort of haunted some of my dreams and my memories… I’ve never been the same since that trip five years ago.” — AJ (19:42)
“It’s the weaknesses that makes this life so beautiful. Mill fork of the Salmon, Wilderness of no return. What am I leaving behind? I’m leaving behind the trauma. I’m leaving behind the hold that Loon Creek has had on my life for five years.” — Mark Nelson (20:36)
The Voice Beneath the Rapids is a powerful testament to the endurance of faith, the reality of trauma, and the existence of miracles—sometimes as simple, as clear, and as needed as a single calming word in the darkest, loudest moment.