Considered by many to be the greatest of all Colorado River runners, Holmstrom was a native of Coquille, Oregon who became fascinated with river running at an early age.  After conquering the local rivers, he turned to the challenge of the Green and Colorado.  In 1937, after unsuccessfully attempting to join a Cal-Tech geological survey party down the river, Holmstrom decided to try navigating it alone.  He constructed his own boat, patterned after Galloway’s design, then drove to Green River, Wyoming, where he embarked on October 4th.  Running some rapids and portaging around others, he raced down the river, eventually passing the Cal-Tech party.  On November 25th he disembarked at Hoover Dam, becoming the first person to run the entire river alone.

Less than a year later Holmstrom returned with photographer and adventurer Amos Burg to run the river again, this time recording the trip on film.  As Burg filmed from another boat, Holmstrom ran rapid after rapid until, several months after launching, they arrived at Lake Mead.  Holmstrom had become the first person to run every rapid on the river.