Colorado river through the Grand Canyon

 My journey began as a western United States whitewater river circuit, continued into Mexico for multiple first descents, and was capped off in Guatemala with a hostile hostage situation. The adventure started out in May of 2011 in northern California for the Smith and Cal Salmon. We then traveled to Oregon for the Rogue and Owyhee, continued into Idaho to do the Payette and Boise, and moseyed over to Colorado for the Cache La Poudre and the Arkansas. Next we joined a group in Utah for the Green, and completed the US circuit in Arizona with a sixteen day Grand Canyon trip. Over those four months my boating skills improved drastically and I discovered I most enjoyed testing my skills of “read and run.” 

I continued on this remarkable journey by crossing the US border into Mexico with my trusty 4×4 Toyota Tundra with a camper full of boating equipment. Inside the camper were two small catarafts, one sixteen foot cataraft, eleven oars, and all the equipment needed to run multi-day trips. The camper roof rack held the large catarafts frame and two kayaks. The back bumper had a rack for the two small cataraft frames. 

In Mexico I met up with kayak explorer Rocky Contos. Rocky has been running first descents in Mexico for the last thirteen years and has written a guidebook titled Mexican Whitewater: Norte. We began our Mexico river circuit in the northern state of Sonora and ended in the southern state of Oaxaca. I completed over eighteen rivers in Mexico, twelve with Rocky, including lots of first and second descents. Most had never been boated, such as the Baluarte, Tlaplaneco-Mezcala, Atotonilco-Santa Catarina, and the Atoyac to name just a few. Most astoundingly the majority of these rivers were multi-day expeditions ranging from three to eleven days.

Remembering the Mulatos River, few rapids compare to the adrenalin rush of “Dos Arroyos.” It took intense focus and constant alertness as I was suddenly pulled into this long rapid unable to see the bottom. During the top section of the rapid I would shoot out of one big wave and be tossed right in line to smash into a rock, wave or hole. It took constant action on the oars to stay upright. At the lower section of the rapid my cataraft was pulled by the swift current, aimed directly for a humungous pour-over. I pulled on the oars with all my might just missing the rock as my left tube was yanked into the steep drop created by the enormous rock. At the water levels we had, the river was continuous class IV read and run fun!

Erik Weihenmayer rowed through big class III rapids - www.sierrarios.org

One of the highlights of my journey was coaching the blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer on the Usumacinta River. He is in training to be the first blind person to kayak the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. On the last day of the Usumacinta trip I was honored to be asked to coach Erik through some of the big water (80,000 cfs) class III rapids. I positioned myself behind Erik, sitting on top of gear, with Erik in control of my cataraft. Directing him through the turbulent water reminded me of being a paddle boat captain; I used similar commands. To make a right turn, I suggested, ‘right back, left forward, right back, left forward”, Erik quickly got the boat turned. As we approached boat eating whirlpools, I verbally prepared and directed him, “about to hit a whirlpool, brace, hard forward, give it your all, push with both arms, hard forward”. The rapids were big enough to flip us, but we didn’t tip over because of Erik’s determination, strength and ability to follow commands quickly and perfectly.

Probably the most challenging whitewater occurred during our multi-day first descent on the Atoyac River in the state of Oaxaca. Unable to scout several rapids and with nowhere to portage my cataraft, I nervously rowed into the whitewater. The majority of the run turned into pure bliss as I crashed through multiple big drops with the occasional unintended surf. Fortunately, there was an eddy at the top of the last big rapid, so we pulled over to shore and hopped out for a quick peek. “No problem” I thought to myself. As I smoothly made a boof off of a rock, lined up for the turn – whoops – the cataraft plopped into a deep reversal, not a mild wave. At that moment I realized I should have scouted the bottom of the rapid, not just the top! Suddenly my boat was on top of me, I was upside down with my head and entire body deep underwater in the hole. I was about to swim when unexpectantly the boat flipped back over. I found myself upright, still seated on the frame, entire body soaking wet, hands still clenched to the oars. I began laughing with delight. I had expected to swim, but the boat had other ideas – it performed a sideways cartwheel! These river tales are a small sampling of the astounding adventure I had and the remarkable people I met along the way.

Playa Grande on the Usumacinta offers an excellent gigantic beach camp - www.sierrarios.org

Playa Grande offers an excellent gigantic beach camp - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

Rigging for a 7-day raft kayak trip on the Usumacinta river in southern Mexico - Photo taken by Gabriel Hernandez.

This was a group of experienced boaters than ran the river with us in December of 2011

The ancient archeological site of Yaxchilán can only be accessed by river - photo taken by Gabriel Hernandez.

Caren taking a stroll on Playa Grande.

Gabriel after hiking into the jungle behind Playa Grande to swim in a cenote.

The jungle foilage is dense and reaches high into the sky.

Eddie Weihenmayer caught a couple of tilapia in the early morning - Photo taken by Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org

German looks through a stone window at Piedras Negras Ruins, the second archeological site accessed by river - photo taken by Gabriel Hernandez.

The upper falls at Cascada Busiljá can be accessed by a trail or by climbing up on the downstream side - Photo taken by Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org.

Cascada Busiljá is a fantastic travertine falls - Photo taken by Gabriel Hernandez.

These howler monkeys have a raspy, breathy metallic scream, which conjured up visions of scary monsters or prehistoric dinosaurs - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org.

Río Chocoljá has 5-6 rapids and small falls in the last kilometer that can be run the last kilometer after hiking up with a kayak - Gabriel Hernandez photo.

Multi-layered beach camp, where we saw an eight foot crocodile!

The Gran Cañon de San José is vertical-walled and impressive.

There are many springs with good drinking water.

Early morning locals net fishing.

Lacey Anderson coached Erik Weihenmayer to row her cataraft through big class III rapids in Canon San Josecito - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org.

Serene camp on the Usumacinta river.

Second group on the Usumacinta river, joined us in Jan of 2012

]]> http://golightoutdoors.com/ncblog/?feed=rss2&p=980 0 http://golightoutdoors.com/ncblog/?p=935 http://golightoutdoors.com/ncblog/?p=935#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 21:59:01 +0000 Lacey Anderson http://golightoutdoors.com/ncblog/?p=935

Rocky Contos works out details for hiring a shuttle driver to the Santa Catarina river.

Lacey rowing on the Atotonilco river - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

The Atotonilco had many fun class II and III rapids - Jason Burke photo

Rocky Contos on his 16 foot cataraft and Lacey Anderson on her 12 foot cataraft.

Jason Burke testing machete.

An intense rain storm brought up the river about 12 feet! It was an exciting late night moving everything in rushing water.

Whoops! I hit a reversal sideways and almost slid off the seat at the top of a dangerous gorge - Jason Burke photo.

Jason looking into a long class VI gorge - by Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

This is the bottom of a long class VI gorge. It took us hours to portage our two boats - Photo taken by Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org

Take out was very easy for such a challenging river - Photo taken by Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org.

I was a really funny sight to these children at the Ixtapán take-out.

I made children laugh all over Mexico, I was a very funny spectacle to them.  As we floated past small villiages children would come streaming out of their adobe houses and the surrounding jungle foilage. They ran along-side us, on shore, to get a better look at us and our whitewater boats. Often they seemed a little frightened, but more often they wore huge grins, and were fascinated. Many of them had never seen craft like ours, much less a middle-aged Norte American women oaring a urethane cataraft – I was hilarous to them.

Easy put-in spot, Rocky’s kayak on road and my frame hanging on the truck rack on the right side of this picture.

Chai, our shuttle driver, from Juchetango. We ended up hiring him away from his Carneceria to run shuttle for us three times.

Rocky Contos kayaks alongside the Sabino tree lined banks of the first canyon (Canon Zabache) on the upper Atoyac river.

Exotic cactus thrive on the cliff walls along Canon Zabache on the Atoyac river.

Relaxing after a short portage - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

Lacey Anderson contemplating what might be ahead in this gorge - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

Violento is another class V rapid that we scouted - Rocky Contos photos www.sierrarios.org

A closer view of the main Violento rapid with Lacey in front of the hole that would have likely flipped her cataraft - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org.

We had pretty big water, probably about 4,000 cfs - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

Lacey scouting a very long class IV (V- possible, at the flows we had?) - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

Just one of many beautiful camps.

Rocky gave this class IV the name Siniestro Falls.

After the rapids eased to class III, there was a limestone wall and sabinos reappeared - Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

Colorful grasshoppers (Saltamontes) were on many of the prickly pears - Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org

Rocky and I (Lacey) at Juchatengo, about 120 km downstream of our put-in. We continued downstream - Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org.

Lacey Anderson enjoying the class III action of the middle Atoyac river - Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org

At Ixtapán, we first met this man with gourd - it is commonly used as a float device to help swim across the rio - Rocky Contos www.sierrarios.org

More giggling locals at the take-out.

We had an excellent adventure and everyone had a great time on the Mulatos-Aros (see Part I). Next, our plans were to drive east over to the Conchos River. However, we decided to skip the Conchos River because if we had attempted to cross the border into the state of Chihuahua, our friend’s trailer (with most of the groups rafting equipment) may have been confiscated. Border patrol may have asked to see the registration for the trailer and since it was not registered in his name we may have risked them confiscating it. We all decided it was not worth it. Oh well! I was not too disappointed because I had another six months free to roam. Lesson number I: before leaving the USA to cross into Mexico, make sure all your paperwork is in order.  

Rocky running a class V

The rest of our group decided to head home to California, Rocky and I decided to head south, further into Mexico. We were traveling  in my trusty 4×4 truck with my small cataraft, Rocky’s kayak, and all the gear needed for running multi-day wilderness trips. Rocky Contos is the best kayaker I know, fluent in Spanish, and a modern day explorer. He has been doing first descents all over Mexico for the last thirteen years and is the author of “Mexico Whitewater: Norte”. Lesson number II: surround yourself with experts.

Next stop was the Baluarte River. It had been run once before in 2009; there are no other known descents. We stopped in Mazatlan to pick-up a shuttle driver. Lujano, a Mazatlan city taxi driver, was willing. Our shuttle would depend on if I trusted Lujano with my truck. I thought to myself, “but of course, let the driving adventure begin.” Lesson number III: a city taxi driver will do your shuttle in Mexico.

We drove two hours east of Mazatlan through the Sierra Madre mountains along a winding two lane paved road and then an additional four hours down into steep canyons on a rough, rock strewn, single track, loose gravel and dirt road to arrive at the Baluarte put-in. Lesson number IV: when exploring, the road may be more difficult than the river.

When we finally got to the put-in the river was very low, maybe 200 cfs, but we were not discouraged; as I rigged my cataraft it was sprinkling. Also, before leaving Mazatlan Rocky consulted the CNA precipitation maps and it looked like a rainy pattern was building up. We launched and began our journey. That night at camp it did rain and the water came up quickly, but it slowly dropped during the night. In the morning we had about 400 cfs. We enthusiastically carried on. We were betting on the numerous storm clouds to rain down and the many side creeks along the run to bring the water back up. Lesson number V: it is tough to turn back when it has taken days of preparation and a long difficult drive to get to put-in.  

To make a long story short, the river never did come up. Lesson number VI: when faced with extremely low-water at put-in, consider altering plans.

Every night we experienced a spattering of rain drops and could see colorful lightning displays in the distance, but we never received the much needed downpour. There was no turning back, we were in the middle of an isolated river canyon, with no roads in or out once we entered the inner gorges. Our Baluarte expedition turned into an amazing example of what can be accomplished on challenging rivers. Lesson number VII: exploring requires having an attitude of – we can do this no matter what!

In reality, we did have enough water to weave our way through many fun rapids, but many more were quite challenging. We had to push, pull, “Flintstone”, swim with, line, and portage my cataraft. If we had just a bit more water it would have been fantastic, but alas, the rains and the swollen side creeks never materialized. Rocky had an easier time with his kayak. He smoothly maneuvered his kayak through all the low-water rapids. He never once complained about the difficulty of getting my cataraft down the river. Lesson number VIII: make sure your boating partner(s) are even-tempered and skilled boaters.  

I really did not mind all the hard work because this was such a unique adventure and one of the most beautiful river canyons I had ever seen. The canyon scenery was stunning, reminiscent of Thailand, not what I expected in Mexico. There were dozens of towering limestone pillars covered with vibrant jungle foliage. Green military macaws soared among the rock towers. Exotic purple and red flowers were sunning themselves everywhere. One of the gorges we traversed was full of giant two story tall boulders, I felt like Alice in Whitewater Wonderland. I was in awe of such beauty. Lesson number IX: Mexico has some untouched wilderness areas.

At the take out, we decided to keep driving south until we found a drainage that had a boatable water flow. Unfortunately, many areas of Mexico were experiencing a severe drought (perhaps the worst in a century). We had to continue south past Mexico City to find an area unaffected by drought. We headed toward the Tlapeneco-Mezcala river in the state of Guerrero. This undiscovered gem would be a 140 mile, five day journey with sections that had never been run before. Lesson number X: I enjoy running uncharted rivers, where my skills of read and run (or push, pull, line, and portage) are tested!

El Victor put-in on the Mulatos river.

Seven day journey begins.

Our first camp; Barbara Conboy relaxing in the morning sunshine.

Rowing through Barranca Mulatos - www.sierrarios.org

More fun class III rapids!

Tabachin flowers are common - www.sierrarios.org

Swimming in the clear warm water of Arroyo El Aliso.

Rocky Contos running Morita a big 6 – 9 foot drop.

Mostly with big waves - www.sierrarios.org

Arroyo Las Perdices beach - www.sierrarios.org

Lacey Anderson rowing into Lone Palm Canyon Gorge.

IKer's in one of many scenic rock gorges.

Subtropical savannah of the Mulatos-Aros-Yaqui river.

Interested in doing the Mulatos river in August of 2012? Contact me through this website or contact Rocky Contos  at www.sierrarios.org . You can find more information and photos at the website www.sierrarios.org.

Second Home

My second home is a pop-up camper mounted on a trusty Toyota Tundra 4×4 Access Cab with a V-8 engine. I bought this “second home” over ten years ago and it has been one of the best things I have ever purchased.

Here are some facts about my home on wheels…

13 Square Feet of floor area (maybe)
Fuel – Gasoline low MPG for a powerful truck
Power – 12 volt auxiliary battery powers all systems
Stove – Propane 2 burner
Refrigerator – Runs on either propane or electric
Water – 1 water tank, 10 gallons of available water
Heat – Climate controlled (Hot in summer, Cold in winter =)
Air Conditioning – Hah! 1 ceiling fan in the roof, 1 large window
Bed – Queen size with Memory Foam
Shower - Solar Shower

Boat Fits Inside Car!

Check it out. My two cataraft tubes and the frame are inside the truck. This is my Toyota Tundra with my boat stowed behind the front seats. Inside the black bag are both cataraft tubes. On the floor is my new aluminum break down frame. I think I’ll like this new set-up!

If you find yourself this spring/summer in the southwest, look me up at Adventure Bound in Grand Junction, Colorado. I will be guiding for them on the Green and Colorado rivers.

Local resident, Rocky Contos, Barbara Conboy, Neil Nikirk, Lacey Anderson.

Many of Mexico’s best whitewater rivers can only be rafted during the monsoon season. This is when little creeks become raging whitewater rivers. We were headed for the put-in of the Mulatos-Aros river to do a one hundred and forty mile exploration. This would be a second descent.

Our truck was slowly crawling along a muddy four-wheel track in the plateau country of Copper Canyon, Mexico. A monsoonal downpour raged as lightening struck and vibrated the ground all around us. I was exhilarated and terrified as each lightening bolt lit our path just enough to catch a momentary glimpse of the jagged mountain silhouettes of sub-tropical Mexico. We had spent an entire day driving since our last stop at the small village of Sahuaripa. Many hours later we were still driving, determined to get to the put-in before midnight.

We had just climbed out of one canyon and were barreling down into another canyon only to be stopped dead in our tracks. The five of us looked wide-eyed with disbelief at what lay in front of us. The normally dry creek bed was flashing! High water roared across the road. We were stuck and could not drive through the arroyo. The only thing we could do was set up our tents and roll out the sleeping bags right there in the muddy road to wait out the flooding arroyo.

By noon the next day the flood had subsided enough for us to tentatively drive through the slick mess. Later that afternoon we reached our launch destination, two days late. Good thing I had packed a menu such as the one you will find in my cookbook “Camp Cooking WITHOUT Coolers II”. If I had packed the traditional rafter’s menu with coolers full of ice dependant meals we would have been in trouble. Some of our food would have been spoiled and the rest would have been well on its way to spoilage.

“

Driving through arroyo in the morning [Rocky Contos photo www.sierrarios.org

Since the Mulatos-Aros exploration was a great success we were stoked and eager for our next adventure on the Conchos River. Even better we did not have to hunt down a store in rural Mexico that would have good food and quality ice because I had the next four days of river meals waiting in our truck, all packed up and ready to go – no ice needed!