Ciudad Valles, Mexico -

[Wombat]

"I really need to work on my setup". A million thoughts are racing through my mind, but at the moment, this is the most appropriate one. I'm upside down in a violent current, my paddle is getting pushed and pulled in multiple directions, and I can't seem to get it to where I need it to be. Then, I'm upright. Like the Hand of God the technique is named for, Ben Kvanli has once again reached over and got me right side up.

It's day 3 of a week-long trip with Ben to Valles, Mexico and the Micos, Tampaon, and Salto Rivers. It's January, and the water temperature is about 78 degrees, the air temperature a little higher. Over the last few days, my Jackson Kayak Hero has gotten me through some pretty hairy stuff, but it can't do everything. I've managed to hit quite a few combat rolls, but realize that I still have a lot to learn, which is why I'm here with Ben and Red River Racing , which organizes these instructional trips.

You'd never believe you're just a 12 hour drive south of San Antonio. The mild weather, easy accessibility and warm water make this a great winter paddling destination. The upper section of the Cascadas Micos has six travertine waterfalls, and with multiple options for running each, Ben can tailor each drop according to the ability of the paddler. What this means is that even someone relatively inexperienced like me can work on their technique in a challenging environment without the risk of major carnage. Don't get me wrong, there is still enough of a thrill to ratchet up the stress level.

We left San Antonio, TX at midnight on Friday, the 24th of January and reached the border at McAllen, TX at about 5am. After changing some money, gassing up, and getting our visas, we headed into Mexico towards Ciudad Valles. We arrived around noon at a wonderful campground on the Micas River, our base camp for the next week as we explored the rivers around the area.

We had lunch at a great little patio at the base of the last of six drops we'd be running the next day.

After lunch, we hopped in our boats for a warmup run down the lower section, consisting of several small drops to get our bodies loosened up after the long drive.

We arrived back at camp and set up at our tents. For 50 pesos/night (about 4 dollars US) we got to sleep next to the sound of the river as it went on it's way, and had hot showers, toilets, and bottled water.

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

More, more, more!:wings:

 

[Wombat]

It's a short drive from the campground to the put in for the upper section of the Micos. We put in below the 70 foot water fall.

Today we would be running the six drops below that, break for lunch, and then run the lower section. If you're experienced and have done it before, it takes about ten minutes to bomb the run, but as this is an instructive process, we'd be scouting each drop from out of the boat. We'd discuss the line we'd be taking, and the reasoning behind it. There are very few hazards on this section, and each drop has a nice big pool to recover in before hitting the next one. It really is the perfect place to learn. After doing a few practice rolls, we headed towards the first drop. The first drop was a nice slide with no real vertical component.

First time doing something like this, lots of new sensations. Nothing like heading towards a horizon line where the river just disappears! I'm tensed up and in survival mode, off I go. Hit my mark, down the slide, nice soft landing...hey that was fun! The second drop was a bit more vertical. Though I'm being told to take a stroke as soon as I hit the water, my timing is way off and I'm waiting for the boat to surface and settle before doing it. Net result is that I flipped over. I hit my roll and am glad to get my first combat roll out of the way. There are three more drops before the sixth and final falls. This is the one I stared at while having lunch yesterday. I keep reminding Ben "You do realize that I'm not a very good kayaker?" The sixth drop consists of a huge mound of travertine that you slide down before hitting the vertical drop off on the bottom. There are several lines to take, at my skill level Ben decides that we're going to go towards river left. There is a large horseshoe shaped pool directly left, but the theory is that a nice pile of water will direct the boat down the main current towards river right and another pile, and a quick turn back towards the left will lead to the easiest part of the ending vertical. Ben assures me that way left is no good, way right is no good, but that you really have to work to get in either predicament.
I'm following Ben down on this one, and ask him how close I should stay. He smiles and assures me that I can paddle as hard as I want. Ben is an Olympic slalom kayaker, and sure enough within two strokes he's gone.

I hit the first pile just where I need to be. The travertine is real shallow here, and as I'm trying to follow Ben down towards the right, I start sliding left. And going sideways. There's a bit of an uphill mound, and as I start falling back, I'm still sideways and the edge of the vertical drop is coming up fast. A quick correction stroke, the Hero seems to read my mind and knows what it needs to do, the nose swings around, and just like that I'm pointed in the right direction, and over the falls I go. High fives all around, I feel like I've just won the Super Bowl. I'm no Jesse Coombs, but for me this was a major accomplishment.

Tomorrow, we head up to the Ojo Frio.

 

[viatierra]

Aw man... I'm all wet now.
:snorkel:

 

[pnorvell]

Very very cool! I really want to get into whitewater but money is tight, the new Jackson Hero would be my kayak of choice! Great picture's!

Peter

 

[Wombat]

Day 3, we drove up through some cane fields to get to the put in for the Ojo Frio. I was pretty nervous about today, the drops would be smaller, but there were lots of trees and vines in and around the river, which required some pretty tight lines and some quick moves to avoid. There were also a few wave trains, which I hadn't dealt with in a while but would be a good intro for running the Tampaon in a few days.
The top section had quite a few drops, I hit another roll after being upset in one of the fast moving sections between drops. My lines are getting better, and I'm paddling more aggressively on my drop-ins.
On the lower section, Ben was leading, and I was following Barry, a 50-something oilman from Houston who is utterly fearless. Barry is very relaxed in a kayak, whereas I feel more comfortable being aggressive. We were going down one fast moving wave train, and Barry is floating down casually while I'm paddling like a madman trying to keep upright. I'm screaming at Barry to speed up. I named this day "Get out of my way Barry!" The 2nd sections was very rocky with some shallow sections. I hit one roll, mostly because I went over in the setup position and just popped back up. I love it when that happens! At one point, I was supposed to go river left to an eddy, but got pushed left and wound up pinned against a tree. I managed to work myself upstream into a small eddy, but the problem was that I couldn't get by the tree to eddy out without pinning up against it again. Finally we devised a plan where I would stick the nose of my boat out as Kelly came by, and he would grab my bow loop as he went by. It actually worked, and I was free. There was very little time to rest in the fast moving current of the lower section, at one point I got upside down, missed my roll, and wound up going for a swim after my head hit a rock. Once again I had tried to go straight to step 2 of the roll before step 1.
After the Ojo Frio, we had a late lunch in a great little rural town. Dirt streets, great bistek ranchero on the cheap, and a cold beer.
Not many pictures from the river, there wasn't time to catch my breath much less grab the camera.

Rest day tomorrow

 

[Wombat]

Very very cool! I really want to get into whitewater but money is tight, the new Jackson Hero would be my kayak of choice! Great picture's!

Peter

The new Hero is such a great boat. It pretty much lowers the class of river by a factor of one.

 

[Wombat]

Day 4 was a rest day, and we went to Xilitla. We left early in the morning and arrived at Las Pozas, the surrealist home that Edward James built in the jungle just outside the town. I didn't know what to expect, but the place really captivates you, and I think you could walk through it a hundred times and keep finding new details you missed before.

We then went up to the town of Xilitla for lunch, really bustling rural town up in the mountains with narrow busy streets.

On the way back, Ben started talking about some of the caves in the area, basically giant holes in the ground. We had some rappelling gear with us, and we talked Ben into stopping at Sotano de las Huahuas, 60 meters wide and 200 meters deep. As we parked our van, a number of small children from the village offered to carry our packs for us. They weren't very good negotiators, as they didn't budge at all on their price. That and our packs towered over them. We originally thought that the cave had an exit from the bottom, so we could rappel down and walk out, but it turns out that wasn't the case. We didn't have any Jumar ascenders, and it was getting late, so we decided to go up to the entrance and wait for the swallows to return at sunset. After we arrived we noticed the parrots along the upper rim of the cave. As sunset approached, we noticed some swallows circling overhead. Tentatively at first, one after another dive bombed into the cave. Then by the hundreds they're zinging past us as they returned. The sound and spectacle were incredible. We watched this for about half hour before it started really getting dark and we returned to the van. After we returned, we gave the kids who had accompanied us some pesos for their help.

Barry at the entrance:

Tomorrow, the raging waters of the Tampaon.

 

[Hannibal USA]

Hoping to Do this Trip

Hey there-

I'm really hoping to get down there with Ben in a few weeks. Ben is a great guy. Looks like an amazing trip. Thanks for the story, the pictures (and the extra motivation!).

Dan

 

[Hltoppr]

Ok...you have no idea how I just got the urge to run home, pack up the motorcycle, and head South! :bike_rider:

Gracias!

-H-

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Ok...you have no idea how I just got the urge to run home, pack up the motorcycle, and head South! :bike_rider:

Gracias!

-H-

No kidding! I've been toying with the idea of making a run for Ciudad Valles myself. That area has a lot of spectacular stuff to offer from the pics I've seen and things I've read! I'm not into white water kayaks, but have had an interest..... Maybe one day!

 

[Hannibal USA]

If you're into the idea of kayaking, you should definitely look into some lessons from Ben Kvanli down in San Marcos. We run a kayaking school up in Omaha, and take groups down to San Marcos to get a taste of whitewater (and to escape the frozen corn fields). Ben is an awesome instructor. He also leads really affordable trips down to Ciudad Valles, which sports some really fun, beginner friendly whitewater in an ideal setting (warm water, warm temperatures, friendly people...as shown in the pictures). Check out Ben's website:

http://www.kayakinstruction.org/Kayak_Instruction/Home.html

 

[Hltoppr]

Now I know I've seen ways to strap a whitewater boat onto a GS Motorcycle....:elkgrin:

-H-

 

[Hannibal USA]

The new play boats are about the size of a pannier anyway! Just pack your gear inside the kayak and you're good to go!

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

He also leads really affordable trips down to Ciudad Valles, which sports some really fun, beginner friendly whitewater in an ideal setting (warm water, warm temperatures, friendly people...as shown in the pictures). Check out Ben's website:

http://www.kayakinstruction.org/Kayak_Instruction/Home.html

You've got me at 'warm'!

I've been whitewater rafting in Costa Rica, and managed to convince the guys that were following us in the safety kayaks to let me mess about in a slow flat water area of the river.... talk about a different boat from anything else!