Wednesday, December 17, 2008

4 river miles in 3 days

Mexico is cool


we stopped by Iltajin a beautiful old ruin on the way to Tlapacoyan

4 river miles in 3 days
The Big Banana and Pezma sections of the Rio Alseseca.

So hear is how we spent three days covering a mere four miles of river. When we first arrived at AdventuRec we heard great things about a mysterious section of the Rio Alseseca, The Big Banana aka the Plantain. The word was that there was a very large water fall on the run, and that no one had ever run it, and "you better put in on the downstream side of it". The group that was collecting the beta on the run had been turned back five times, concerned that they would put in on the wrong side of the falls. On the fifth day they found the falls, and did a immense scout of a huge waterfall. The waterfall was estimated to be 120 feet tall and "looked good to go" besides the fact that it's 120 ft. On day six the group doing most of the research had to head back to the states, but not before a missing wallet and a CB where installed in the truck. After helping our friends and giving farewell hugs we left to go run the Plantain. It was now just after noon.

Jake Greenbaum, Davis Gove, John McConville, Lance Rief, and myself where the crew that would head in to the plantain. It took us a while to drive up into the mountains and find our put in field, and then a bit longer to hike in. We hiked up, down, back up, back down, threw the cattle fences, down the steep embankment, back up and down, into and out of the jungle to get to a tiny creek, that portion of the hike took 2 hours. Jake and I both nursing bad knees decided to put on the creek, we slid bumped and mostly drug our boats down the creek for another hour.

put in falls

3:30 p.m. "WOW there is the waterfall" a beautiful spout of water flying out of the wall 120 ft above us crashing into the river just upstream of our tiny creek. "we ought to get going we don't have too much light left" .... this statement begins the true Epic potion of this tale. After the fact, we all said that we had worries about putting on that late but that none of us were ready to hike the three hours back up to the car. Once on water we made it an amazing quarter mile or so when both Lance and Davis found them self's swimming after an encounter with a submerged log. We gathered the swimmers and equipment quickly and continued down stream. During the excitement and confusion of two of our team members swimming John accidently left his camera on the shore, he didn't relies this until we had gotten far enough down stream that there was no way to get back up to it. After the swims the team seemed a little skittish, could have been the wood encounter, or maybe the fact that we were in and out of 200 foot tall gorge with no good way out, either way we found our selves scouting almost every rapid. In the next few rapids we found a beautiful 20 ft waterfall, and a just shy of mandatory 20 ft slide-sluice thing that broke Johns paddle. Another great rapid had three sections a double backed up hole, a swirly lead in to a thick hole and a mandatory 10-12 ft drop into a supper sketchy hole. The run was living up to the legends, and then the 40 ft water fall. The 40 footer looked good the landing zone was clear and the lead in was easy. The problem was again the hole at the bottom, the hole looked rather caved out, not to mention we had no idea how long it would take us to get a injured person out of the canyon. We walked, put back in, and ran more drops, with all of our scouting, portaging, and hiking we had burnt most of our day light when we paddled up to Meat Locker. Meat Locker is impressive a total height nearing 30 feet, a 15 foot boof off of the top into a ugly seam that swallowed all of us and shoot us into the boiling mess of an eddy right above another ledge. The next ledge looked horrible the ledge made a thick hole that had a cave on both sides and then choked back up by the cliff walls, " I ain't runnin that". After a quick scout we realized that we where done for the day, the sun had disappeared and within minutes it was going to be pitch black, A quick team meeting and we decided to try to hike out. We took the little amount of water and food we had, and left our boats and paddles in the jungle.

Davis on the 20 footer

We were near a banana grove, and the comment came up quickly " there most be some way for the farmers to get those bananas out of here". John was definitely the life savior here when out of his dry bag came a small head lamp. We followed in line behind John banging our shins on rocks and roots, slipping on the banana leafs, getting bit by bugs, not to mention the poisonous and thorny plants we where using to haul are exhausted bodies out of the canyon. Then there was a trail then we lost the trail then we found a better trail, and further out of the canyon. An hour went bye "shush i think i heard something" the distant growl of the overloaded truck using it's jake brake. Then the little dirt road appeared another 15 minutes down the dirt road and we where in a tiny village. We talked to a local farmer and he offered us a ride in his truck back down the hill to our truck, and we gladly accepted.

It was late, and we where exhausted as we pulled into town to force food into our bellies knowing that we had to refuel before we went back in to finnish the run tomorrow. We woke up early, with the thoughts of getting on, firing up the Meat Locker, and getting out of the gorge running threw all of our heads. We were all still tired, no one slept well, and we were all still overly tired from the day before. Even with the odds stacked against us John and I believed that we would have time to finnish the run and hike back in to the 120 foot falls swim down and get his camera back out of the jungle before dark.

the banana grove the second morning

We drove to the same banana grove we hiked out of the night before and quickly found our spot to hike back in. Another hour had gone by hiking in, and we arrived at the Meat Locker we had another team meeting all of us expressing the fact that we wanted to run Meat Locker but the next ledge was probable death. We set up immense safety, we had a live bait swimmer just after Meat Locker and another throw bagger, right before the death ledge. We all took our turns running Meat Locker and all had reasonable good lines. As we seal launched back into the river after the death hole, we realized it had taken us two hours to run the drop and we were running out of day light again. We came around a couple more bends and into the Pezma section. Pezma had some quality drops to it, 20/80 falls, a drop that notoriously beats down 80% of the kayakers, and a splattering of 10-20 foot ledges. It ended quickly a couple last small rapids and the roar of the trucks picked up as we neared our take out bridge. 30 hours, two swimmers, a camera left behind, and a broken paddle we had finally decented a mere 4 miles.

Jake in the Meat Locker


John having fun in the Pezma section


John looking for the 20% line in 20/80


Jake on the last big Pezma boof


the take out, with huge bamboo groves and my bamboo paddle, thanks Kenny.
Check out Kenny's hand crafted paddles at http://bluntfamilypaddles.blogspot.com/

"Mass Cerveze", we where all super happy to have finished the run as successfully as we had, and we all have planes to head back in for another attempt at the Big Banana. John and I also had the thought that we could get Johns camera back out of the canyon without running the whole thing again. So the next morning tired, hung over, and our legs cut scraped and beat to a pulp we hiked back in swam down threw some pools and got to the rapid we had swimmers on three days before. Right there on the shore line was Johns pelican case, camera safely inside. Another hour of hiking and swimming back out, and our Big Banana adventure was truly concluded.

Another Adventure by
Chris Baer

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

An Orange and a Gun on the Rio Verde

An Orange and a Gun on the Rio Verde

The Rio Verde this is one of those runs people dream of, well maybe not the shuttle. The shuttle took a large part of the day, basically you drive for 2 hours and get stuck in traffic. Go a little further, and the little bumpy road hangs a left into a tiny village. Open and close a bunch of cattle fences as you drive deeper and deeper into someones private property. Talk to the land owner, he jumps in your car with a gun and an orange in hand. He shares his orange, and is supper nice, and shows you how to get down the canyon wall into your dream river. It's just that easy.

So the Rio Verde starts off with three sizable drops. The first is this 45 footer

a little two shot sequence of me in the first drop, it ran as good as it looks.

John staring down the crease on the 45 footer

as you land the 45 footer you realize that you are now in the canyon, the next way out is 5 miles down stream

after the 45 footer there is two more drops in close secession,
John sending the second of three

and Lance boffin the third drop
After the first three falls it mellows out a bit you get the occasional class 5 boulder garden and two more 10-15 foot drops until

this a 90ish foot monster with a alright portage after lowering the boats.
watch out for the next small drop as it looks and is really manky.

Over and out from the Rio Verde here in Mexico "paradise with tacos"
Chris Baer

Monday, December 8, 2008

El Toro

El toro, so this thing is just stupid.


I am not including any of the landing shots because they hurt too much to look at, and the video does it the best justice. So check out the video at http://broadbandsports.com/node/22262

Yes it's as big as it looks and yes I am VERY happy to walk away from this one.

Mexico

Mexico

Well it's officially winter, and what better thing to do then to head to were it's warm and keep on boating. Mexico has been amazing, the food is cheap and plentiful and the scenery is out of control, every where you look gigantic rolling mountains as lush as could be imagined. John and Lance my "crew" for Mexico have been great as well. It is always fun going on a trip with little knowledge of your crew, a head of time. So here it is what you really want pictures from down here absolutely beautiful this shot is from the take out looking up stream on the Mecos this shot is from the mid 20'ft'er on the Micos, it is supper fun and relativly easy to hike back up and do laps on a slightly diferent angel on the same drop, you could also paddle behind the curtin and hang out in the cave, and watch your buddys drop the falls just on the other side of the curtin. yet another beautiful river, there are springs every where and lots of them lend them selfs to making wterfalls slowly dropping of the travertine rock. my internet down here is supper slow, so that is it for now

Sunday, November 23, 2008

a couple quick shots from the green today

just a couple cool shots today


billy jones doing what he does best "he boofed the dog shit out of er" (adriene)


some people didn't have as much luck today... check out that face, it says it all "damn that was close"

adriene "i don't like the right line" "if i go to run the left line in a short boat just stop me"

way up on the right rock at sunshine

this was definitly the best shot of the day and in all reality one of the uglier lines at sunshine.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

yea i'm not a tottal slacker

yea i'm not a tottal slacker

so i finally brought my nice camera in to the green river narrows,


pick your poison way too far right or backwards, just a matter of time at gorilla

billy jones stylin gorilla at just under 7 inches

billy murphy trying to throw loops in the speed trap
showing every one that you don't have to dial the line to have a great time on the green



from her impression on the last shot she had no clue she had just gotten the best shots of the day, on groove tube a rapid i had dismissed from creating a "cool shot" just goes to show ya

a couple parting sunshine shots

Thursday, November 13, 2008

green river !

green river

So i have been to a couple events recently but not many good photos too busy kayaking with new crews or racing all though not that competitively.
this is go left, on the green river, in NC, during the race. It's one of the big three and i was supper excited to see it, it meant i probably new what way to go from there to the finish line. No kidding i got full on lost during the race. i had to ask a spectator what slot i was supposed to go threw, lol.

the parking lot morning of the race... it had an amazing buzz to it every one getting ready to route the green with exceptionally low water, a little scary, a hand full of bad lines, and at the end of the day every one was OK

THE CREW these guys and gal are awesome. I met Susan on the upper youghiogheny (she showed me threw the time warp... she was in a green boat ((bad ass)), and then bumped into her and cohorts on the Russel fork and then again on the Green... thanks again for the shuttles, beer, and most of these pictures.

did i mention that the Green river valley is spectacular in the fall

the obligatory shot of the Wrec Center, when you see it don't be shy. It probably is going to run shuttle.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Bridge day on the New River Gorge

Bridge day on the new river gorge

people jumping off a perfectly good bridge













some of the parachuter's found land and others looked if they were aiming for the park service boats











all ways beautiful in the new river gorge especially with the changing leaves of fall












we also chased down some low water gauley runs.
Hanging out in the room of doom?



















then the Russell fork rondeview wow what a great sieved out run tons of great boofs and a couple legitimate rapids
Lance getting his boof on in
El horendo






















last class 5 move climax

Friday, October 17, 2008

Lake Creek

Lake Creek


wow lake creek had an amazing season it just ran and ran it may of had something to do with our rediculous levels that we tryed but a 100 teen is still fun

so when the right line is snowed in fire up the left one







the brains at a stock 300cfs















when your running the shit you have to have popper safety or at least some people to bring you coldies at the take out


























top of the paralizer, right line
Kenny thanks for the paddle, every one check out Blunt Family Paddles



















scouting the cauldron or just talking about who's boof was better at the brains?















the cauldron at 300 going on 500cfs the water level was all over the place this year.
Be careful the gauge was jumping all over the place due to the water coming in from the Roaring fork. Plenty of days that we scouted at 300cfs and got to the cauldron at 500cfs...

Fun, yes



Pushy, yes



get beat down in the right corner, YES