Category Archives: RIVERS AND CANYONS

KAYAKING, RIVERS AND CANYONS

DELVING INTO CANYONEERING

Leave a comment

The recent descent of the central section of this steep river, full of  rocky gorges and waterfalls took around four days, and required ropes, climbing gear, camping equipment food, clothing and of course the camera gear. Even with the weights kept to a minimum it was a handful in the difficult sections. The route took Me through fantastic rock formations carved by thousands of years of water flow. The river itself drops from the mountains steeply at 1000 meters to around 600 meters, but in this short section of only a few kilometers I encountered some truly interesting exploration and wildly beautiful scenery

DOWN IN THE CANYON ITSELF.                                                                                        It was fairly committing undertaking from the start and  I was wondering if maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew, especially as it was a solo effort, to be honest I felt  a bit like an ant dwarfed by the surrounding steep canyon walls, the place was immense.

This was the second campsite under an overhang and next to the river, it was dry and pleasant. Photo wildxplor

I tried to move as slowly and deliberately as possible to avoid an accident, as it would have been a really difficult to get out if I had been any kind of a problem.                                                                                    The rock in the canyon was worn so smooth, in places by eons of flowing water,  if it rained wet it had virtually no traction, luckily the weather held for the four day descent.

At the base of a bluff here the river is squeezed down, the rock has become worn so smooth that it is really slippery when it rains. The riverbed has been worn by millions of years of the force of water into these formations.

This had all become possible because the river had greatly reduced flows due to hydro electric scheme built in 1984, who knows It might have been the first descent of this remote rocky and steep section. I was stunned by the surreal terrain of sculpted rock, It was beautiful, but it was also testament to the extreme forces of the wild water that created this River God, before the water was turned off and the lights turned on.

The first campsite, there was nowhere level to pitch a tent. Photo wildxplor

Places to place a tent were few and far between in the steep gorges, nothing was flat and it meant getting creative. The first nights camp was really uncomfortable as it was over sharp rocks, the only semi flat ground that I could find, this is when you find out why we love soft mattresses so much!

The evening view downriver from a cave. Photo wildxplor

I chose the dry season with it’s reduced water levels to attempt this dificult undertaking,  using a waterproof dry bag to swim the gear through the many pool sections which I encountered.                                                                                   The remoteness and the three dimensional nature of the place really added an on the edge feel to it all.

This section was difficult to negotiate and I was glad I had ropes with me. Imagine the forces that sculpted this. Photo wildxplor

To try and come home unscathed, I Try as much as possible to plan by  Studying any maps which I can get hold of,  pore over google earth. Then I take screenshots of the air photos to use later, this along with doing as much research as possible, especially on the weather, which will make or break the trip.
I do as much as I can beforehand to prepare, Both mentally , physically and with my equipment. I also like to have some escape routes planned just in case. I have always enjoyed the alpine approach to mountains, that is small parties of one or more persons in tune with their surroundings, moving light and unencumbered.  Of course the reality never turns out exactly as you envision but at least with the preparation, adaptation becomes simpler.

An Algae bloom causes a green tint to this pool below a cascade. Here the boulders are the size of buildings and have been eroded for millions of years. Further up the Canyon proved to have even more fantastic formations.The low water levels have caused the bloom which creates the green tint. Photo wildxplor

Although the river looked placid enough I realize just how quickly they can rise, Kayaking the many rivers of the region has given me great respect for this, so I always chose campsites which were at least twenty feet higher than the river level,  anyway I like a stress free sleep.

 

The view from the river. Photo wildxplor
Only thirty minutes before this picture was taken the river was too low to kayak.With the gradient at 45 meters+ per kilometer it is not well suited to kayaking big volume. Photo wildxplor

I took a couple of extra days worth of food just in case, I may have had to wait out a rise in the river or it could just have been more difficult than I thought. Even hiking out can take more time than you think. Mostly in this region the rains are in the afternoon and the creeks have dropped by morning,  but there are many exceptions, for example in the dry season the rains come from the Atlantic slopes and the bigger rivers that have their headwaters in the North of the country can flow at very high levels.
This wonderful waterfall is in Darien. Photo wildxplor

Because there were so many waterfalls in this canyon I was found the climbing gear being pressed into service more than once, having ropes was a great comfort. I don’t like to approach a waterfall lip too closely as they can be really slippery, and it is a good place to use a rope just in case. All in all apart from nearly stepping on a large Fer-De lance snake which would have ruined my day, it was a great success, I got some fantastic photos and some pretty solid memories out of the experience.