The Expedition: 4 Canyons of the Santa Maria

The 4 Canyons of the Santa Maria was my first overnight expedition. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. Adam had done the 2 lower canyons before, but never the upper 2. In fact not many people had, probably less than 10 groups ever had. Aspirations were high as the group loaded up in the early morning and started the 4 hour shuttle. This long shuttle changed everything. This was originally thought to be a 7 man 20 mile over nighter. Apparently on the shuttle the crew started looking at topo maps. The beta we had of the first 2 canyons being 13 miles was wrong. It was more like 30 miles and steeper than first anticipated. I knew none of this though. Because there was no room in the cab, I rode in the back. So when we passed over the bridge and saw the gorge, we knew we were about to drop into to some serious whitewater. Swims and mistakes would be unacceptable. You lose your boat, you are screwed. There was 1 way in and 1 way out. Three of our group decided they were gonna bail, and meet us above the 3rd canyon. So It was now myself, Jon, Adam, and Jordan. The plan was for the other three to go paddle the Rio Gallines and meet us at the put in for the lower Canyons. If we weren't there by 09:30 am, they were to put on and we would catch them. With a goal of making it through the first Canyon, the 4 of us put on. The first Canyon was big and steep, with probably the single hardest portage I have ever done. It took nearly 3 hours. We knew we wouldn't make it out by dark so we set up camp. This was probably the most awesome camp site I have ever camped at. But it also meant we had nearly 30 miles to paddle the next day with half of it being Class V and the other half flat water. So we set up camp and crashed. We awoke before sunrise, made breakfast, and broke down camp. We finished the first canyon and made the second canyon by noon. By 04:30 we had completed the second canyon and began hammering out the flat water to meet up with the others. We made it to the redvouse point by 7 but the others were no where to be found. We set up camped, ate, and crashed. We were all exhausted so we decided to wit for the others until 11 am. As long as we put on by noon, we could finish the run. And at 10:30 am we saw the others! We then paddled the final two canyons. After the completion of the final canyon we came to the 400 ft water fall that flows into the Santa Maria. Then we had the fun hike out of the canyon. This hike consisted of climbing up a series of home made ladders. This was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

My four hour shuttle

We got lost: Adma and Leigh asking for directions

The Pit

The Car loaded down and the crew deciding who was gonna go.

The 4 Canyon Rangers

Camp 1

The View from Camp 1

Jon boofing. Me filming

One of the 6 portages

Me and Adam in some Boogie

Jordan Boofing

Adam Boofing

Typical 1st canyon rapid

Me and Adam on a Scout

Unrunnable

Seive!!!!

exiting the second canyon

another portage

Camp 2

Waiting for the Others

4 th canyon rapid

Ouch!

Another 4th canyon rapid

Me, Brandon, and Jordan

Take out

Talking about the hike

The Crew

The 4 Canyon Rangers

The Stairs

More Ladders

Mexico: Puente de Dios, Tamasopo

Puente de Dios is a cool park in huck on the Tamasopo. It was one of the most awesome places I have been in my entire life. It is a class V drop into a lagoon surrounded by waterfalls. There are also under water caves you can swim into that open into awesome cathedrals. Not only is this one of my favorite places, it is hands down one of my favorite rapids I have ever ran. I lapped this rapid countless times. It was a 18ft drop into a undercut boiling eddy with another 20ft exit slide/drop into a large pool.

The Town where you had to park to hike in

They Charge 20 pesos to watch your cars

Me charging off the second Drop

Boofing the First Drop

They Crew Hanging out in one of the Underwater Caves

Me flying off one of the best rapids I ever ran.

Another Lap

Jon in the eddy Between the drops

Jon and his Jefe doing what it does best

Sometimes Jordan Likes to run drops without a paddle

The paddle after he dropped it

Jordan: Look No Paddle

Me on another lap

Adam Charging off the top Drop

Me entering the second drop

For my last Huck I thought I'd try something special.......

....Bring back the "Rail Grab"

The Mexican 7 Rivers Expedition : The Second Canyon Rio Verde

Myself, Brandon, and Alex departed Chattanooga, TN, early Thanksgiving morning for Mexico. In Mexico, we planned to meet up with Adam, Leigh, Jordan, and Jon for 10 days of paddling. Adam and I started planning this trip on our way back from Colorado this summer. Adam had 3 weeks to paddle all of the goods Mexico had to offer. I only had 10 days, so I arrived in Mexico ready to charge as hard as I could for 10 days. I want to thank Alex, Adam, Jon, Leigh, and Brandon for all the pics and video.

My favorite run on the trip was the Second Canyon of the Rio Verde. Adam had done this run before. Seeing his pictures and hering his tales it was at the top of my list. After we had left, Adam, Jordan, and Pollo paddled the First Canyon. After hearing their stories, I will be back to paddle it. But back to the Second Canyon. This canyon had it all: Class V drops, this weird slotty section we only got video of, Mexican flatwater, and a big falls in the heart of the run.

The Valley

This drop only me and Jordan ran.
This is Jordan showing how to properly run the drop.
This is me showing how not to run it. hahaha

In the heart of the Run was a big falls. Me and Jordan elected to fire it up. It had a trickey entrance, which forced me into a micro eddy at the lip of the drop. Very tense situation.

Here I am Firing it up.

This is Jordan Tucked up tight

This Run was full of fun little boofs and drops. Here is Leigh getting her boof on.

Here is another fun rapid that we ran it had 2 different lines. Me and Adam ran the Left line, while Jon and Jordan ran the center boof.



Me on the Left

Jordan Center Boof

Stay tuned for the "Misadventures of Dwayne and Rickey...."