Southern Boof: 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