Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking all rights reserved.

Mary goes out of her way to find the big hit in Upset Rapid, Grand Canyon.

Many of our guests have inquired about paddling the Grand Canyon in the spring season. Desert blooms, higher water and lots of daylight are just some of the things that can be found during this time of year.  Dates are May 15th – 28th, 2012, 14 day/ 13 night raft supported camp trip. Price is $3662, rafters are welcome. We are still offering a trip n the fall; August 29 – September. 11th, 2012. Let us know if you are interested. info@adventurekayaking.com

Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking all rights reserved.

Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking all rights reserved.

You'd better like the color green while paddling here in Ecuador.

The rain has inspired me to post this poem I first became aware of when on a paddling trip in New Zealand.  Very appropriate.

It rained and it rained and it rained and it rained;
the average fall was well maintained,
and when the tracks were simply bogs,
it started raining cats and dogs.

After a drought of half an hour
we had a most refreshing shower,
and then the most curious thing of all:
a gentle rain began to fall.

Next day was also fairly dry,
save for the deluge from the sky,
which wetted the party to the skin,
and after that the rain set in.

Prayer flags float in and out of my camera frame, pulsing with the light breeze that blows across the Dochu La, the 10,330 ft pass we just summited.  Beyond the flags is a collection of 108 chortens arranged atop a small hill in a neat oval that the road circumvents. Chortens house relics of religious significance and are places of offerings. These are simple, squat and square whitewashed affairs with slate roofs and a gilded crown at their tops. Far in the distance is the Himalayan range and the border between Bhutan and Tibet. Separating us from the mountains is a multitude of lush, deeply carved river valleys.  In two of them, the Mo (mother) and Po (father) rivers will be the focus of the next few days of our kayaking trip.

During a typical stop at Dochu La you’ll usually see more chillups (foreigners) than Bhutanese, a result of Bhutan’s growing popularity as a tourist destination and the fact that the country’s only international airport is just 2 hours to the west in the town of Paro. Most people that come to Bhutan are on cultural or trekking tours that, sooner or later, pass this way.  Our merry little band of Americans, Bhutanese and Nepali, with our truckload of kayaks, stands out from the crowd.

Our trip started two days earlier at the airport in Paro. After our arrival we had a quick lunch then drove up the Paro valley and the start of the hike to Takstang monastery -otherwise known as the Tiger’s Nest. Our timing meant that we were going up as others were coming down, making ours the only group at this otherwise popular destination. Takstang clings to the side of a cliff and dates back to the 8^thcentury. This is where Guru Ripoche, revered for bringing Buddhism to Bhutan, is said to have arrived on the back of a flying tigress.

Bhutanese kayak guide, Thinley Tobden, presented our group with katas to welcome us.

Our second day we outfitted boats, packed the van and drove down valley to the lower Paro river.  We put in opposite a monastery on crystal clear, low flows. It ia good to hit the water and feel the haze from the long journey to Bhutan wash away.  Further downstream at Chuzum, the confluence of the Paro and Thimphu rivers, we turned the corner onto the Wang Chu.

Pulling over to scout a rapid on the Wang Chu. Photo Courtesy Norwood Scott.

Our flow doubled and the difficulty of rapids increased as we paddled amongst huge rocks sprinkled with undercuts. Rapids became steeper and longer but by eddy hopping the lines were clear. On one occasion we saw a group of rhesus monkeys scrambling along the shore! Conveniently, the road, that had been high above us, sloped back down to the river for a perfect take-out. We loaded the truck and van and head east to Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital.

This is my fourth visit to this remarkable Buddhist kingdom. If asked where I have seen the greatest physical change in Bhutan it would be as you enter the capital on the road from Paro.  Multi-story apartment buildings, huge by Bhutanese standards, are going up in record numbers. They are fully rented out before completion, with many more planned.  They are a symbol of the urbanization that is taking place in Bhutan. Ironically, across the valley and high up a ridge, we can see one of the world’s largest sitting Buddhas also under construction.

After a night in Thimphu we drove up this pass, Dochu La, and now make the  descent into the Punatsang Chu valley, the river created by the union of the Mo and Po rivers. We turn up valley past the temple of the Divine Madman and come to the confluence of the Mo and Po where we take a break to walk out on a small bluff, watching the waters of the two rivers swirl and mix below, glacial milk and carribean blue! Directly opposite us is the Punakha Dzong, a massive structure of high walls, towers, red roofs and ornate woodwork.  This one-time fortress, built in the 16^thcentury, now serves dual purpose as monastery and government offices. Continuing further up valley we have time to get in a quick run on the Mo chu from the put-in known simply as Sonam’s. Much bigger than the Wang Chu, the Mo is fluffy, fun class IV.  We paddle to our luxury base camp just before dark.

Base camp located along the Mo Chu.

The Mo and Po valleys are home to farmers.  Hard working people that still do most of the work by hand. Right now they are working long days to bring in their rice before the winter.  Each paddy is drained, the rice cut and laid out on the ground to dry, a vulnerable time for the rice should it rain and spoil the heads. After drying, the grain is threshed by beating the stalks over a tarp.  Dried some more, the grain is separated by slowly pouring it from head height and letting the wind carry the chaff away.  Dried stalks are piled high, tamped into tight structures that resemble a small hut complete with a rice stalk roof and topknot. The stalks will serve as fodder for their animals during the winter months.

Going further upstream on the Mo the next day, we encounter much harder rapids.  Our pace slows as we take time to scout, ponder, and paddle.  We do one long portage before reaching the run we did the day before. The repeat run to camp goes quickly. We leave the boats at the river’s edge and walk up to camp for a late lunch. Back on the water for an easy paddle to our take-out we reach the trailhead for a hike to a ridgetop temple with a commanding view of the valley.

The next morning we pack up and drive up the Po Chu. The van stops when we encounter deep mud. Transferring into the truck, we complete the drive to a small village and schoolhouse. I had heard rumors of being able to go further up the river than here at the end of the road, but a quick scout of the trail on foot reveals the hike-to-reward ratio didn’t look good and we opt for the standard put-in. An hour paddle downstream our driver Chandra is waiting for us with a hot lunch. These guys sure spoil us!  Paddling easy water down to the confluence with the Mo Chu we float past the Punakha Dzong. Here monks in red robes are concentrating on their studies along the banks.

Pampered. Hot lunch at one of our take outs.

At the take-out we change into “temple worthy” clothes for a visit to the Punakha Dzong.  Built of stone, brick, rammed earth and beams held together using timberframe techniques, dzongs used neither blueprints nor nails! This Dzong once served as the center of government for all of Bhutan and most recently played a significant role in the wedding of the fifth king and his queen and his coronation in 2008. The Dzong was built by the Shabrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 16^th century. He is credited with unifying the country after centuries of internal and outside conflict. So important was his presence to peace in the country at that time, that his death was kept a secret for fifty years.

Crossing a Bhutanese-style cantilevered bridge over the Mo Chu we ascend a steep set of wooden stairs to an entry hall adorned with two large prayer wheels and colorful murals. Beyond the hall one enters an expansive courtyard paved with large slabs of slate.

At the near end, our view down the courtyard is blocked by a large chorten.  Behind the chorten grows a large bodhi tree, the type that Buddha was said to have been sitting under when he attained enlightenment.  Framing either side of the courtyard are intricately carved posts that support a second story walkway with equally ornate handrails.  On the far end of the courtyard is a broad, nearly windowless wall that stands some five stories tall.  During special celebrations the monks will suspend a giant tapestry that covers this wall. Himalayan Buddhism is rich in symbolism and there is no shortage of it here depicted in murals, woodcarvings and statues.

We walk the labyrinth of hallways and courtyards arriving at the far end of the dzong where we observe protocol by slipping out of shoes and put away cameras before entering a temple room.  What awaits us takes out breath away. There is not a square inch of the walls and ceiling that are not covered in some type of iconography or colorful wall hangings. Three walls of the large room are covered in murals that depict the birth, life and death of the Buddha. There is a enormous chest, like that of a pirate’s buried treasure only much, much larger, that contains the 5-story tapestry awaiting the next time it will be hung in the entry courtyard.  Glass cases hold statues of different religious figures.  The ceiling and upper parts of the walls are painted with 1,000 buddhas and fabric “victory banners” hang from beams.  The large wooden floor planks have been polished by the centuries of shoeless monks and other visitors shuffling over them. Parallel rows of low benches topped with red seat cushions lead our eyes to the front of the room. Here three large statues stare back at us: Buddha, Shabdrung and Guru Rimpoche, their forms draped in colorful robes. This whole exotic culture pins you to the moment!

The reason for this trip was the opportunity to do a first descent. The lower stretches of the Dang Chu were first run in the late 90’s.  On a trip last year, I heard that a new road would be going in to access a small village located on the opposite side of the river further up valley. Hard-to-obtain topo maps revealed that the gradient on the Upper was doable. On our drive east, occasional glimpses into the valley from 1000 ft above showed a low-volume, technical run in a lush setting.  Small farms on the other side suggested footbridges might exist along the way. Armed with this information we pushed on toward our next town, Trongsa, the farthest east we would travel to paddle, to get more warmed up. We would save the Dang for the return trip.

Chandra our driver (left) and Phil seek road and trail info from a local in Nobding.

Roads in Bhutan can best be described as contour lines.  The mountainous terrain requires that the road snake in and out of the numerous valleys and ridges. The main road is nothing more than a lane wide. Travel is best measured in time, not distance.  The 90 miles from the confluence of the Mo and Po Chu to Trongsa takes 6 hours! We’re here for two days of paddling on the Mangde Chu.

Tom Meinholz and Norwood Scott prepare at the put in of the Upper Mangde Chu.

The first run starts upstream of the village and finishes at the base of a steep trail leading into the Dzong, one of the largest in the country. Thank goodness we are able to arrange porters to carry our the boats up. The downstream run, emma datsi canyon, is named for the spicy national dish of chilis and cheese. It provides plenty of challenging rapids and lives up to its name!

Norwood Scott pulls over to scout on the Emme Datsi canyon stretch of the Mangde Chu.

Heading back west, our excitement built as we neared the Dang Chu. We figured we had two and a half to three days to complete the run.  Rather than paddle and portage heavy boats with overnight gear, we opted to take advantage of the few trails and hike out each night. Cold beers, hot meals and warm beds would ensure we’d be well rested for each days paddle!

Turning off the "main" highway onto the newly cut road into the Dang Chu.

Trading road for trail we hiked the remaining distance into the Dang Chu.

What we found shortly after putting in was nothing short of classic; a super fun, very continuous class IV/IV+ run situated in an intimate riverbed draped with a lush canopy of vegetation.

Paddlers exit a drop amongst lush vegitation.

We had one or two short portages that first day and when we hit a footbridge at 2:30 pm, it was decision time.  Darkness falls at 5pm and temps drop quickly in the Himalaya when the sun dips behind the mountains. Knowing we couldn’t make the next bridge anytime soon and that dark would be upon us in a couple of hours, we stash boats and hike out.

Thinley Tobden on boogie water, Upper Dang Chu.

We suspected our next day would be the crux.  During the drive we could see cliffs that pinched the river canyon far below and knew it contained some of the steepest gradient.  Sure enough, we encountered many stout rapids this day.

Shawn Graham exits a rapid on day two.

When necessary, the portaging was mostly dragging boats through the lush forest while keeping an eye out for stinging nettles, and chuckling about the marijuana growing wild.  During the final portage we nearly lost a boat as it shot into the river -but eddied out! A missing dry bag was found shortly downstream, sidesurfing a hole.  Below here the once friendly, perfect-for-boofing rocks, became angular and made the rapids feel more serious.

A little portage action through nettles and wild pig food, Upper Dang Chu.

By 2:00 p.m. we hit a footbridge.  Using waypoints on our GPS we knew there was another bridge not too far downstream and we decided to go for it. But very shortly we encountered a steep drop that we knew was going to suck valuable time away. Glancing up from the river we saw a farm.  Further up the hill we saw a truck rumble by on the road.  So we stashed the boats and hiked out for the night.

They may look like they are smiling but I think the stress of having to spend another night in a hotel during our first "D"shows on the faces of the group at the end of day two, Dang Chu.

Day 3 on the Dang finds us optimistic that we’ll finish the run by noon.  Scouting the rapid that turned us away the previous day, we find a line and run. The character of the river starts to ease up a bit but it remains continuous.  At a quick portage around a log we realize we are less than 1 km from our take-out. Pulling up to the bridge we are beaming.

The group after a sucessful run. L to R: Tom Meinholz, Norwood Scott, Kurt Sable, Shawn Graham, Thinley Tobden, Chandra, Phil, Kinley. Not shown Kali Gurung.

What a fun run! Still, we want a little “dessert” to top off the day. I knew of a Class IV run downstream that would make the perfect capper to our kayaking in Bhutan.  Paddling strong and as a synchronized group we blaze this delightful creek with barely a hesitation.

The trip is at an end and it’s time for the group to leave this land of gentle, fun-loving, and curious people. Their way of life is a step back in time with their temples, ancient monasteries, and stunningly pristine rivers. We were awed by all of it! It was the trip of a lifetime. Some in the group are already talking of returning. I smile because I know I’ll be back again next year.

We’re running two trips in 2012. Visit our webpage  or contact us info@adventurekayaking.com for more information.

Thanks guys.

Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking all rights reserved.

 WOW! We had so much fun on our GC trip September 9-22! We had 16 kayakers and 3 raft riders, plus Phil’s 2 bros joined on river boards!! It was a hoot! Our adventure started with picking up our good friend from Ecuador, Jaime Dalgo, who was just coming off a Tuolumne trip near Yosemite.  If you’ve paddled with us in Ecuador in recent years there is a good chance you’ve met Jaime as he works with us on our trips there. See more photos from our trip here.

Jaime somewhere on the extraterrestrial highway.

Wanting to show Jaime as much as we could on our way to the put in for the Grand we drove to Tenaya Lake in Tuolumne Meadows in time to cook up a quick dinner at lake’s edge while watching the sun set on the surrounding domes and peaks.  From there it was a night under the stars near Mono Lake before driving East the following day to Zion National Park.  The next morning Jaime and Phil got in a quick dash up the Virgin River Narrows in the park before we had to leave to meet the raft guides at the warehouse in Arizona to prep the trip.

On the 8th, six of us left the warehouse and drove to Lees Ferry where we dropped the two big rafts that would carry all of our stuff for the next fourteen days into the river, finished rigging them, then headed up to Marble Canyon Lodge to meet with the group.

At 8:00 a.m. on the 9th we all drove the fifteen minutes to the boat ramp at Lees Ferry and the start of our trip.

The first 8 days gave us rain off and on assuring that the Colorado River would live up to it’s Spanish name (red). At the confluence with the Little Colorado, 60 miles down from the put in, there was no white in the whitewater! The waves looked like crashing piles of mocha pudding. Amazingly it never rained on breakfast and dinners, so it wasn’t bad. Our tents had time to dry out in camp before the next shower. And we got lightening, and thunder that reverberated down the inner gorge!, stunning light shows with sun on cliff and clouds and water! Our flow this year was a constant 16,000cfs plus, that’s twice what we had the same time last year. Combine that with all the runoff from the rain and Hermit rapid was as big as I’ve ever seen it! What a rush and what fun!

Bryan L. ignores the easy line and goes for the gusto on Horn Creek.

We did all the classic Grand Canyon hikes and then some! North Canyon, Nautiloid, Nankoweap, Hilltop ruins and overlook at Unkar, Carbon-Lava Chuar up and over, Surprise Valley (Thunder river to Deer Creek), Havasu, Matkat, Shinumu, Elves, Blacktail, and others. We saw petroglyphs, pictographs, granaries, fossils, ruins, fern grottos, big horn sheep and mind blowing geology.

Jeff D. using the layering system, Blacktail Canyon.

For the second half of the trip clouds gave way to sun and we soaked up it’s warmth- sometimes causing us to seek the cool of the shade.  The newly washed sky and diminishing moon light made the stars shine bright at night- what brilliant stars there are.

All too quickly the 14 days flew by and another river family parted ways. We said goodbye to the group and to Jaime who would fly home to Ecuador in less than a weeks time.

Kyle Hooker gives a solo performance in the Grand Canyon concert hall.

After breaking down the trip Phil and I drove out to Toroweap on the North Rim, a 60 mile drive on dirt and ROUGH road in our van. We had a couple offers from doubtful jeepers we met to tow us if we needed one (we didn’t)! Toroweap looks directly down on the river and Vulcan’s Anvil, one mile up from Lava. Phil had a heyday taking photographs of the amazing views, we were there for 2 cycles sunset and sunrises.

We used binocs to watch the groups on the river below scout and run Lava! One group, made up of inflatable kayaks, might have well just jumped in after their duckies and swum from the top! Altho there was good support, a group of 9 duckies all swam out the bottom. A few got through the V-wave only to get clobbered by the Kahuna. Most bit it at the V-wave.

Here are our runs at Lava when we were there with our group 4 days earlier (Courtesy of Steph L.).

Here are some additonal trip photos courtesy of Len G. from our trip.

After Toroweap we stopped to see Horseshoe bend, where the Colorado River takes a 270 degree bend 3 miles down from Glen Canyon dam. It was strange to see the Colorado all green and clear.

The Colorado River has cut a huge oxbow through the rock at Horseshoe Bend.

We took the most beautiful, leisure route home. It’s nice to be home now and we are enjoying our mild California fall weather and the rain! Phil just cleaned our wood stove and there’s a fire now. On Nov 3rd Phil leaves for Bhutan. I am home until we leave for Ecuador Dec 8.

Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking all rights reserved.

Preparing to load gear into the plane for the flight to Indian creek.

As they rigged the crew saw other outfitters deadheading , bringing rafts without passengers down from Boundary Creek. They would pick up their guests at the Indian Creek airstrip and continue on. Of the groups running from the top most had tales of at least one raft in their party flipping. At those flows an upside down boat can go miles before you find an eddy large enough to push it into.  Meanwhile, downstream, two private groups located in and around the Flying B ranch had called it quits and flew out.  A forest service crew in rafts said their gps had shown them going 16 mph through the Artillery section just upstream of Pistol.

The ramp at Indian Creek.

We originally had twelve folks for our June 25th start and had begun calling them two weeks out to let them know things might be high.  One week out, when it looked like the peak runoff was delayed and would fall on or near our launch date we canceled.

That didn’t keep some of us from tracking the melt. Just shy of using a fortune-teller we were studying the Salmon drainage carefully; snow/water content, weather, freeze/ thaw, NOAA and USGS projections and historical flows were all consulted to try to come up with a reasonable guestamet of what and when the peak would be. In the end we weren’t far off.

Camp at Little Soldier.

With just two days left before our launch we were on again.  On the morning of the 25th nine of us flew from Salmon, ID with seven kayaks and all our bags to join the other guides at Indian Creek. There would be strong five kayaking guests, one raft passenger and five guides; two of those were Mary and myself in kayaks.

Here’s Mary’s list of notable moments from the trip.

Flying into Indian Creek at mile 25- wow! and how much snow!
Paddling 2 miles then hike up to the mine at Pungo and lunch

First Camp at Mile 31- 6 miles from Indian to Little Soldier Camp on river right, all green in the upper part of the river. Colleen’s pineapple-upside-down cake.
Next day handing off the radio to the rafts at Marble. Running down the right at Ski Jump, after the log that stuck out from shore. Sunflower hot springs
Passing the Middle Fork Lodge gauge, lunch at Cameron with the pictographs, pit dwellings and obsidian point that Colleen showed us. Morlee tests her roll in the eddy from hell. Decides she won’t flip any more.

A full-flowing Loon Creek above the gorge and hot springs.

Second night at Mile 49- Loon, checking out the creek on the hike up to the bridge, the hot springs, steak dinner!
Next day we have rapids!! Continuous wave trains from Grouse through the Tappans.

Third night at Mile 60- arriving at Camas for lunch/camp and hiking up the creek and/or up the ridge. gofer snake doing laps around camp.
Next day we stop at Flying B for ice cream, run Bernard and Haystack, and the lonnngggg BIG, wavetrains of Jack Creek into camp.

A view looking upstream on the Middle Fork at Camas Creek camp.

Mile 71.5- Little Pine Camp river left with the 360 view including a view back up to Flying B. A “concurred” siting of a blue grouse on the hike. Shade tarp in camp. sheep and lambs stroll through.
Next day we get a taste of “boily, boily, boily” water. Steve tests his roll and decides Morlee’s got it right, and he won’t flip anymore either. Hike to top of Waterfall Creek and lunch at the confluence with Big Creek. Rattle snake at our tie-up spot. The microburst and the 15 ft high water spout! So funny with us all sitting geared up on shore! Catching just 2 eddies after lunch, the first after 4.5 miles of continuous waves and just above Redside, the second eddy being camp at Cradle! Happy to find both Redside and Weber BIG but no holes or hits. Mist Falls coming in on the right below Weber. “More boily, boily, boily” water. How can that boily stuff travel 10 miles an hour? Arn and Phil compute this speed.

A nasty looking drop just up from camp on Camas Creek.

Mile 88.5- The waterfall across from Cradle Camp.  “Concurred” Cedar Waxwings congregated in the dead tree. Last night’s camaraderie and no one wants to fold. Microburst sends us scurrying and we wonder if Tom and his tent will pull a Mary Poppins!
Next day a “leisure” start with Lower Cliffside as our wake-up rapid, what a start to an amazing day! 7 miles in 40 minutes to the bottom of all the big stuff. The rapids flowed one into the next and we didn’t catch many eddies because of the weird-water- Rubber, Hancock, Devil’s Tooth, House Rock, Jump-Off- more “boily, boily, boilys” down to the confluence with the Main, and then more “boily, boily, boilys”.

Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking all rights reserved.

We’ve just finalized our dates for our kayaking and cultural trips to the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan during the Fall of 2012.  We’ll be offering a class II-III+ Oct 23- Nov. 4  that features a rafting option for non-kayakers and a class IV kayaking trip Nov. 6th – 18.  This is a big adventure in a small country so we recommend you start planning early.

In addition to our time on the river we’ll have opportunities to walk the countryside, learn about the country and it’s culture,visit temples and monasteries and relax.

Learn more about it at our website www.adventurekayaking.com or drop us a line.

Steve does a demo of his wet exit progression minus the wet.

We had a super fun crew of eager instructors-in-training join us for a five day combo ACA (American Canoe Association) development and certification course surrounding the Memorial Day weekend.  Classroom sessions were based out of our house here in the Coloma/Lotus valley and on-the-water development was never more than a ten minute drive away. We experienced weather that was all over the board, from rain to sun, hot and cold and flows that were bouncing between 2500 and 4000 cfs.

Mary leads a discussion on the teaching tips for the roll.

The gang didn’t let the cold get them down as we practiced bow rescues, “hands of god” and dealing with a yard sale on the water- all of which meant they were getting wet while practicing. In addition we worked on chalk talks, on-the-water progressions, tips and tricks for trouble shooting, video review, group management, logistics, course planning and stroke development. These classes are a super fun sharing of ideas for everyone involved  and we too come away with new tools and tricks for our classes as well.

A new group of instructors is ready to roll.

Students from as far away as Washington and Colorado made the journey. Thanks to Brandy, Rene, Max, Kevin, Steve, Collin, Sam, Lena and Eric. We look forward to seeing you all out there on the water bringing in the next wave of boaters.

Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking all rights reserved.