Mary approaches a horizon line rapid on the Rio Piatua.
Returning home in early December from our fall season in Bhutan, we did some quick visiting with friends and family before departing for Quito, Ecuador on Christmas day. Not long after our arrival, we traveled over the mountains to the east and the Quijos drainage, the starting point for our whitewater kayaking trips.
Matt Terry busting a move on the Rio Piatua.
(Is it O.K. that I am sitting in a hotel in Quito, Ecuador while writing about part of our trip in Bhutan this last fall? The reality is, if I don’t do it now, it will never happen and our time there was just too special not to write about!)
Part of the multi- storied fabirc religious banner, or Thondrol, is seen hanging from the Trashi Chhoe Dzong in Thimphu.
Between the Class II/III cultural trip we had just finished and the Class III-IV+ that was about to start, we found ourselves with an unscheduled day and a half. We had planned to spend it in the town of Paro where the airport is located, and where we could do laundry and relax while waiting for the next group to arrive. Instead, we received a last minute surprise from Ugyen, our generous Bhutanese outfitter. The gift was in the form of a hotel room in Thimphu on the eve of the coronation of the fifth king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. (Thimphu, the capital, is located east of Paro, just over an hour away.) We weren’t sure how much of the actual ceremony we were going to be able to see, but we couldn’t pass it up.
Since our arrival in country on October 4th we had watched people hard at work preparing the roadways, temples and dzongs for the upcoming event. Roads were decorated with arches, banners and prayer flags.
The van we used during our week of scouting passes under a decorative arch on the road between Punakha and Thimphu prior to the coronation.
Prayer flags and paddlers on the Chumkar Chu.
While our time in Bhutan began in early October, our first group of kayakers arrived on October 24th. All were familiar faces. Everyone had been on trips with us before. Although for a few, many years had passed. So we enjoyed quite a reunion, sharing pictures of new family members and stories of our last adventures together. Mary and I met folks at the airport along with our driver Hari, cultural guide Karma, Kali, an excellent kayaker and raft guide from Nepal (whom we met in Bhutan in 2006) and Tinley, a Bhutanese kayaker on the fast track to becoming a very strong paddler and guide.
The only airport in the country is located in Paro. Situated in the west, Paro is the second largest town in the country (with some 36,000 people including outlying areas). The flight in is both breathtaking and thrilling; breathtaking with views of the Himalaya and thrilling because the airport is nestled in a narrow valley that results in one of the most interesting approaches I have ever experienced in a commercial airliner.
Dzongs, like this one in Trongsa, were one time fortresses that now serve as monasteries and government buildings in one.
The class II-III group at the confluence of the Mo (mother) and Po (father) rivers with the Punkha Dzong behind.
We are just back from running trips in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and preparing to leave again for our winter season in Ecuador. Lots of folks have been asking to see images and other information about Bhutan and we will be posting reports as we can. In the mean time, here are links to some galleries that two of the participants on our class III-IV+ trip have posted. Enjoy and do check back.
Kuzuzangbo la,
Phil and Mary
Photos and content ©DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking, all rights reserved.
Approaching the Sawtooth Mountains outside of Stanley, Idaho.
How do you fill the gap created by not posting for five months? Simply buck up and get on with it, is what I have come to realize. With that, I will jump from the lush jungles of Ecuador of my last posting, to the alpine setting of the Middle Fork of the Salmon.
For many years now we’ve been running two trips on the Middle Fork Salmon in Idaho, with ECHO providing excellent raft-support. Our trips start June 25th and July 3rd. These late spring dates allow for friendly, playful water levels and stable weather- key ingredients for a six-day camp trip
The upward trend of the MF gauge one week prior to our put in.
This year while our home state of California had a short-lived spring melt, spring in Idaho was dragging on and on! Cold temps and late-season snow delayed the run off. When it did begin to warm, the charted daily flows of the Middle Fork looked like the EKG of a recovering heart patient. Our concern, should the trend continue, would be high water -in the 7 to 8 foot range. We were getting mixed reports about the amount of snow left in the Sawtooth Mountains, the headwaters of the Middle Fork. We wouldn’t know for sure until we got to Stanley and saw for ourselves.
Much to our relief, and none too soon, we watched the gauge tip and the level begin to slide slowly downward. Arriving in Stanley, we were comforted by the diminished amount of snow we saw remaining in the mountains. Our put-in flow was a fast but manageable 4.44 ft on June 25th and 3.63 ft. on July 3rd. Previous years we’ve had anywhere from 1.88 ft. to 4.25 ft. This reminded us of two things; Idaho is unpredictable and normal isn’t normal anymore.
I’m kicking off this entry with what I think is a really fun group shot that captures the feel of Ecuador; equatorial sunlight filtering through the trees of a lush, vegetated side-canyon.
Our Feb 2-10 group in Slot Canyon, tributary to the Jatunyacu.
This side-hike is accessed from the river and if you didn’t know where to look, you could float right past it. There must be many of these little canyons that snake their way into the rivers we run. You could spend a life time looking for, and exploring them. Impossible to get them all, but how fun it would be to try.
While our paddling began in the Quijos valley, the real story begins on the other side of the Guacamayo Mountains in the Tena area. Once upon our time, many years ago, the upper reaches of the Rio Misahualli experienced a slide that dammed the river, cutting off all flow downstream! When it finally gave way, the resulting wall of water damaged bridges, flooded roads, and greatly rearranged the river’s rapids. Fortunately, no people were killed and the damage to homes and property was minimal. In the river channel itself, classic boofs were robbed of their abrupt gradient, rocky labyrinths were straighten, eddies were silted in and wood was left high and dry, with the occasional piece choking off a drop. Thankfully over time, the river began returning to it’s classic character. It has been a reliable friend, providing many with their first taste of continuous, technical creekin’. The Upper Mis invariably ends up ranking quite high on everyone’s List Of Favorite Rivers.
We’re not surprised by people’s desire to return to Ecuador, we’ve been coming back since 1995! This place is amazing. And our Jan 26th trip was dominated by Ecuador alumni, some from previous years and two from the prior week (you’re allowed to do that you know).
Mike W. and Mark B. staying on for week #2.
Mike W. and Mark B. used the afternoon between trips to relax and site-see in the Quijos Valley. They ventured, sans kayaks, to San Rafael falls. At 435 feet, it is the tallest waterfall in the country.
Joining us from our neck of the woods in California were Scott B. and Nini R. This was Nini’s second trip to Ecuador and she brought her husband Mike P. along. They celebrated a double birthday with a warm water run on the Quijos! Here for his seventh time, Bob B., a C-1er from Arkansas, was accompanied by his partner Jonna, yet another Ecuador alum! Last minute additions, Matt C. (alum) and Arianne M. rounded out the group.
Four guides and two vehicles allowed each member of the group the flexibility to choose the river option that was best for their daily energy level and mood. Team DAK was supported by guide/instructors Matt Terry and Jaime Dalgo. Lucky us!
Weather-wise, it was starting to feel as if the “dry” season had really arrived. Water levels registered at friendly flows and choices abounded. Our warm-up run was part of Chaco Canyon of the Quijos River. The following day we all had fun on the warm-up section of the Cosanga. Part of the group continued downstream through the Cosanga Gorge with Jaime Dalgo and Phil, while Mary and the rest of the gang headed back to finish off and play our way down Chaco Canyon. The full day left everyone feeling tired and super satisfied.
During our week off between trips, we found ourselves answering the call of some of Ecuador’s finest! Jaime Dalgo and Gaston Sanchez, two stellar kayakers and instructors, were looking for an ACA Instructor update. These two are a part of the future of the sport here. Along with Tarquino Yanguez, these professional young boaters have taken ACA Instructor, Swiftwater Rescue and Wilderness First Responder Courses and keep current with their CPR from the Ecuadorian Red Cross.
Jaime and Gaston, part of the future of kayaking in Ecuador.
Looking forward to time on the river together, we volunteered and spent a fun and informative day. Classroom work completed, we headed to the excellent Class II teaching stretch of the Middle Misahualli to review strokes, discuss progressions, and answer as many questions as we could for them.
