Small World Adventures--Kayak Ecuador

Boof Baby Boof!

2012-01-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

Ken dwarfed by the Piatua's giant boulders

For our first trip of 2012 we had a group of boof-junkies come down to Ecuador to sample some of the country's finest technical runs.

Josephine nailing her boof stroke timing--she is getting some sweet disconnection with the water!

They came from Colorado, California, Alberta, Washington and Germany. Even though we had a big diversity in geographies, they all shared the common goal of wanting to BOOF. This was our Intro to Creeking IV- trip and so we spent as much time possible working on a refining all the components that make up a good boof--edging, timing, type of stroke, stroke placement, body movement and body positioning.

The gang, stoked to have some sunshine and Pilsiners in Baeza on the way home from the Rio Cosanga

Everyone agreed that getting really good at boofing is a really hard thing to do. There are so many factors to get right, and to get right at the right time. But the only way to get better is to get out there and do it as often as possible!

Scott showing us that edging is cool! See how it's allowing him to get a better stroke with that right paddle blade?

So we practiced boofing over holes (both big and small), off the shoulders of rocks, off steep ledges (mini-waterfalls) and off the peaks of waves. Each feature offered its own unique challenges and gave each paddler a new tool for their creeking repertoire.

Brad executing the oh-so-crucial take off stroke. See how nice and vertical his paddle is?

By the end of the week, everyone was nailing boofs with a much higher rate of success than they had been day 1 of the trip. Which meant everyone was smiling a much higher percentage of the time as well!

Anson navigating "dispensable Ensign" He's cleared the 1st boof of the rapid and is setting up for the 2nd one

There is a lot, intellectually, that goes into boofing, but the number one way to improve is to just go practice on the rivers. Especially if you can paddle with someone who is good at boofing and can help you with pointers along the way. And don't fall into the common mis-conception that you need a perfect "boof spot" to practice on. That's not true! You can practice on a wide variety of features, like I mentioned above.

The basic concept involves keeping your nose on the surface to go up and over something, to free your boat from the surface of the water, and to hear that "boof" noise as you re-connect with the water.

Alex showing good body positioning as he pulls up on his knees to keep his Habitat's nose above on surface on this hole

You can even practice the edging and the stroke timing as you are peeling into eddies. If you are eddying out on river right for example, instead of getting on your right edge to "peel into" the eddy, try coming in on your left edge, taking a huge left stroke and transitioning to your right edge for the final draw stroke (on the right side) and carve into the eddy. This practice won't give you the "boof" noise you are looking for but it will help you and your body understand the muscle movements involved in the crucial edge transition that must take place in a proper boof.

Greg waits in the pool below Disco-Tech as Don and the gang plan and plot their lines

A few more things to keep in mind while boofing: Being on edge while you initiate your boof is key. Many people forget this, but it's a hell of a lot harder to disconnect a flat boat from the surface of the water than it is to disconnect a boat that is nicely on edge. A well-edged boat will have 1/4-1/2 the surface area tension that a flat boat has.

2nd, take a big, usually vertical, paddle stroke at the lip of the drop while pulling up on your knees (engage those abs!) and lifting your nose to clear whatever obstacle you intend to boof over. And make sure you mean it when you take this stroke. It's a powerful, explosive stroke so put some energy behind it!

Maren--the German kayaking maniac--finishing "the rapid above the put in" on the Piatua

Next, timing is key! We've all seen the classic paddle as fast as possible to the lip of a drop and then do nothing but plop over with the paddle raised over head--no bueno! It doesn't take too many strokes to get a modern creek boat up to speed--1-2 good strokes will usually do the job. So concentrate more on your stroke timing, aiming to take that crucial boof stroke right at the lip of the drop, and don't worry so much about taking 15 "speed strokes" leading up to each ledge.

Then, don't forget to flatten out or even transition to your other edge as you land, AND TAKE ANOTHER PADDLE STROKE UPON LANDING--get the heck outta there and continue on your merry way, downstream to your next boof.

The Storm's-a-coming on the Rio Piatua but for the time being, it is still boof-landia

Of course, it's all a lot more complicated than what I've laid out here. These are just the basics and what good does it really do you sitting at the computer reading it all? To learn more about boofing, come to Ecuador with Small World Adventures and get 7 days of practice under your belt!

Small World Adventures

The Kayaking Chicas Invade!

2012-01-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sarah navigating the boulder gardens of the Upper Tena

Ecuador has many interesting traditions that are much different from our traditions in North America; but some of my favorites occur during New Years.

The Girls cruising down the Upper Misahualli. This was their New Year's Eve paddle. What better way to end 2011 than with an incredible creek run with beautiful jungle scenery?

This New Year's Eve, we had 12 camp counselors from Camp Merrie-Woode in North Carolina come down to help us celebrate. There were 11 women and 1 dude--a pretty awesome, but rare ratio for the rivers of Ecuador. The girls were all kayak instructors at their camp, and had awesome skills - BOMBPROOF rolls! - and were looking to step up their whitewater experience. It was great to have a group with great fundamentals ready to push the envelope. They were also super stoked to get to see some of Ecuador's cultural oddities as we approached New Year's Eve.

These girls were awesome! They were super fun to teach because they were eager to learn and they tried all the new things we suggested. Here Margaret is working it! She's got her boat on edge, and is taking a big left paddle stroke just like we talked about.

The weirdness all started when Larry stopped off at a store to buy what was, for all practical purposes, a doll. The girls thought, "what the hell? Larry seemed so manly and normal before, but now he's out shopping for a doll."

They also surfed when we told them to surf. Audry ripping it up on the Middle Misahualli.

Then then started seeing dolls all over Tena. They were tied to people's cars, sitting on people's front step, and seemingly normal people were carrying them around. So then the girls thought, "what the hell? I thought Ecuador was in Latin America were Machismo rules, and now almost EVERYONE is playing with dolls."

And best of all, they smiled for the camera when we told them to do that! Here's Sallie hamming it up for Don on the Rio Tena.

Then it became clear--these weren't dolls, they were Ano Viejos. An Ano Viejo is, bascially, a doll made out of regular clothes and stuffed with either saw dust or newspaper. They range in size from 2 feet tall, to 10 feet tall, and sport a variety of personalities.

Comer comer-ing (Spanglish for eating) some agua on the Rio Tena

People sell masks on the streets for the Ano Viejos and you can have your doll represent the likeness of a wide range of characters. For some reason, this year the smurfs and Bart Simpson seemed to be the most popular. In past years, George Bush has been a big hit. So, people start displaying their Ano Viejos usually around Jan. 30th. Then, on New Year's Eve at midnight, the tradition is to burn your doll, with the idea that you are burning away the old year and starting fresh with the new year.

Kieko (blurry), Katie and Sallie all smiles on their paddle down the Jatunyacu.

The next crazy tradition the girls (and JP) witnessed was the Viudas (or widows to those of us who speak English). This is a really funny custom and makes for some great laughs around town on New Year's Eve.

Caroline ripping it up on a surf wave on the Jatunyacu--AKA Upper Napo

The Viudas--Widows--are supposed to be the widows of the old year, so the widows of 2011. The idea is that, their husband--2011--has died and has left them penniless. With no pennies, a proper widow can't have a proper New Year's Eve celebration. So these widows block traffic and dance in the streets for the passing cars asking each of them to give money to the cause (yes, to the cause of a nice party on New Year's Eve).

JP, trip organizer and sole male of the group, showing some serious style on the Tena.

The funniest part about the widows is that they ain't no ladies! It's actually men dressing up as women to dance in the streets to beg money for their New Year's Eve party. Don't ask me how this tradition started, I don't even want to know!

Dudes dressed up like chics dancing in the streets

So, besides the fact that Greg somehow absconded with the girls Ano Viejo (that we named Azula) and burned her without the girls it was a great New Year's Celebration.

Greg showing off for the ladies with his "look no legs" surf. Too bad he pissed them off later by kid napping their Ano Viejo!

The best part about the whole thing is that we all paddled the Upper Misahualli River on New Year's Eve. It was a fun and challenging creek for the crew and a perfect way to end 2011.

Ingrid fighting intuition as she learns how to stern squirt on the Jatunyacu

Hopefully it was a New Year's that everyone will remember for a long time.

Keiko enjoying a New Year's day paddle down the Quijos River

Enjoy the rest of the photos, and thanks to the Camp Merrie-Wood crew for giving SWA a fun end of the year!

Katie staying focused in the super technical waters of Ecuador

La Senorita Margarita, stoked to be paddling in Ecuador with SWA!

A little shopping after boating at the market in Tena. It was all going so well until Tarquino started playing with the grubs...But, Comer did hold one in the end!

Hayes surfing it up in the Hero and enjoying paddling in a shorty top

Into the jungle we go girls!

Masks for sale on New Year's Eve.

Larry, so proud with his doll that he named Azula. Luckily he didn't have to stick around to see what Greg did later that night...

JP and Comer scouting and doing Jazz Hands

Mary Beth cooling off on the Upper Misahualli

The whole group in the town of Cosanga. Great week of paddling ladies (oh, and JP too)!

Small World Adventures

Living the Life in Ecuador

2012-01-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Greg picked up a hitch hiker on the Upper Misahualli. Don't worry, I'm sure the kid was at least 3 years old! However old he was, he was a much better swimmer than I most of us.

As I sit in Tena listening to the rain pounding down on the tin roof, I realize that one of the reasons I love Ecuador is because of the variability involved in living and working here. Yesterday the rivers were low and clear. Today, exactly 13 hours later, they are all brown and high. Things change fast around here and you have to be ready for everything!

Destin soaking in the scenery on the Middle Cosanga

Young Liam super stoked about kayaking in Ecuador

Fortunately, Ecuador has as much variety in its rivers as it does in its river levels. So, if it's low, there are great creek runs to do and if it's high there are great big water runs to do. If it's medium, you will be totally winning because you can more or less do everything! But the point is, no matter what the level, a smart kayaker can find a good run that day.

Darcy enjoying a perfect water level on the Upper Mis

The 2 weeks leading up to Christmas we mostly had medium water (ending with high water) and caught great levels on the Quijos, Cosanga, Oyacachi, Upper Misahualli, Upper Tena and Upper Anzu. Here are a few photos and updates from those last 2 weeks, so enjoy!

Don and Liam cruising down the Cosanga

Kiran boofing his way down Bob Sled on the Upper Mis

Typical traffic jam on the roads around the Quijos Valley

Another great thing about Ecuador is all the "weird" stuff you see here. It's 100% common place for the people who live here and grew up with it. But to most foreigners, it's all very different and amusing. The equivalent would be an Ecuadorian going to Seattle and being in awe of seeing 3 Starbucks on the same block, but to us that's normal. Here, you won't find any Starbucks. Just livestock in the roads, people herding cows on motorcycles, kids swimming down rapids we are kayaking, truck loads of plantains cruising down the highway, chickens on buses, and much, much more!

Shannan following Larry through a rapid on the Cosanga while Don looks on

Shannan was down here on a private beginner kayaking lesson. She had paddled 7 days prior to coming to Ecuador and was a total rock star! She progressed super fast and was able to run some solid Class III/III+ rivers by the end of the week like the Cosanga, Upper Misahualli and the upper sections of the Jatunyacu!

Stuart trying out the Stomper on the Quijos River. Thanks to Stuart, I have good photos of the paddlers who were with us over Christmas!

I love this shot of Larry on the Quijos at high water. The rippley wave in front of him really shows the power and the crazy way water moves when there is a lot of it going through a small space!

Then, the trip left just in time! We got in a great run on the Upper Cosanga on Saturday morning with rapidly raising water. By lunch time on Saturday, the river was HUGE! Luckily, the gang's week of paddling had come to a close and they were ready to head back to Quito and on to their next adventure--which all of them had next adventures--lucky! Shannan was off on a solo motor bike tour of Ecuador, Stuart was off to Europe to go snowboarding, Liam was off to the Galapagos, Kiran to Villcamamba and Destin was heading home to Wyoming--but in Wyoming, life is always an adventure!

Don plunging into the depths of a giant wave

Since all the guests were setting off on cool trips, the guides decided to have a little fun for themselves on Saturday afternoon. With Larry leading the charge, we headed up the Rio Borja and then into the Quijos to enjoy the rivers which were, by this time, totally bank full and offered up some big water awesome-ness for us.

SWA guides celebrating after an fantastic afternoon of high water boating

When we got back to the lodge, Don busted out his finest Tequila and we toasted to a good couple weeks and a good afternoon of boating. We were also celebrating the end of Greg's first week in Ecuador with us. He is a great addition to the SWA team and we love having him here!

PARTING SHOT

Uh...these will be your guides...Don't worry Don, Darcy and Larry are much more normal!

Small World Adventures

Edging in Ecuador

2011-12-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Mike styling this boof slot on the Upper Tena. After 3 days of big water paddling, Mike was stoked to get on some technical runs. It made him feel much more at home!

Learning to kayak in Ecuador!

Many people have the misconception that Ecuador is for advanced kayakers only.

It’s true that Ecuador has an amazingly high number of world Class IV-V runs packed into a tiny area; but what people often overlook are equally incredible Class II and III runs that the country also has to offer.

The group enjoying some sunshine and awesome jungle scenery on the Upper Misahualli

For the December 10^th week we had a group of 5 aspiring kayakers come to Ecuador to hone their Class II skills and break into the Class III realm of kayaking.

We worked on a wide variety of skills this week but Tarquino and I both decided that learning how to edge successfully and practicing this skill in a variety of river situations is probably the most important skill to for an up an coming Class III boater to work on (that and combat rolling of course! For more on the combat roll, check out our Nov. 26^th blog http://smallworldadventures.blogspot.com/2011/12/ever-important-but-often-elusive-combat.html)

Some very impressive fungus growing on an old log along the banks of the Rio Tena. The jungle is an amazing place that never ceases to amaze me

Why is edging important? Well, you need to have good control of your edges for pretty much everything you do in kayaking—peeling into and out of eddies, surfing waves, moving your boat from point a to point b in any given rapid, boofing and much more.

In the Class II/III stage of kayaking, gaining control over your edge is quite a difficult thing to do, but with practice, the skill will start to feel more and more natural until, eventually, you won’t even realize you are doing it anymore.

Linda learning how to surf on the "perfect practice waves" on the Middle Misahualli while Tarquino coaches from the eddy

First let’s start with the definition of edging…it’s pretty simple, it just means getting your boat on edge and maintaining this edge. Once you are on edge, you release 20-80% (depending upon just how much you get on edge!) of the hull’s surface area connection with the water, therefore making a myriad of kayaking moves easier.

To achieve an edge, start by weighting 1 butt cheek, pulling up on the opposite knee and more or less doing a sideways sit up--AKA the side crunch. Most new kayakers won’t have the strength for good edging, so it’s important to do these practice skills to build up those obliques to allow you edge better and more effectively in the river—edging will give you those abs you’ve always wanted! Actually doing side crunches at home will help you build the necessary muscles for edging in the river so as soon as you are finished reading this blog, hit the floor mat and do some sit ups!

John acts as life guard while some kids who were on a field trip from school try their hand at kayaking

To get the hang of edging, you need to start simply—just practice edging in the eddies. Edge to your left. Now hold it and see if you can balance. Take you paddle out of the water and find your balance point, try to hold it for 5 seconds. Now to the other side because you want to be comfortable on both edges!

Happy kids after having hijacked the kayaks! These kids were awesome--what, paddle around the Project 45 with 2 of my bigger friends sitting on it? No problem!

Practice holding the edge for 5 seconds to start, then build up to 10 and even 20 seconds. Once you can comfortably do this in the eddy and it’s not causing the “ab burn” so much anymore, put it into practice in moving water.

Apply that same edge as you peel out of the eddy into the current.

Kathy practicing her paddle stroke timing through one of Ecuador's many awesome wave trains

Find an easy Class II rapid and practice shifting from edge to edge as you go down the rapid. In this same easy rapid, start on the left side of the rapid and make a move to the right side. For this move, you’ll want to get on your left edge, take a sweep stroke on the left to turn your kayak towards the right (where you want to go) and now take some forward strokes while maintaining that left edge until you reach your destination on river right. Find a technical river with TONS of eddies. Peel into and out of every eddy you possibly can over exaggerating your edge transfer. This will help you build the strength, the balance, the muscle memory and the technique required for good edging.

John navigating the Misahualli's boulder garden rapids

Once you gain control over your edges and get good at “edging” you’ll find that you flip over less frequently and it’s all of a sudden so much easier to make those hard right to left cuts in the middle of a rapid. It will be easier to catch eddies and peel out of eddies and you’ll find you can eventually start using little eddies behind rocks in technical runs to make your moves. It will be easier to brace, and if it’s not clear by now, EVERYTHING about kayaking will be easier!

So get out there and work those edges!

PARTING SHOT

Life ain't so bad so remember to enjoy it!

Small World Adventures

Week off in Ecuador. Pusuno trip report--plus the Rio Suno and few local favorites

2011-12-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

Don having a nice line down the Pusuno falls

Weeks off are very few and far between for us down in Ecuador these days. For the 2011/2012 season we have exactly ONE week off which happened in the beginning of December. So, we knew we had to take full advantage of it and enjoy our free time while we could!

Don lending a little perspective to the low water on the Rio Pusuno. At an ideal flow, you would be able to boof off that giant block of rock in the center of the photo in between the slot on river right and the trickle of water on river left!

We all love guiding and showing people down the rivers of Ecuador, and we all love kayaking. People asked us if we were going to sleep in and relax and catch up with office work on our week off and we said, hell no! We are going boating!

And that’s what we did.

Darcy on the lead in rapid above the falls. Had this drop been anywhere else we wouldn't have even batted an eye; but since it was about 30 feet above the lip of the falls it was a little nerve wracking. The left shore was totally undercut and the right shore and a mini sieve and log in it. Middle was the place to be! Luckily it was pretty easy to get there.

Don and I started the week off with a trip down the Pusuno River near Tena. We have been skunked so many times before on this run and we were feeling lucky as we left Borja in the early morning hours and drove to the put in. Our sense of luck was false it would turn out and we arrived to the put in to find really low water despite recent rains. But it’s a darn long drive to the put in and we’d been turned away 3 times in the last 2 years and so we decided to just go for it. We thought it would be an interesting experiment to see how the river was at a silly low flow.

Darcy on the Pusuno Falls. Don got a cool, funky angle by laying on top of the ledge above the falls.

We had to walk most of the drops leading up to the waterfall. Someone who didn’t mind boat abuse could have run 1 extra which was about a 15 foot drop where you boofed the 1^st five feet, landed on a shelf of rock and then could slide the rest of the way down. The big waterfall itself was great, although it didn’t exactly feel great upon impact! The waterfall plunges roughly 40 feet into a beautiful amphitheater of rock. The Pusuno rock is much different than most of the other rivers in this area. It’s a layered limestone canyon—very tight and in tact above the falls and very shattered below the falls. Once you leave the plunge pool (you’ll want to hang out there for a little while as it’s a really special place) you’ll find yourself in a land of sieves.

The happy couple below the falls...ok, well somewhat happy couple. I was a little peeved at Don because his job was to bring the water and he forgot. I was wearing a drytop in the tropics (my fault, I know) and we had about 4 ounces of Gatorade between the 2 of us. I'd like to think it was my dehydration making me cranky...and it's not just that I'm a biaaaatch!

In the lower section of the run, big hunks of this limestone have fractured off the towering walls and landed in the river. The lower river bed is made up of pieces of broken off rock ranging in size from a small dorm-room refrigerator to a large house. It makes for some really cool rapids, but it also creates an incredible number of sieves. My advice for this section would be, boat scout with the utmost caution! If you can’t see the exit, it’s probably because there isn’t one!

This is the rapid directly below the falls and is indicative of things to come for the next 5 or so miles.

All and all the lower section was much better than we were anticipating with the low water. Don only portaged 3 times and I portaged 4. Again, someone willing to take more boat abuse could have run 1 more rapid. 2 of the rapids had zero water flowing above ground for the exits.

Sorry the shot is blurry but it's one of the only ones from the lower Pusuno. This was a sweet boof around one of the many giant boulders. When we weren't portaging sieves, there were some quality drops on this section of the river.

Next we were off to meet up with Larry to check out the Suno River near Loreto. I’d never been to Loreto before (never been past the Huaturacu River on the Tena-Loreto-Coca road) and so just seeing the new area was exciting! People have paddled the Suno before but it is unclear which sections have been run. We spent a lot of time asking around Loreto about access roads and such and then finally found the right guy who pointed us towards El Progreso (an ironically named town) and the end of the road that goes up river left.

Exploring is hard work! Larry and Rodrigo take a rest on a well-placed bench overlooking the Suno

The road follows the river, but in the upper sections it follows the river from thousands of feet up. We made our way to the end of the road where we met a nice family who said we could use their trail down to the river. The woman said it only takes her 15 minutes to get down to the river. She took one look at us and said maybe 20 for you. After 40 minutes, we reached the river! And we are no slouches when it comes to carrying our kayaks around. But, we were still no match for the Ecuadorian mom in her gum boots! It was an awesome jungle trail complete with Guans (a beautiful wild turkey-like bird), steep muddy walking and a cool forest experience.

Larry, immersed in the jungle on the way down to the Suno

The family who lived where we hiked in said they’d never seen any kayakers before. I think the road is newly finished to their place so that would make sense. If you are reading this and have paddled the Suno before, please post a comment on your access points, etc…we’d love to find out more info on this place! We only paddled the upper section so are interested in how the lower run is.

The 3 amigos on the shores of the Suno after the hike in. I'm lucky to work with, live with and be best friends with these guys. Good company is part of what makes my Ecuador experience so special!

The run wasn’t overly challenging, I’d say it is Class III+ with a little IV- and all boat scoutable. The special part about the run was how incredible the scenery was. There were huge trees along the river banks and pristine rainforest as far as you could see. Loreto is very out of the way to pretty much anything, but if you are in Ecuador for a long time and want to see a new part of the country, it’s worth the trek. You can bus to Loreto then find a local taxi driver to take you up river left to El Progreso then beyond to the end of the road. Start hiking here!

Larry cruising through a typical rapid on the Suno River

After the Suno, we headed back to the Quijos where we woke up to find our home river at 8 on the gauge. We all hopped in at the lodge and paddled the Borja Run, El Chaco Canyon, Bom Bon Canyon and all the way down through Gringos Revueltos and the Lower Quijos. El Torro rapid was HUGE and really fun! Sorry, no photos...we didn't get out of our boats once in the 24 miles from our lodge through the Lower Quijos!

Larry and Don relaxing on the streets of Loreto, drinking a beer and guarding the maxi pad section of the store.

With the exception of 2 weeks so far this season, we’ve had lots of rain and really awesome water levels. While all this water trumped some of our plans for exploration this week, it made for some other fun times around our home rivers.

Local Chiva bus. By far the best way to travel around the hot areas of Ecuador!

Giving up on the runs we wanted to do if we had low water, we headed a bit north to enjoy the high water on our local rivers.

Bird at the take out of the Suno. It's not a Guan, but somewhat similar...

It was a great week off! Tiring, but refreshing at the same time.

Now we are ready for the big push—working everyday from now until March 5^th

^{Beautiful sky and clouds after a major rainstorm}

It’s going to be great! We can’t wait to introduce Ecuador’s amazing rivers to all these new boaters—including, perhaps, a couple new discoveries from our week off…

Don, having a little fun at the take out

--Kawabunga baby!

Visiting Ecuador is about a lot more than just the boating. It's about seeing different things that we don't typically get to see in North America or Europe like a truck overloaded with plantains slowing chugging down the road

Don Beveridge soaking in the fact that he is a kayaker who lives in Ecuador, gets to see amazing places on a daily basis, and has a really great life

Small World Adventures

The Ever Important but Often Elusive Combat Roll

2011-12-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

Maren walking down the river trail in front of Small World Adventure's lodge to paddle the Pica Piedra section on the Rio Qujos

Combat Rolling—the mental game.

The combat roll to a kayaker, is the like dribble to a basketball player. It should be instinctual, reactionary, a thoughtless process.

Michael Jordan never worried out on the court if he pushed the ball to the floor, would it bounce back up? Would he hit it off his shoe, or trip and fall? Sure, any of these things could theoretically happen, but I’d be willing to bet he was never concerned about any them during a game!

Once you find this Michael-Jordan-Zen with your combat roll, your skills will progress in a way you never imagined could be possible.

Gunnar blasting out of one of the large waves in the rapid just out in front of SWA's lodge

Your kayaking life will improve greatly once you no longer spend every minute on the river worrying, “will I tip over?” Or saying, “Be careful, don’t hit that wave, you might flip” “all my friends are learning to surf, but I shouldn’t try, I’ll flip.”

Once these thoughts no longer pervade your thinking your kayaking will explode in a series of awesome breakthroughs and cause you to have a hell of lot more fun out there on the river!

The crew enjoying a blue bird day on the Upper Misahualli

So, how does one master the combat roll? It’s a very individual question and takes different training and different periods of time for everyone, so the number one thing is to not get frustrated with yourself. This is very hard to do, but don’t beat yourself up. You won’t gain anything from that. So what if Jenny got her roll before you did, that doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you eventually master the skill, and if you keep working at it you will.

A cool perspective of Milling in the chaotic river waters

One mistake that most kayakers make is to learn the basics of a roll, maybe get a shaky one or two in the pool and then head to the river. It’s natural; we are kayakers, we want to go down river, not to sit in some boring pool! But, if you have a crappy pool roll, how do you ever expect to get a roll in the river when currents are doing strange things to you and you’re nervous because there might be rocks or big waves or holes coming?

So the number one thing to do is get a SOLID, BOMBER, AWESOME pool roll down. It’s a safe, controlled environment so you need to take the time to hone in your technique here—not on the chaotic, uncontrolled river.

Dropping into Lower El Chaco Canyon--enjoying a little scenery before hitting the rapids

I didn’t have the 1^st clue about rolling for the first 3 months of my kayaking career. I swam so much that I became an expert at pulling all my gear and my crushed ego out of the water. But, finally, I got really sick of swimming, sick of holding up the group, sick of being afraid to try things, that I said I wasn’t going to kayak down a river again until I could roll. I went to the pool and learned my on-side roll. Then I learned my off-side roll, then I learned a hand roll on both sides. I’d do 25 rolls in a row on each side because that tired me out and I felt like maybe it began to simulate a river experience. Once I was so bored with my pool roll and felt confident because I never missed anymore, I went back to the river.

Some local school girls from Cotundo checking out the kayaks and posing for photos

I didn’t swim after that (well, I swam a LOT less often). I could tip over in rapids, in surf waves, in holes and I rolled up! It was the most liberating feeling I could have imagined. In a matter of months, I went from “that girl that swims everything” to a respectable kayaker all because I could now push myself without the fear that tipping over = swimming. I began to surf waves, play in holes, try harder lines in the rapids, try harder rivers and it was such an amazing feeling—I’d recommend it to anyone!

Dee taking advantage of the warm weather to paddle in just her rash guard and PFD!

To get your solid pool roll you should:

--take a class from someone who really knows how to teach. (someone who knows how to roll, is much different than someone who knows how to teach the roll)

--video yourself so you can see what you are doing right and what you need to work on

--spend more time than you think you need to in the pool

Larry looks on as Claire and Gunnar contemplate surfing the "Thing"

But, having a solid, flawless, awesome pool roll doesn’t always translate into automatic combat rolling. Getting over the fear of being upside down in a moving river is still a big hurdle. But there are ways you can train yourself to overcome this fear.

A few things you can do:

--take that pool roll to the river eddies. This is a nice and relatively controlled space, but it will feel different. It’s probably colder than the pool, and you might feel some movement, so do tons of rolls in eddies. Always be practicing every time you catch an eddy

--Flip over in moving water—not necessarily a rapid at first—just moving water and roll.

--Once you are comfortable, have your friends flip you over in moving water (when they know it’s deep)! This will give you the “unexpected” feeling you’ll have when you accidentally tip over

--Find a small and deep rapid on your home river and purposely flip in it. You’ll feel the different currents tugging at your body, your boat, your paddle. Roll up; are you facing up river, down river? Either way, be ready to paddle and prepare for what’s coming up next

The group chilling on the banks of the Quijos enjoying a sunny lunch break. From the left: Tarquino, Claire, Maren, Larry, Gunnar, Kim--front row--Dee, Phil, Milling

Once you feel comfortable with everything here, you’ll be ready. You’ll probably find at this point that combat rolling ain’t so bad after all.

But it all takes time, practice, and hard work. It’s going to be boring, it’s going to be frustrating and it will piss you off. But if you can persevere through all this, the reward will be well worth the suffering.

PARTING SHOT

Ummm...I don't even know what to say

Small World Adventures

Paddling New Rivers to Help your Progression from Class IV to Class V

2011-12-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Joey picking his way through one of the many boulder gardens on the Lower Cosanga

We had a fired up crew of boaters last week, and they were a cool group to watch progress. All of them had pretty strong Class IV skills and they are all pushing into the IV+ and even V realm.

One thing we thought about this week was how valuable it is to go out and see new rivers to really push your comfort zone without necessarily pushing your skills beyond their limits.

David showing off his boofing prowess on the Piatua River

To clarify a little bit:

What I am about to explain holds true for ALL kayakers. For those going from Class III to IV, or even Class I up to Class II; but I think it’s especially important for kayakers who are making the transition from Class IV to Class V. When you start talking about Class V, how you take that next step is extremely important and a decision that should be well thought out and planned. It’s one thing to progress from running Class II to taking your 1^st plunge into a Class III rapid. It’s easy to find Class III rapids that are very safe. So, what the hell, go for it! If you mess up or swim, there is a good chance you’ll come through the experience relatively unscathed.

Darcy helping the boys pick out some very stylish soccer socks to give them a little protection from the ankle-biters (aka No-See-Ums) around Tena. Luckily they settled it like gentlemen but I think the yellow pair was highly sought after!

But that is definitely not the case when you are talking about a Class V rapid. The lines are hard to make and there are consequences—that is what defines Class V. So, it’s not always easy (or safe) to take the plunge into Class V. You want to make sure you are ready—both physically and mentally—for the challenge.

Craig making his way down the Upper Piatua. This rapids offers all the challenge of a VERY low volume, technical creek, but with the push of a bigger river.

What we find can help a great deal is just to paddle a variety of different rivers in the Class IV and IV+ range. In reality, it’s great to do laps on your local Class IV run to hone in your skills, but once you learn every line, every rock, every feature, you are no longer learning or pushing your skills in a very effective manner.

Steve showing off said socks. He even retro-fitted his pair so he could wear them with his flip flops and his Vibram "5 Finger" shoes.

So seek out new rivers! You don’t have to come all the way to Ecuador to do that (although it is a great way to see a lot of new rivers in a short period of time). Travel throughout your home state or your region and do as many new IV/IV+ runs as you possibly can. Even if you are following people through these runs you will be amazed at how many new river features you can discover. When people show you the lines, you still have to do the paddling for yourself and you’ll be completely immersed in the new character of the river. If you aren’t following someone, you’ll have to work harder to read the water, read the currents, the features, and the geology. Each time you do this, you’ll learn something and become a better, more experience paddler.

Wayne and Steve get to star in their own little "mini-video" segment. Together they highlight some of the variety we got to hit up on this week of Class IV rivers.

I’ve paddled a lot of rivers in my 14 years of kayaking and no two are the same. Each river—even each section of river—will have something new for you. Whether it’s a differently shaped boof, crazy boils, reactionary waves, or waterfall with nice rolling take off, it’ll all be new. And we can learn a lot by exposing ourselves to new things!

Doug punching holes in "Cease Fire" rapid on the Bridge to Bridge Section of the Quijos

This will help you really dial in your skills while paddling out of your comfort zone (not necessarily paddling beyond your skill level, just out of the “home” comfort zone). It’s easy to turn your brain off on your home run—paddle to river left, punch a hole, boof right, eddy out. It’s easy to get a run so dialed in that you no longer think or challenge yourself when you are paddling. You can get lulled into a "cruising" state of kayaking; and the perfect way to knock yourself out of that is a change of scenery!

Giving the kayaks a rest while the kayakers eat lunch and enjoy a sunny day on the river.

The great thing about paddling on new rivers is that you really can test yourself without stepping it up a grade. Again, when we are talking about the jump into the Class V realm, this is a much safer way to begin.

Kim navigating the big waves and technical moves of the Cosanga River

Once you’ve run tons of new rivers at different water levels and begin to feel more and more comfortable with the new things you’ve seen, then go back to that home run, look at some of the Class V drops and see if your perspective has changed. If it no longer looks insurmountable and you can see the line and envision yourself styling it, well then, you are ready!

Darcy boofing her way through life down here in Ecuador

And remember to never push it until you truly are ready. We all love kayaking because is is fun (remember SWA's motto, "What's Wrong With Just Fun") and if you are scared or are getting yourself into trouble, it is no longer fun. So be safe out there, have fun, and go paddle some new runs!

Small World Adventures

Pusu NO River, Ecuador

2011-11-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

Rio Pusuno falls at above optimum flows. The falls itself was good to go it was just the before and after that were problematic. The lead in was definitely spicy and then once you had to exit this lovely plunge pool you would have literally paddled into the gates of hell!

We had a group of hard chargers from Durango, CO and Bend, OR last week. These boyz weren't F-ing around. They partied hard and kayaked even harder! Every night we were convinced that at least 1 or 2 wouldn't be able to boat in the morning; but they always turned up to breakfast bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (oh, well, at least they always showed up) ready to paddle.

Danny, not afraid to show a little style in the jungle

Some of the guys had been to Ecuador before and for others it was their first time to South America. All of them took full advantage of exploring a new place with a new culture and new rivers. It was really fun to have a group so completely stoked to be in a new place.

Dan navigating the numerous holes on the Cheesehouse section of the Quijos

Having seen some videos online, the crew was super stoked to check out the Pusuno River near Tena. We were a bit skeptical because the Pusuno is one the most difficult rivers to catch at a proper flow. It's super finicky, and, while it's usually too low to run, it gets way too high quite easily as well. The river has actually been nicknamed the Rio Pusu NO because of how often groups get skunked up there. But we were also really excited because it's very rare to get a group who wants to go to this river.

Tarquino, jungle guide to the maximo, declares the Pusuno too high

So we thought we'd better give it a whirl! We figured if it was too low, we could always boat the lead in drops, run the falls and then, using a little rope work, get back up and hike back to the car.

The boys contemplating the odds of surviving the rapids leading up to the falls

Some overnight rain in Tena left everyone with high hopes of a good level on the Pusuno. As we drove there, the side creeks coming from a similar drainage looked promising...then some of them looked a little too promising! We arrived to the Pusuno to find it at an unfriendly high level.

Cruise, ripping it up on the Quijos

So, after a few minutes of looking at the 1st drop, then looking around for eddies, and eventually deciding that it just wasn't good to go, we went for a nice jungle hike with Tarquino, checked out the run, the falls, the jungle, saw a few monkeys and called it a day.

Monkey eye balling the weird gringos with cameras, sunglasses and gatorade. Tony's sunglasses temporarily fell victim to a curious monkey. But after banging them on the tree a few times, the monkey dropped the glasses back to Tony.

We headed back to the Quijos Valley for a run down the Cheesehouse section, some playboating, beer and tequila drinking around the lodge and then a morning at the hot springs before heading back to Quito.

Tony styling Tres Huevos and expediently paddling away from the cave/hole afterwards

Tony was then off to meet his wife and drag himself up Cotopaxi--19,347 feet tall. But don't worry, he trained all week with 20 ounce Pilsiner curls! And, our lodge is over 5,000 feet so that's some acclimatization, eh?

The Crew

Cruise, Joel, and Danny were off to Montanita to do some surfing and to try to re-live the movie Point Break. I hear the local surfers are quite territorial out there! But, if anyone could handle them, it's these 3.

Luke, taking advantage of a bluebird day in the Quijos Valley to do a little playboating

Dave, Luke and Dan headed back to their homes, hopefully a little better prepared to face the winter after one last romp in the tropical paradise of Ecuador.

Joel and Dave making their way down the Upper Jondachi

Beautiful jungle along the banks of the Pusuno

Small World Adventures

Training on Ecuador's Rivers for a Source to Sea Expedition Down the Amazon

2011-11-25T11:11:00.002-07:00

John navigates the lead in of the rapid Chibolo (bump on the head) on the Rio Cosanga. This move is only the beginning as there is still about 100 meters of rapid left!

David was a nerdy computer programmer sitting at his desk in London when he learned of some crazy people that had done a source to sea expedition down the Amazon River. For some reason, this story sparked an intense curiosity in him and he began planning and plotting.

We were lucky enough to have clear skies on the drive to our lodge and got great views of Antisana--headwaters of the Quijos River--with a fresh dusting of snow

His 1st order of business was to learn how to kayak since he'd never before sat in a whitewater boat!

Dave choose Ecuador as his training grounds for the whitewater portion of his trip. Although it is the subject of much debate and contention, geographers hold that the official headwaters of the Amazon is the Apurimac River in Peru. But, since all of the rivers that we paddle on in Ecuador eventually flow into the Amazon, Dave figured this was a good place to get his kayaking grove on!

Jenny at home in the big water of the Lower Quijos. She deftly dodged the big hole in Gringos Revueltos. She is the only British person I know who likes big water more than rocky creeks!

Dave has come every season for the past 5 years to spend 2 weeks paddling with us in Ecuador. Over the years, he's met a wide range of characters covering all walks of life. This time around, he was in good company with 3 other Brits, 1 Scot and 1 Swiss joining Dave on his quest to become a bad ass kayaker!

Joe looking good in the middle of Chibolo on the Cosanga

This week was meant to be a week of Class IV- rivers; but the entire group was well beyond the Class IV- level and we were able to squeeze in a few solid Class IV runs along the way. All the while we heard stories, statistics, and plans about the mighty Amazon!

Paul standing guard while the troops re-supply for a mission up the Rio Piatua

The Amazon River is the 2nd longest river in the world (2nd to the Nile, although this is regularly contested). The Amazon is 4,345 miles from source to sea, with roughly 200 of those miles containing whitewater (Dave, that's a hell of a lot of flatwater to paddle)!

Fred was all smiles after he successfully paddled Chibolo. Fred paddled with us for 2 weeks, and stayed strong the entire time!

More impressively, the Amazon is the largest river in the world, based on its average flow and discharge. The Amazon's flow at its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean is greater than the next 7 largest rivers combined! The Amazon accounts for about 1 fifth of the world's total river flow. Its flow when it hits the Atlantic during the rainy season averages 300,000 cubic meters per second or 11 million cubic feet per second.

Jenny showing what happens to Brits when they are exposed to the sun

That kind of volume is hard to believe, but then you start looking around Ecuador's Oriente and seeing the thousands of rivers that the eastern slope of this country holds; then think that all of that water flows into just a few tributaries of the Amazon--the Napo, Pastaza, and Putumayo. It seems like so much water when you see just one of these tributaries, but, in reality, they make up only a fraction of the flow of the Amazon at its mouth.

The Amazon man himself!

The Amazon enters the Atlantic Ocean in an estuary that spans more than 150 miles. And, in many parts of the river upstream of the mouth, people report that, from the middle of the river, you can't see either shore. During the rainy season, ranchers in Brazil have to build giant floating corrals for their cows because the river floods so much land there is no where for the animals to go. Hydrologists measured a specific place on the Amazon that, during the dry season is 6 miles wide, but during the rainy season grows to be 30 miles wide. This is one hell of a river we are talking about!

Paul taking the middle line at Pica Piedra as Larry looks on

But as Dave's trip patrons--Fred, Paul, John, Joe and Jenny--pointed out, there is a lot to contend with when one endeavors to paddle the Amazon besides the whitewater on the Apurimac. 1st, the endless flatwater paddling, then the piranhas, river pirates, Candiru fish, bugs, and let's not forget about the ferocious, blonde warrior women (for whom the river is named) that Francisco Orellana encountered on his trip down the Amazon!

John dropping into Gringos. A nice rainstorm the night before left us with great levels for the Lower Quijos

All and all the crew got along swimmingly and I know everyone is eager to know how Dave's journey goes. We'll all have to wait a few more years to find out though.

Don't worry, Caimans only live in the really flat and slow-moving water. Dave will have to worry about these once he hits the flatwater! Sometimes it's good to be a whitewater kayaker...

Small World Adventures

Intro to Creeking in Ecuador--practice technical boating skills in warm creeks!

2011-11-19T09:56:00.002-07:00

(The crew at the put in of the Lower Jondachi--one of Ecuador's most beautiful creek runs)

This was our second week of trips and we had a fun international crew for our “Intro to creeking IV-” course. There was one Swiss, two Irish, and a couple of American kayakers who came down to Ecuador to expand their technical boating skills.

(Pat refining his boofing technique to style in order to jump over this ledge on the Rio Piatua)

So far, early November is showing us some great water levels with enough rain to make most of the runs more fun but not so much we are being flooded off. We paddled the Cosanga, Quijos, Jondachi and Piatua rivers; all the rivers we wanted to get in this week! We did, however, have to tweak the order of the rivers a bit in order to optimize water levels on each run.

(The Creekers scouting a rapid on the Upper Misahualli)

Late summer floods in the Tena area moved around some boulders and improved some lines on both the Upper Misahualli and Lower Jondachi. It was a great opportunity to talk about scouting with the crew. It's important to be able to recognize the hazards of a rapid; but also to recognize the good line and focus on this if you decide to run the drop. It's a fine line because obsessing about the dangers won't do you any good, but neither will not noticing them!

(Friedrich from Switzerland showing an excellent forward stroke as he makes his move in "Dispensable Ensign" on the Rio Piatua)

Being able to pick a good line, read the currents and pick out the crux move(s) are key to a successful scout. We find there are often 2 extremes in scouting: 1.) people will see a sieve on river right and get so freaked out about it that they never even realize the good line is down river left FAR away from the sieve, or 2.) people pick their line and don't look beyond that. They get back to their boats and realize they have no idea how to approach the rapid, or their friend asks, "what are you going to do about the big hole" and they respond "what big hole."

(Tarquino, your jungle-kayak guide extrodinare! The socks give him kayaking super powers)

So, being able to see the whole picture while you are scouting is a really important skill. You need to look at the crux of the rapid, but also at the lead in to the rapid, and the run out of the rapid. This way you'll know what you have to deal with in order to GET to the crux move, and also what you will have to deal with as you finish the crux. You need to identify all the hazards that your line poses and then figure out how you will deal with those hazards. Once you've done all this, you can ask yourself if your skills are up to the challenge and, if they are, is the reward to risk factor worth it? Then you are ready to either portage or go successfully run your line!

(Utah-Burning-Man-Marc bobsledding his way down "Bob Sled" on the Upper Misahualli River)

Portaging is a skill that kayakers should not overlook. On some river or another, we've all met the kind who just won't portage anything. Well, this isn't necesarily the smartest way to go about your kayaking career. Some days you just might not feel it, other days you just need to be smart enough to recognize that your skills aren't up to the rapid you are looking at.

(A couple of Irish blokes enjoying a paddling vacation in Ecuador. Here they are finally back in their own paddling kit after KLM delayed their baggage just a wee bit)

People often forget that "to run or not to run" a rapid is not just an individual decision. If you run a rapid you aren't well-equipped to do, chances are you will have problems. If you have problems, chances are your boating team is going to have to rescue you, putting each resucer at risk as well. So keep the team in mind when you are making your decisions on the river as well!

(Jeff giving it a nice, vertical boof stroke on "Discotech")

But once you've committed to running, then mentally it's got to be all or nothing (I should say it's got to be all or portage)! From your eddy, you need to be focused, confident, and ready to put your physical creeking skills into practice to do what you need to do to give yourself a good, clean line. You shouldn't be walking back to your boat saying to yourself, "umm, I guess I'll give it a go, although I'm not too sure it'll work out." You should feel good about your decision and be visualizing yourself styling the line.

(Pat, stoked to be almost to the water after a warm jungle hike)

Having the right tools in your tool box, so to speak, will make your scouting decisions easier and more clear. So whenever you get the chance to practice strong forward strokes, sweep strokes, boof strokes, body positions and any other kayaking skill, do it! That way you'll know what sort of things you are good at and which skills you need more work on in the future. For example, if you know you aren't very good at boofing yet, and the rapid you are scouting requires making a boof or surfing a big hole, well then, you'd better give it a miss until you can refine those boofing skills.

(Niall navigating one of Ecuador's many boulder gardens as the group looks on from an eddy)

Conversely, if you know you are really good at throwing quick draw strokes to maneuver your kayak around rocks and that's what the line requires, then go give it hell! And, if you are having trouble self-motivating for this sort of practice, come down to Ecuador and we'll make you practice!

Parting shot

(Tim took this awesome shot of a beautifully sculpted Ecuadorian boulder)

The team this week made great advances on their paddling skills and we hope to see them out and about next summer showing their buddies what this creeking business is all about!

Small World Adventures

Refine your Creeking Skills in Ecuador

2011-11-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

Matt and Anders navigating some of Ecuador's infamous "Boogie Water"

We just finished up with our first ever Advanced Creeking Clinic and it was an awesome week of paddling Ecuador's best creeks. We had an eclectic group of characters from all over the US. Luckily, all their personalities meshed well together and when they weren't busy giving each a hard time, they did manage to run some sweet rivers and learn a little more about creeking.

Brian lining up on the final ledge of Discotec on the Rio Piatua

We covered a ton of ground during these 7 days of paddling and tried to talk about as many low volume paddling techniques as we could. All the guys were solid Class IV and IV+ paddlers so it was easy to move right into the some of the more advanced creeking skills such as boat scouting, setting up on tricky boofs, rest on the fly techniques and much more.

I'm not sure who was staring more--us at these guys' crazy river-crossing contraption, or them at the crazy gringos and their river running contraptions

We were super lucky with our water levels last week and so got to practice on low volume runs like the Upper Jondachi at roughly 500-800 CFS and then also on some bigger, pushy creek runs as well such as the Oyacachi at probably 1500-2000 CFS.

Kevin putting the week's lessons into practice with a perfectly time boof stroke

Reading and running and boating scouting on the fly was another skill we constantly practiced. All the boaters soon learned to fear the term "boogie water" whenever Don or I said it. It's easy when you can describe a rapid with distinct characteristics--such as the "Best Boof in the World" on the Upper Jondachi. All we have to do is tell people to drive left, get a piece of the sweet dished-out boulder and boof like a rock star! But when there are tons of holes and rocks to dodge and you can't describe an exact line, we like to tell people it's boogie water (always with the qualifier that boogie water doesn't mean it's easy) and then let people follow us and read and run as they go.

And these little piggies tried to follow us home. But then they heard all the boys commenting about bacon and turned and ran the other way

Another point we tried to stress was that, while the lead boat in any boat scouting mission on a new creek has a lot of responsibility--catching eddies, keeping themselves safe, picking out the best line, and ultimately deciding whether or not to scout--the 2nd boater in line also has a great deal of responsibility.

Matt powering through the froth leading into "The Boof" on the Rio Oyacachi

The 2nd boater in line has to make sure they stay close enough to the lead boat to watch where they go and "watch their back" so to speak. But, they don't want to be too close and pressure the lead boater out of an eddy before they are ready to leave.

Anders blasting out of a rather sticky ledge on the Piatua. He was very pleased with the performance of Ecuador's very 1st Liquid Logic Stomper!

That 2nd boater needs to make sure that they can be "the back up plan" to the lead boater. It's happened more than once that the lead boater will go downstream 1 eddy too far and will get themselves into a position where they can't get out to scout AND they can't see another eddy to boat scout to. Then they are really hoping that their 2nd boater will come to the rescue!

The incredibly picturesque "Tres Huevos" rapid on the Upper Jondachi. It doesn't really look like it from this angle, but this rapid is good to go down the river right side. There is an ugly under cut and cave on the far right, but it is avoidable if your advanced creeking skills come through for you

Often all the 2nd boater will have to do is get out from an upstream eddy, scout the line, see that it goes and can give directions to the lead boat who is stuck in the lower eddy. But sometimes, if the 2nd boater scouts and finds that the rapid doesn't go or doesn't go from where the lead boater is stuck in their eddy, well then, it's lead boater rescue time and that 2nd boater has to help their buddy out of the "last eddy" and to safety (this can be a tricky endeavor so make sure you are up to the task)!

Doctor Steve getting aggressive with his boof body position. He was nailing boofs all week long!

If you are the lead boater, I'd NOT recommend that you go that eddy where you are trapped and can't get out of your boat and can't go further downstream. It's just not a fun position to be in, but it seems it will happen to most people at least once if you do a lot of boat scouting/eddy hoping. Then, it's really damn important that you trust your 2nd boater! So, pick your boating posse wisely!

Anders testing out a sketchy bridge on the Upper Jondachi. The crazy part is that the Quichua folks around here nonchalantly walk across this bridge all the time carrying 80 lb loads of narjanillas

We also did some talks on how to get yourself out of holes. People often think that there aren't bad holes on creeks because they tend to be low volume...but the reality is quite the contrary. On big water runs where there are really big holes, boaters will often flush through after 1-3 go arounds because there is so much water and power that a kayaker can't usually get stabilized in a proper "I'm stuck in this hole side surf." But on lower volume rivers there seem to be more of the pour over type holes that can really hold a boater.

Dave busted out his hand paddles for the Piatua and he rocked it. That guy is incredibly smooth without his paddle

We talked about, in addition to just bracing and stabilizing yourself in that side surf, you should try to paddle forwards either by sculling that brace or by actually taking paddle strokes on both sides of your boat. If that doesn't work, try to paddle backwards. People like to try to get out of the hole they way they are facing, and often neglect to try backing out which will work surprisingly often. Getting yourself to the edge of the hole and then committing to a big reaching forward stroke on the upstream side (reaching out into current that is going downstream) will work quite well too. You are pretty much committing to being upside down but the hope is that your body will catch current and wash you out of the hole leaving you to roll up in nice downstream-moving water.

Brian, Kevin and Matt contemplating Chibolo on the Cosanga River. Scouting skills are crucial to a happy creeking career

Don even demonstrated his very fine hole-escape techniques in a sticky hole on the Oyacachi (a hole he went into on purpose that crazy guy). Don't just hang on the brace he'll tell you, be active with it!

And so, if there are any words of wisdom that we can take away from last week's trip, it's this: "Remember, stroke it, don't hold it."

Small World Adventures

Back in Ecuador for the 2011/12 Season

2011-11-09T05:04:00.019-07:00

Everyone's stoked that we're back in Ecuador!

Our friends from Aspen Whitewater Rafting came back down to Ecuador in late October to help us get the season started out right. This group of raft guides and kayakers comes down to Ecuador every fall to
celebrate the end of another whitewater season in the US, and to have one last warm weather hurrah before heading back to Colorado to face winter.

Tim taking the bull by the horns in El Toro

As always, we had a full line up of rivers to run and culture to see. This year we added a bonus trip down the Napo River in a motorized canoe to visit a jungle lodge for the afternoon. While the lookout tower and the jungle were awesome, a swim in the lodge’s pool was a definite highlight for some of the gang who found they were sweating a lot in the tropics!

The gang at San Rafael Falls

This year, in addition to our “normal” river runs, we did an intro to kayaking course for the non-kayakers of the group. We loaded the boats in a torrential downpour--perfect to set the mood for learning to kayak in the Amazon Basin! Tarquino was our trusty trip leader and took us to his preferred learning section on the Anzu River. He is currently teaching is 9-year-old daughter, Angelica to kayak and this
is one of her favorite stretches.

Neal and Justin shredding it up

We arrived to find a brown swollen river, which set a few people’s nerves on edge, but that’s the great thing about this stretch on the Anzu--whether you have low water or high water, it stays pretty much Class I and II. I wouldn’t recommend it at flood stage, but as long as you can see some of the rocks on shore you should be good to go!

Even on a jungle side hike we found our way back to the water

All the kayak students did great. Despite worries to the contrary, everyone quickly became and expert at the “Wet Exit.” Some of them even got their rolls! We also worked on the forward stroke, sweep stroke, peel outs, S-turns and ferries. Everyone successfully navigated the Class II rapid at the end of the day.

The beginner kayakers stop to enjoy a scenic waterfall on the Jatunyacu

We think we may have created some monsters - or at least kayakers. After the day of instruction, most of the "rafters" opted to get in kayaks whenever they could. We'd do a morning of difficult rapids in the raft, and then hop into kayaks in the afternoon on easier stretches. By the end of the week, Neal even ran "Curvas Peligrosas" on the Bombon section of the Quijos.

Beth and Shannan enjoy the reward for a hard days work

At the end of the week there was a big celebration and rafting races on the Quijos river right out in front of our lodge. Half of the group wanted to keep kayaking, and half decided that we needed to represent in the Quijos Rafting Championships. Since no other gringo team was entered, we borrowed the "Team USA" name and came in third. There were cash prizes on the line, so the competition was actually pretty steep. The Ecuadorian national team came in first, and they were a very impressive team.

"Team USA" in the rafting slalom

It was quite the scene over the weekend - beer tents, food vendors and dancing. Their were three disciplines in the rafting race: Downriver, Slalom and head to head sprint. The sprints were probably the most fun as they were single elimination heats, but the biggest crowd draw was probably the bikini contest. In fact the awards ceremony for the rafting got delayed because the bikini contest went over. We all had a great time, enjoying the nature and rivers of Ecuador, plus the culture and festivals!

Neal thinks YOU should come to Ecuador with SWA!

Small World Adventures

Ecuador's Rio Oyacachi

2011-10-19T14:18:00.001-06:00

(Chris Tretwold exiting one of hundreds of steep boulder garden rapids found on the Upper Oyacachi during the 2-day run)

Ecuador's Rio Oyacachi is truly a gem of a river and we are lucky enough to have it as one of our many awesome back yard runs. What makes the Oyacachi so special to me is that it is runnable at an amazing variety of levels. Low water, medium water, high water it's all super fun (flood stage isn't so good). And, from Class III+ boaters on up to V+ expedition boaters, there is a little something for everyone on this versatile river.

(Don Beveridge looking small amongst the big boulders found along the day stretch)

For the Class V expedition boater looking for a good challenge, the Upper Oyacachi is hands down one of Ecuador's most challenging stretches of whitewater. But, it's not just the whitewater that makes doing this 2 or 3 day run difficult, you also have to take into account the logistical challenges of the run and the ever-present threat of rising water.

(Don Beveridge dropping the tallest waterfall you'll find on the Upper Oyacachi)

The best way to drive to the put in is past the Papallacta Hot Springs and through an area that has restricted access because it one of Quito's water sources. If you can secure permission to drive through here though, you'll be rewarded with panoramic views of Antisana, Cayembe and the surrounding Paramo (you'll also save yourself a 6 hour drive around through Quito).

However you get there, from the town of Oyacachi, you'll want to drive downstream on the newly constructed road until the river looks boatable. It will be pretty silly for the first few miles, but then you'll quickly come into the crux of the run that I call the "Middle 13." The middle 13 miles of this run drop between 300-400 feet per mile. Lacking any significant waterfalls, that means insanely steep, relentless boulder gardens. It's like the Bottom 9 on the Middle Kings on crack.

(Darcy Gaechter boofing her way down a nice clean series towards the beginning of the "Middle 13")

After the Middle 13, the rivers eases somewhat for the last few miles before the normal put in for the day stretch--a tiny town called San Juan (it's not really a town, but there are 3 house there). The real trick to doing this run is getting lucky and having clear weather for the 2 or 3 days you take to do the run. Too low of water is no good because it's a damn rocky run and you want things to be padded out, but too high of water can be ruinous to your paddling trip! For a full write up on this run (including what happens when you get rained on and have high water on the Upper Oyacachi) check out Darcy's article in American Whitewater

(Don Beveridge enjoying rapid #1 of the Day Stretch)

While the Upper Oyacachi is awesome, the suffering to fun ratio make it a trip you want to do once a year at most. But the regular run on the Oyacachi is a whole different ball game. I'd do that run everyday if I could! From the day stretch put in up at San Juan the river, during normal flows, is incredibly fun Class IV+/V-. Boulder gardens, boof, and big water-feeling moves all abound in this 6-mile stretch. When the water is high, you can still run this part of the river, but be ready for big water Class V. It's a hoot, but don't expect to see any eddies!

(Darcy and Hilary Neevel boat scout their way down the Oyacachi)

When you put in at San Juan it's off to the races immediately with about 1.5 miles of non-stop IV+/V-. At regular flows, there are eddies in this stretch, but don't waste your time looking around for any pools! You'll want to make sure you are well-conditioned for the non-stop character of this section. For people who aren't quite up to the full-on start of the Oyacachi from San Juan, you can put in at a hanging bridge about 2 miles downstream from San Juan. Some of the biggest rapids on the day stretch still lay below this bridge, but the rapids are slightly more spread out with a few more breaks giving the river a more IV/IV+ feel.

(Chris making his boof count on the Upper Oyacachi)

For the III+ or IV- boater who is just getting into creeking, the Oyacachi also offers you a section, albeit, a very short one. You can put in about 1 mile upstream of the Oyacachi/Quijos confluence. Using this put in, you'll have the option of running 1 Class IV rapid right at the put in, then you'll have 3/4 of a mile of fun Class III+/IV- "boogie water" and then 1 last solid Class IV rapid right before the take out. Even though it's super short, it's a great introduction to the Rio Oyacachi. While paddling this run, don't forget to look for the famous Andean Cock of the Rock. This brightly colored bird is a rare prize for avid bird watchers; but us lucky kayakers get to see them on a regular basis on the Rio Oyacachi.

So, whether you are a seasoned expedition kayaker or just cutting your teeth in the creek boating world; don't miss the Oyacachi on your trip to Ecuador!

(Don lining up on the lead in to "Ejector Seat." Lookers on wonder if he'll be ejected...or style it?)

Small World Adventures

So Long Summer...Hello Ecuador!

2011-10-05T11:06:00.010-06:00

Fall has come to Colorado - time to head South!

Fall is in the air, and Darcy, Don and Larry are all wrapping up their summers and getting ready to head down to Ecuador (Tarquino has already left Canada and is driving back home!)

Typical day in the office for Larry this summer

Larry spent his summer rowing rafts and dories down the Grand Canyon. He spent the night under the stars in the big ditch 84 times this summer. As much as he likes being a boatman in the Canyon, he can't wait to get back to kayaking in the Amazon basin. He's going to trade the red walls of Arizona for the green jungles of Ecuador.

Why is Don's office smaller than Larry's? (Genetics?)

Don and Darcy spent the summer on the road, paddling new rivers and meeting new friends (and catching up with some old ones). If you've been following the blog, you know we've had some great fun, from Colorado to California to Idaho and BC. We had a great summer running rivers while running the office and spreading the word about Ecuador and the whitewater companies whose gear we think rocks.

But as much fun as this summer in North America was, we can't wait for the endless summer that Ecuador offers.

Darcy hard at work between emails

We also gave away a lot of great gear. Our summer tour giveaway was made possible by our favorite companies: Snapdragon, IR, Werner Paddles, Jackson Kayak, NRS, Forge Motion Pictures, Smith Optics, Kayak Session Magazine, Sweet Protection, CKS, and of course, Small World Adventures.

So here's a big thank you to all the great companies that donated to our contest.

If you haven't won yet, it's not too late!

She won't be needing the drysuit and fuzzy hat any more this winter

We just gave away a Jackson Villain to Brad B of California, and we're about to give away a kayaking trip with SWA in Ecuador. So if you haven't entered yet go to www.smallworldadventures.com and enter fast! We draw our final winner October 17th.

This is what the rad paddlers wear in Ecuador

Remember to get out there while you can and enjoy the last paddling days of Summer, and the great fall releases back east.

Time to get back to jungle boofs

If you want to extend the epic paddling season of 2011, come join us in Ecuador this fall.

Or for a mid winter break and to start out 2012 right, come see us this January or February. We still have room in our schedule, but trips are booking up!

and jungle scenery

There's always great paddling in Ecuador, and all of us at Small World Adventures think that you should come down and join us for a little endless summer of your own.

See you on the river,

It's always summer at our lodge - come join us!

Small World Adventures

You could win a Jackson Kayak Villain!

2011-09-22T18:41:00.008-06:00

This could be you - in your Jackson Villain

Small World Adventures is teaming up with Jackson Kayak to give away a brand new Villain (or Villain S) to a lucky SWA fan this October 1st!

Win a shiny new Villain like this one (thanks Vanna, I mean Curtis)

If you haven't entered our summer giveaway it's not too late, but hurry!

Go to our website at www.smallworldadventures.com and enter to win a Jackson Villain of your own or a week long paddling trip in Ecuador!

Great for hucking water falls...

I was lucky enough this summer to have BOTH the Villain and the Super Hero on the roof. I got to paddle them both on rivers and creeks from Colorado to California to Idaho and BC. It was fun switching out every other day on runs like the South Yuba and North Fork Payette at high water. The verdict? Both boats rock.

(photo by Henry Munter)

running big rivers

The Super Hero is a tad lighter to carry and quicker to maneuver - a bit of a plus on tighter creeks. But it also accelerates quickly and holds it's speed well on big water runs like the N Fork Payette at 4000 cfs. If I lived in an area where I was mostly doing pool-drop creeks, the Super Hero would be my choice, and I still would jump at the chance to take it on big water runs.

and tiny creeks,

The Jackson Villain is a bit bigger, still really maneuverable, and faster in big whitewater. It's a bit better platform for overnight trips, and still plenty nimble for technical creeking. It's not as much fun as the Super Hero for play, but if the #%&*#! is going off, you're going to be stoked to be in the dependable Villain. It does maintain speed and crash through consecutive breaking waves better that the Super Hero does. If I were planning to paddle bigger rivers and pushier water more often, I'd choose the Villain.

this Villain's got your back.

If I had my way, I'd keep both of the boats on my roof - a creek boat quiver of two! But either one works great as a stand alone creek boat.

Luckily, we have both Villains and Super Heros in our fleet in Ecuador, so if you can't decide, you can come down and paddle them both!

Good luck to everyone entered in the contest. And don't worry, just because summer is ending and our contest is coming to a close, doesn't mean paddling is over for the season - you can still come join us in Ecuador this winter!

Small World Adventures

Farewell to Canada...

2011-09-22T17:16:00.008-06:00

Sunny skies and clear water on the Ashlu - in BC in September!

We finally had to call it quits on our trip to BC, and couldn't resist posting some more cool photos from the Ashlu River. With the stable weather and dam releases, you could boat the Mine section almost every day, and the Box every weekend. The Tatlow even stayed in for over three weeks!

Sam leads to the right at Last Tango

We ran into Sam again (he was on our Revelstoke trip). The Ashlu valley was literally swarming with kayakers (well, two to three groups a day!)

Dave finishing the mini-mine warm up

We met groups from England, Germany, the US, New Zealand (and Canada) every day we were up the Ashlu.

Beautiful moss and tight canyon - dropping into the Ashlu "Box"

More moss. BC roadside camping

Saying adios to BC and the Ashlu River just means that our season in Ecuador is right around the corner. Now we're off to Colorado to get packed up for another great season boating in Ecuador. Come down and see us!

If you haven't entered our summer giveaway yet, it's not too late. Just got to www.smallworldadventures.com and click the "enter here" button.

We still have two GREAT prizes left, a Jackson Villain and a week of boating with SWA in Ecuador! The kayak gets awarded October 1 and the trip to Ecuador at the end of October.

Look for more blogs to come psyching up for the 2011/2012 Ecuador boating season.

Vaya con rios!

I still don't know why they call this drop "50/50"

Small World Adventures

Ashlu and Tatlow Rivers, BC

2011-09-05T23:03:00.024-06:00

Exit from the Tatlow River canyon

Yahoo we finally made it to Squamish! After a quick warm up on the Birkenhead River up near Pemberton, we headed to the Ashlu to catch the weekend releases on the "Commitment Canyon" or "Box" section of the Ashlu River. It's an interesting win/lose result of the Ashlu dam, that though the wilderness has been marred and the natural flow is gone, you can now plan on flows on the lower Ashlu based on releases from the dam.

In 2005 and 2006 when Darcy was in grad school at UBC, we spent a bunch of time up here, but this was our first time in the post-dam era. The area looks a LOT better than it did during construction. The road improvements make it really easy to get up to 50/50 and the mine section, but some of that adventure feeling has definitely been lost with the encroaching development.

Luckily, they've let the upper road go totally to crap, so if it's an adventure you want, drive on up to the Upper Ashlu and Tatlow!

We had the dilemma over the weekend of good flows in both the Ashlu and Tatlow rivers. Which to do? Both!

It was cool having them both going and we even got both runs in on Sunday with our buddy Ben Hawthorne and a new partner in crime Brian Burger.

Ben firing up some crack on the Tatlow

Back in Darcy's grad school days we were lucky enough one late fall day to catch the Tatlow going due to rainfall, and spent an incredible 4-6 hours on the run figuring it out for ourselves. With zero beta besides a rough description of the trail to the put in, we had an all out adventure in there. It was even snowing on us to add to the "epic" feeling of the day. This weekend was a totally different experience; it was a blast to bomb it with Ben filling in descriptions when our memories weren't enough.

Tatlow River scenery

There was our group, plus three guys from Bellingham and the Bomb Flow gang with Evan Garcia and our fellow Wildwater alum Fred Norquist, all camping at the end of the road and paddling the Tatlow on Sunday. A bit of a change of pace from our first trip in '05 - cameras flashing and boats boofing all over the place!

It was a fun scene, and great to hang out and paddle a bit with the Bomb Flow guys.

Check out the cool moss - and Ben on the 40' slide

I don't think our photos do the canyon justice, but keep your eyes open on Bomb Flow TV 'cause those guys filmed the %&$#! out of the Tatlow! Between their group and ours, I think there may have been more cameras than paddlers on the river that day.

view of glacier from Tatlow take out bridge

Since we camped out at the take out, we had plenty of daylight left after our hike up and paddle down the Tatlow. So we headed down for a bonus run on the Box.

Scouting 50/50 on the Ashlu

It was cool to be "warmed up" for waterfalls after the Tatlow, but 50/50 still lived up to it's name. Or is it 70/30?

Don dropping into 50/50

...and tossing the coin

Logistics-wise, the road has been improved all the way to the Ashlu dam site, so a low rider could get up to the Box put in. The road above the dam project has apparently been left to deteriorate. The further you go the more over grown and rough it is. We definitely put a few scratches in the paint job of our truck on the way up to the Tatlow.

4 wheeling up to the Tatlow take out

About 3 miles downstream from the Tatlow take out there's an landslide on the main Ashlu road. It's in pretty good shape this year, but you do need a 4 wheel drive with some clearance, and maybe need to rearrange some rocks to get past it.

The culvert you need to cross in order to get to the Tatlow put in via car is perhaps worse than ever. You still need to shoulder your boats all the way from the take out to the put in.

Not to say some people didn't TRY to drive up...

Small World Adventures

Elk River, Fernie BC - 8 rivers in 8 days part II

2011-08-31T12:43:00.015-06:00

Leap of Faith Falls, Elk River, BC

The second part of our trip to BC found us being enticed further and further from our plan of going to Squamish. Hanging out with Tarquino in Golden, we heard that the Toby river was at a good level, and was a classic that we shouldn't miss. It lived up to it's promise: amazing scenery and great rapids. Unfortunately, we were too busy paddling the rapids, figuring out the tricky portage, and checking out the wild scenery to take any pictures! The Toby changes from an alpine setting, to tiny slot canyons, to southwestern style hoodoos in just 10 miles. They call it the 7 canyons run, but they must've been counting in metric, 'cause we thought there were more than that!

Glen dropping in

We we're lucky enough to catch up with Jamie and Val as they were setting shuttle for the Toby, and had a great day paddling with them. Their buddies Glen and Bryce joined us for day two, and then they all said, "well if you're this close you might as well come on down to the Elk as well."

Bryce in the canyon approaching the falls

So with Squamish and coastal BC getting ever farther away, we headed down to just outside of Fernie to get on the Leap of Faith section of the Elk.

Darcy making the falls look tall

The Elk is a classic, with reliable dam release water letting you paddle at least some sections all summer long. The canyon has beautiful, super committing steep walls, and the river is a real juxtaposition from the hydro/logging industry that's all over the banks on top. In fact, you have to tread lightly between keep out/no trespassing signs to get in and out of the river.

Don putting his head in the water so he doesn't have to see the landing

The adrenaline start to the Middle Elk is to seal launch in right above Leap of Faith. Again, it may be a conversion problem, but I think it's a bit taller than the 40 feet that people say it is. But it's beautifully shaped, and has a great landing. The entire setting is super cool: a tight slot canyon feeds out into a huge amphitheater-like plunge pool. It's a lot like Pusuno Falls in Ecuador, but on a larger scale.

Below the falls, entering the Middle Elk

It was a rare treat to paddle with four boaters who all knew the lines, so Darcy and I got to kick back and be guided. It was pretty sweet.

Tarquino and Darcy on the Kicking Horse

Our plan was to see Tarquino again and retrace our steps back through Revelstoke to Whistler, but Google Maps said the fastest way from Fernie to Whistler was via the US, I-90 and Seattle! So we dropped down into Montana, got to turn the data back on our smart phones, and are heading the fast (and cheaper gas) way to Vancouver.

This trip has already been all about Plan B, but now we think we'll actually make it to Squamish. More to come when we get there!

Thanks to Glen Carpenter for the photos of Darcy and I going over the falls. Great boating with all you folks we met up with in BC.

Another Plan B

Small World Adventures

8 rivers in 8 days: Big Silver and Revelstoke, BC

2011-08-29T15:14:00.022-06:00

The put-in falls, or as we called it "the falls above the put-in."

We just got off to a great start on our "Canadian Tour" 8 rivers in 8 days in BC. It was a lot like our trips in Ecuador, where we normally get 7 rivers in 7 days, only in Ecuador, there's a lot less driving and a lot less bugs! The mosquitoes are wicked in BC this time of year!

Clear water on Big Silver.

It was a great plan-as-you-go trip, too. We had thought to go up to the Squamish/Whistler area, but thought that the weather and water weren't going to be quite right. So we talked to some friends, looked at some maps, and decided to start out with the Big Silver River up north of the town of Harrison Hot Springs, then head over to Revelstoke for some creeks that we thought would be the right level there. We met up with Sam, Bear and John - fellow Americans on the plan B route - and had a great time.

Big Silver, tight canyon.

The Big Silver was beautiful and felt very remote - two hours of dirt road to get to the put-in. And as our friend and SWA guide Chris Tretwold says, home to some of the longest and prettiest slot canyons in BC.

Another tight canyon on the Big Silver

The Big Silver has a great class 4-5 upper section, a class 5 middle section, and a scenic class 2-3 roadside bottom section. The beta we got warned us to hike out of the upper section before the 3rd tight canyon. It was late in the day and the canyon entrance looked cool yet formidable, so we followed the advice we were given. I still don't know what awaits in the 3rd canyon...

For more information on the Big Silver, check out Chris' full report at: Bellingham Whitewater

Sam on the Jordan River, just outside Revelstoke.

We wanted to get to the Revelstoke area because we heard the water was good and dropping there.

We had great flows on the Perry, Jordan and Illecillewaet, and got to hang out in Revelstoke for a couple days while boating those. (sorry, no photos of the Perry and Illi Box Canyon).

Darcy on the Jordan.

While there we got the rare (to me at least) treat of riding a freshwater ferry. The road from Revelstoke to Nakusp crosses the Columbia River at Upper Arrow Lake, and there's a ferry crossing there. We had great weather and the scenery was incredible.

Little boats riding on big boats.

BC has freshwater ferries, too.

The water was lower on the Kuskanax than we had hoped for, but the ferry and drive to the river was half the fun.

Don on the Kuskanax. Sweet drop. And drytop.

We then got into a funny bit of navigating. Bear and the boys had to get back to the US via vancouver, and we wanted to visit fellow SWA guide Tarquino while he's working over in Golden, so we parted ways and Darcy and I headed over Rogers Pass to spend some time paddling and speaking Spanish. Tarquino has come a long way from the rivers around his home in Ecuador. I can't believe he paddles in water as cold as the Kicking Horse!

Once we were in Golden, then it was only a couple hours south to the Toby river, then just a couple hours south to the Elk... but that's a story for the next blog.

To be continued...

It's easy to get lost in the whitewater in BC.

Here's Bear on the Jordan.

Small World Adventures

Ecuador Article in Kayak Session

2011-08-25T11:39:00.005-06:00

Would you like to read more about kayaking in Ecuador and the incredible amount of paddling in just one province? Darcy wrote an article about it in Kayak Session that came out in May, issue #38. If you have not seen it and want to you can order it at www.kayaksession.com

Darcy has detailed out what has made Ecuador a top international paddling destination; the huge amount of quality whitewater so close together on the eastern flanks of the Andes. I have been kayaking in Ecuador for 19 consecutive seasons and even I learned a lot from this article and got excited to head back down. The province of Napo must have more miles of kayaking than almost any other similar size state or province in the world. If you don't believe it check out the statistics in the article and you will be convinced. Better yet, if you want to sample the best of this whitewater book a trip this November with SWA.

There are some great photos taken by Chris Emerick in the article as well. Although Chris is better know as a action video film maker he shoots lots of still photos as well and he spent a week last February in Ecuador with SWA shooting. You can see more of his photography at http://www.chrisemerick.com/

Darcy ready for Ecuador

Brown Bagging it with Skookum Sails

2011-08-12T12:51:00.001-06:00

August 15th Giveaway, the goods just keep on coming!

(Darcy and Bill enjoying some beautiful scenery on Slab Creek in CA)

The Small World Adventures summer contest continues and we have more awesome prizes to give to you.

On the 15th, we'll give away a Snap Dragon Spray Skirt, a Sweet Hoodie, a few copies of the film Wildwater and, debuting on the market this summer, a "Brown Bag" by Skookum Sails in Bellingham, WA.

(Skookum Sail's new "Brown Bag.")

Yes, this bag is literally brown! The bottom and sides are made of tough, brown vinyl material and the top is made of mesh to let your stinky gear air out. The durable material will hold up to even the toughest gear-stuffers! The bag is nice and big to accommodate all your kit. A handy side pocket for small items like watches and wallets will help you keep your S$%T together while on the river.

(Don stoked to have on his Snap Dragon skirt with implosion bar on Hood River's back yard runs)

Whether you are running big waterfalls, or just getting into the sport, Snap Dragon makes a perfect skirt for you--especially perfect if you happen to be our winner next week:) They offer a wide variety of skirts to fit the needs of all kayakers, from beginner to advanced. And, nothing like slipping into a Sweet cotton Hoodie after a day on the river. If that doesn't make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, I don't know what will! Then, grab yourself a beer and plop your butt on the couch to enjoy Forge Motion Picture's film Wildwater. This beautifully shot piece delves into the meaning of kayaking for some of the sport's most passionate kayakers.

(Don can even fit all his stuff into the Brown Bag, so you know it's the real deal)

Our friends and Small World guides, Chris and Hilary started Skookum Sails in Bellingham a few years ago. In addition to repairing sails, they've started making accessories for kayakers as well. If you want something custom made, hit them up. Those 2 are super handy with the sewing machine and can do just about anything you ask.

Skookum Sail Repair

(Remember our motto, "what's wrong with just fun." And gear! Don't forget to enter to win)

Small World Adventures

Looking back to some old boating adventures to find inspiration for new fun!

2011-08-08T09:55:00.003-06:00

After a 3-week hiatus from kayaking, Don and I are back!

As a farewell to Idaho, we got in a few more runs on the North Fork Payette and now we are headed towards the Pacific Northwest. 1st stop, Hood River to see some friends, then Seattle, and eventually up to British Columbia to take advantage of the still-huge snowpack in the Whistler area.

(Darcy below Rattlesnake on the Royal Gorge, CA 2009)

But, since we don't have any new kayaking photos from the past few weeks, I thought I throw up a few from years past. It seemed like a good time to reflect a little on some of our past adventures in order to create new energy for our future journeys. So enjoy!

(Don and and Tim in Commitment Canyon on the Ashlu River--pre dam, 2008)

For the past few years, Don and I have been able to dedicate a good portion of our US time to our passion--kayaking. Without a mortgage, car payments, or lavish eating habits, we've been able to save our money to travel and kayak during our off season from Ecuador. (Larry doesn't have it too bad either guiding in the Grand Canyon during the summers, but hey, work is work)! Looking through our old photos, I feel fortunate that we've been able to see so many beautiful places from our kayaks.

(Jason, Lana, and Don setting up the rappel down "Final Falls" on the Salmon River Gorge 2007)

People often ask, "when are you going to get serious, get real jobs and settle down?" I guess I've always known this, but have recently reconstituted my belief that life is too short to worry about what society wants us to do. So, damn it, we are going to live how we want to live while we can! When we don't feel like kayaking and traveling anymore, then we'll get serious, get real jobs and settle down. But for now, those things just don't suit us.

Oh, and by the way, kayaking guiding in Ecuador is a real job!

(Don and Darcy scouting one of the many ominous gorges on Fantasy Falls, CA 2009)

(Descending down into the Cofanes River Valley, Sucumbios Province Ecuador. Cayembe rises above the clouds in the background, and there is amazing rainforest as far as we could see. Yet another incredible place we were lucky enough to visit, 2010).

(Don soaking in the scenery on the Cofanes River below it's confluence with the El Dorado. 2010).

So, for now, we've contented ourselves to be kayakers in search of extraordinary places. We aren't the best or most bad ass kayakers in the world; you won't see us hucking 100-foot waterfalls or developing new big wave moves. We are just regular ol' boaters who happen to have structured our lives around the sport. Hopefully our adventures will inspire all the other "normal" kayakers out there to get out every chance you get because, eventually, those chances won't be there for you.

(Darcy learning to back stab on Diagonal Ledges Wave Lower Gauley West Virginia. 2006)

So, whatever it is that makes you "tick" whether that be kayaking, skiing, your kids, good music, etc...make sure you soak it in as much as you can! Always remember to work hard for what you want and have some fun while you're at it.

(The Small World Adventures gang "chillin" at our riverside lodge. Darcy, Tarquino, Don and Larry are all getting excited about returning to Ecuador. Life is pretty darn good down there, and we hope you can come experience it with us, if only for 1 week)

Small World Adventures

More Idaho Big Water Fun

2011-07-14T14:46:00.000-06:00

(Our crew--Don, Darcy, Freddy, and Cooper--in Jaws)

Well, I’ve gotten too distracted with all the amazing whitewater there is to boat right now and, therefore, have been slacking on my blogging. But the good news is that Don and I have been having lots of fun, boating awesome rivers, and giving away lots of gear to both the paddlers we’ve met along the way, and the winners of our bi-weekly giveaways (see the bottom of this blog for more info on the gear giveaway).

We just got back to California after spending 3 weeks in Idaho challenging ourselves on some of the best big water paddling this country has to offer. 3 weeks of crashing through giant waves, punching laterals and avoiding monster holes left us tired but oh so happy!

A few of the runs we did definitely put us into “no swim” situations due to the continuous nature of the runs. This added consequence lent itself to an intense focus that I haven’t felt in a long time in my paddling. Many of these rivers demanded our full attention; and, while incredibly challenging, it was also really nice to just paddle, focus on paddling, and not worry about blogs, emails, photos, etc…We were just boaters going boating and it was awesome. It was a great departure from what we’ve been doing lately; and we are super grateful to the amazing Idaho crew we hooked up with. The “Middle 5,” at this water level, was some of the most challenging boating I’ve done from both a mental and physical standpoint and it was great to have such a solid crew to boat with.

I was also super stoked to have my Snap Dragon spray skirt with implosion bar that I knew I could depend on to stay on the boat even when 15 foot tall waves broke on me! Having gear you can rely on in these situations is key—that’s one less factor you need to worry about when you feel like all your mental and physical faculties are being tapped!

So, as I mentioned before, we were kind of slack on both the blog and the photo end of things during our Idaho trip. We personally didn’t get much in the way of whitewater shots, but luckily our friend Henry Munter took some time out one day to get some good photographs. So, enjoy some shots of the North Fork Payette River at 4,700 CFS—all photos taken by Henry.

(Freddy, our guide extraordinaire, showing the way down the river and making it look annoyingly easy)

(Darcy looking small on the approach to Hounds Tooth)

(Don climbing a big wave in Juicer)

(Cooper punching a big wave in Juicer!)

(The gang, lost in the chaos)

And, don’t forget to get your entries into our summer contest. On July 15^th we’ll be drawing 3 winners. Winner #1 will get a Sweet Wanderer Helmet (the winner from June 15^th never claimed her prize, so we are re-raffling it off). Winner #2 will get a pair of Sweet Shambala shorts and a 1 year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine, and the 3^rd winner will get an NRS Hydrolock dry bag, 4 NRS straps and a copy of Wildwater. Go to our website to sign up www.smallworldadventures.com

Good luck!

Big Water Fun in Idaho

2011-06-29T10:37:00.000-06:00

(Don seeing how the new Superhero does in big water. The verdict? Pretty damn good it seems)

Don and I just finished an amazing week of kayaking here in Idaho. I never knew how awesome the paddling is in this state—especially at high water!

We rolled into McCall and were immediately hooked up by the great crew of locals with beta, a place to stay, and paddling buddies. They gave us an incredible 6-day tour of the finest whitewater within a hour drive of McCall.

(Fall Creek Rapid on the South Salmon. This was an awesome rapid with huge holes to dodge. There was a good line though, you just had to punch through some big waves to be on it)

Day 1: peak flow on the Little Salmon. Big fun waves, a few holes to dodge, and a bit of floating debris to watch out for. A great warm up for the stuff to come.

Day 2: North Fork Payette at 4100. Crazy big stuff! Thank goodness we had Ryan to follow. Screaming Left, Jaws, and Cruncher were some of the biggest rapids I’ve run.

(Freddy styling the line at Devils Creek Rapid)

Day 3: Setting shuttle for a South Salmon into Main, and paddled Little Salmon again on the way back from Riggins.

Day 4: High water East Fork South Fork. Flight Simulator was a hell of a way to start our day! After a couple hours of paddling on this river and a long, lazy lunch in the sun, we loaded our boats with overnight gear and put in on the South Salmon. We ran through Devil Creek rapids and then set up camp for the night.

(Ryan, our incredible North Fork and Secesh guide, showing us what smooth paddling is all about)

Day 5: Mule Kick and Elk Creek Rapids for breakfast. Then Fall Creek for lunch. Then a 20-mile paddle out on the Main Salmon. I think the river was around 7.2 on the gauge, and was just pure big water fun. As Freddy said, “it’s about as much fun as you can possibly have in a kayak.”

Day 6: Secesh at 57 on the gauge to float back to our van which was parked at the put in for the South Salmon. I’ve never done a run with such continuous HARD whitewater. I guess this river is more chill at lower levels, but it was pretty full on for us. It was a great cardio work out to paddle Class V for miles without an eddy! Sorry, no photos of this one—I was too busy staying out of holes.

(The gang at camp. We had a big crew of 11 boaters, all great characters, which made for lots of fun around the campfire)

Now we are in Boise visiting my Grandpa and resting up for the infamous 4^th of July festivities that are rumored to take place in Crouch, ID…

Small World Adventures

Schedule of the rest of the Awesome gear you can win from Small World Adventures

2011-06-24T09:19:00.000-06:00

(Don enjoying some scenery after the portage on the South Tuolumne)

So far we are off to a great season of paddling! After spending time in Colorado and Washington, we headed to California where we found very odd spring weather which foiled some of our plans for the “typical” spring runs, but did allow us to get on a few new and obscure runs that don’t usually have water. But, after a few weeks there, we felt the need to move on once again so we headed east.

(Bill Beveridge on the Upper Middle American--End of the World Run. This was a new one for all of us and it turned out to be quite a fun run)

Now, we are out in Idaho now enjoying some seriously big water and realizing that the kayaking season (at least in the Western US) still has a long life ahead of it. A huge snow pack and cold spring have made conditions perfect for a long run off that should keep us kayakers happy well into July and August. And, luckily, we have tons of awesome gear to give away throughout the rest of the summer (also keeping kayakers happy). Thanks to all of our amazing supporters, we have so much cool stuff to give to you that, for many drawings, we have multiple winners.

(Darcy plugging a hole on the "End of the World")

I’ve put the up the entire schedule of what you can win between now and the end of October, so check it out!

To enter, go to www.smallworldadventures.com

Scroll down and click the “win” link, answer a few questions, and then stay tuned to see if you’ve won. We pick the winners every 2 weeks via an email lottery and will notify winners at the email address they’ve provided.

Good luck to everyone!

(Don South T)

Schedule for the rest of our gear giveaway:

July 1^st:

#1. Snap Dragon Whitewater EXP Spray Skirt and a copy of Wildwater

#2. Smith Sunglasses (Super Method) and a copy of Wildwater

#3. Sweet Dirty Frank gear bag and a copy of Wildwater

July 15^th:

#1. Sweet Shambala shorts (size medium) and a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine

#2. NRS Hydro Lock drybag, 4 NRS straps and a copy of Wildwater

August 1^st:

#1. IR Semi-Dry top and a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine

#2. Smith Sunglasses (Interlock Whisper) and a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine

#3. NRS Attack Shoes and 1-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine

August 15^th:

#1. Snap Dragon Whitewater EXP spray skirt and a copy of Wildwater

#2. Brown Bag from Skookum Sails and 2 NRS straps

#3. XL Sweet Hoodie and a copy of Wildwater

September 1^st:

#1. Sweet Wanderer Helmet and a copy of Wildwater

#2. Sweet Dirty Frank gear bag and a copy of Wildwater

#3. Sweet Prophecy Dry Pants and a copy of Wildwater

September 15^th:

Werner paddle and a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session

October 1^st:

Jackson Villian and a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session

October 20^th-ish (after Moose fest):

A week-long kayaking trip in Ecuador with Small World Adventures and a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine.

(Darcy scouting on the South T. Thank goodness for the drysuit--really good poison oak protection!)

The local Idaho boyz are giving us an awesome tour of Idaho’s best big water so hopefully we’ll have some photos to post at the end of the weekend. Look forward to photos of high water North Fork Payette, Little Salmon and South Salmon.

(Don ripping it up in his new Rock Star)

Small World Adventures

Extreme Cooler Packing--the Biggest Challenge of the Middle Kings

2011-06-13T09:04:00.000-06:00

Speed descents on hard rivers seem to be all rage these days. What first caught my attention was when Tommy Hillike and John Grace did the Middle Kings (including the hike in) in 1 day. Then Chris Korbulic and Ben Stooksberry did it in an even shorter day. If I’m not mistaken, Tommy and John also did Upper Cherry Creek and the Grand Canyon of the Stikine in 1 day. Now, I’ll admit that all of this is impressive. I mean, there’s no way I could hike 13 miles over an 11,972 foot pass and then paddle 50 miles of Class V+ in under 24 hours. So my hat is definitely off to these boys.

Darcy on one of the easy rapids in the Bottom 9. We spent 11 hours kayaking this stuff for my 30th birthday--not bad!

But, in recent conversations, our good friend Brad brought to our attention that Don Beveridge had accomplished an even more impressive feat on the Middle Kings—he made his “5-day Extreme Cooler” last 9 full days in the near-Fresno 100+ degree heat making it so that our crew had ice cold beverages at the take out.

Take that Tommy Hillike!

It was July of 2009 and we had resigned ourselves to missing the Middle Kings. Don and Bill’s family was having a reunion in British Columbia and so we left California just days before it seemed the Middle Kings would be in. The day after the reunion, we were surfing Skookumchuck when we decided to check the gauge for the Middle Kings…just in case. To our amazement, it was in. A solid week of thunder storms had kept the river at a good level.

Access Denied

So we loaded into the car, drove 20 hours straight to Bill’s house in Coloma, grabbed creek boats, overnight gear and a 2^nd car. Without rest, we drove the 6+ hours to the take-out (remember, we’re in a major hurry, don’t want that water to run out on us)! After we tried to sleep for 4 hours in the sweltering heat, we got up and proceeded to watch Don pack and re-pack and insulate his precious cooler with extra clothes, a sleeping bag and a foam pad.

Don had put a lot of thought into beer selection and cooler preparation. He layered the bottom of the cooler with a selection of pre-chilled beer: PBR for instant takeout gratification and re-hydration, then onward to the likes of Stone IPA and Green Flash. On top of this he layered three blocks and a bag of ice to try to give the cooler a fighting chance. The sleeping bag and clothes were to add as much insulation as possible to the total cooler package.

Now, we had bought the ice the night before on our way through Fresno so day 1 of ice really begins with the night shuttle.

Bill and I were very skeptical. It was only 6am and the temps at the take out were already in the high 80’s. We planned on hiking in the next day, and were going to spend 6 days on the river, so the cooler would have to last 7 days in this heat and there wasn’t any shade for the car. So, we placated Don by sitting by while he meticulously arranged his cooler, all the while knowing it was pure foolishness and that we’d be drinking warm beer 7 days from now.

Almost to the top!

30 or so minutes later Don was ready to go. We got in the car to embark on the 8 hour drive to the put in. Although the route takes you through Yosemite National Park, we were totally over being in the car and just pressed on to Bishop without taking the time to soak in the granite domes.

About 1 hour out of Bishop an amazing hail, rain, thunder and lightening storm hit. We drove through in awe of the storm and even more impressed by the 2 fires we saw spark up from lightning strikes. Our impression turned to gloom, however, when we got to the Bishop ranger station to pick up our backcountry permit and learned that one of those fires was right at our trailhead and our trail to the put in was closed INDEFINITELY.

Bill in some typical "boogie" water on the Middle Kings

F&%K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was the first thing that came to my mind. We’d endured over 36 hours in the car, sleep deprivation, mal-nutrition, and suffered through watching Don pack his stupid cooler only to strike out here in Bishop. My 30^th birthday was just days away and I really wanted to spend it in the Middle Kings but Mother Nature was seriously F-ing up my plans.

So, we languished in a cheap Bishop motel room for 2 days and 2 nights. I was worried that we’d never be allowed to access the trailhead, and Don was worried that the extra days might cause his ice to melt. Then finally we heard the word—the trail was open (well sort of). It was open enough that we could get in and get hiking if we did it fast!

And, no, once we got to the river, the hiking portion of the trip was NOT over. There was a descent amount of portaging in the ensuing days

So, on day 3 since buying the ice, we starting hiking.

Don in the relentless Bottom 9

It took us a day to hike in and then we paddled 5 days of the “steeze.” We hucked big falls, ran the shit, blah, blah, blah.

The important part to this story….yes, wait for it…we arrived to our scorching hot car 9 full days later to find…oh, yes, we couldn’t believe, Don was right and we were wrong…there were 3 tiny little chunks of ice floating in the cooler as we opened the lid.

I never would have thought as we trudged across that hot and dusty parking lot that there was a chance of anything cold being in that car; but as Don, Bill, and I all peered with our tired and anxious eyes into the cooler, we witnessed those precious little ice pieces give up the last of their solid H20 state after putting up one hell of a fight.

Then we reached our hands into the frigid cooler water and pulled out 3 icy cold PBRs.

What a sweet ending to our almost botched Middle Kings trip.

I'm sorry I doubted you Don. All bow to the king of cooler-packing!

So, while we may never break a speed record on the Middle Kings, Don can pack the hell out of a cooler, and I can assure you, we will always have the coldest beers at the take out.

Small World Adventures

The Small World gang trying to stay warm in the CA spring

2011-06-06T10:55:00.000-06:00

Don aspiring to style his line at No-Looky Falls

Even though the goal of all kayakers is to style their lines, stomp their boofs, and stay upright, the reality is that we all make mistakes. Even the best kayakers will be off line sometimes. Unfortunately, making mistakes often means being upside down and that often means relying on your helmet to save your precious noggin.

So, knowing that at some point sooner or later, you’ll need to rely on that shell protecting your head, why settle for anything besides the best?

Bill Beveridge keeping his Sweet Helmet high and dry

The Small World gang is here to tell you that Sweet helmets are schweeeeet! We know we wouldn’t paddle in anything else.

On June 15^th we are going to get one of you lucky paddlers into a Sweet Wanderer Helmet. The Wanderer is an extremely dependable all-round helmet. The small beak keeps water and sun from your eyes and offers great protection. And, with your choice of Bird Blue or Bright Red, you can look good while protecting yourself!

Darcy staying warm in 39 degree weather at the take out with her Sweet Savior fleece and beanie. She definitely need something warm and fuzzy while waiting for Don to return from his motorcycle shuttle mission

Our 2^nd winner on June 15^th will get a pair of Motion Mamba Pogies from NRS and a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine. The Motion Mambas are super lightweight and great for cold days.

Darcy stoked to have the pogies on to combat this crazy California weather. Cold, rain, clouds, and more cold

People often complain about the extra weight pogies add to their paddle making it feel cumbersome and awkward, but with the MM’s you’ll hardly even notice they are there. A fleece-lined super thin material makes these pogies a warm but ultra-light option for keeping your hands happy in adverse conditions.

I’ve been loving mine in the extremely unusal California spring weather we’ve been having. 45 and still raining, no problem, let’s go paddling!

Yeah, you'd be kind of pissed too if you were about to go paddling in the snow!

And, if the weather is sooooo crappy that even Motion Mamba pogies don’t make you want to go face nature, you can sit at home and read the newest issue of Kayak Session Magazine. I hear there is an awesome article about Ecuador in it!

some photos need no captions

So, get your entries in before June 15^th for these great prizes. Go to www.smallworldadventures.com

Read through our homepage a bit as we’ll ask you questions on it in order to sign up, scroll to the bottom, click “win” and fill in the entry form.

Good luck to everyone!

Memorial Day Weekend Paddling on the North and South Yuba

2011-06-01T12:06:00.008-06:00

We've been a bit slow to get things going online since transitioning from guiding in Ecuador to skiing in Colorado to boating in the US again this year, but we're back.

After a great couple of weeks in Washington this spring, we headed south to sunny California. Only to our surprise, California wasn't sunny! We thought we were putting away our drysuits for the summer, but we've been getting snowed on! I think Global Warming is more like Global Stranging. But all this cold weather throughout the West is just saving all that snow for an even more epic summer.

Don on the South Yuba

For Memorial Day weekend we got to get in some great runs on the North and South Yuba with a bunch of friends, especially our buddy Brad Brewer. Darcy is on a team for the Vertical Challenge, so she keeps on wanting to do extra laps. On Saturday we did the South Yuba from 49 to Bridgeport, then Purdon's to 49, then continued on down to Bridgeport again! I'm not on a team so I don't get to count any vertical, all those extra runs are just cutting in on beer drinking time.

Darcy launching in after a portage on the North Yuba

On Monday we did the North Yuba below New Bullard's Bar reservoir with a group of ten of us. It's a great run that I hadn't been able to catch with water in it on other trips to California. It's ultra pool drop and filled with intricate mazes of granite boulders, but mostly boat scoutable.

Bill at lunch/portage #2 on North Yuba

I used to kind of dread returning from sunny Ecuador to springtime paddling in the US. It's tough to go from a shorty or dry top and shorts to the full on drysuit and pogies. But last year I got an IR drysuit, and it really is so comfortable that I actually look forward to wearing it. I used to have one of those front entry suits, and didn't like the bulk of the zipper across my chest and the way it made water leak into my kayak around the skirt tunnel. The zipper across the back of my shoulders in the IR Double D stays up out of the way, and the over skirt is just one piece so it keeps water from running down my sprayskirt tunnel and into the boat. It's way more comfortable, and I'm not sitting in a cold puddle of water all day! I can get in and out of it by myself, though it is easier to have a friend help out (Monday I saw a dude at the takeout getting help unzipping a FRONT zip drysuit!)

So thanks IR for taking the sting out of cold spring boating, and making my return from the tropics of Ecuador a little less shocking.

Nice to have a drysuit for full body immersions like this

The drysuit also makes a kick-ass shuttle outfit. All the Harley riders are jealous.

Ready for the shuttle mission
Believe it or not, people sometimes laugh when I ride by

I had the Trail 90 going 58 miles an hour while doing shuttle from Bridgeport to 49 the other day. I think maybe next time I'll keep my elbow pads on.

Small World Adventures

Get your spring kayak stoke on with Small World Adventures!

2011-05-04T20:35:00.001-06:00

Small World Adventures is at it again...traveling around to go kayaking and to give you sweet kayaking gear!

We got back to the US in early March and, after a 6 week skiing hiatus, we are stoked to get back on the water! It's spring time, the rivers are running and we can't wait to get back in the routine of paddling everyday.

And, to help you get your spring-time kayaking stoke on, we are doing another summer giveaway; but this year it's even bigger and better. We have over 40 prizes to GIVE AWAY TO YOU!

We want to you to be just as happy as Chris is in this photo--and you know new kayaking gear makes you happy! So, to get your entry in, visit us at

Small World Adventures This year you need to read through our homepage in order to learn the answers to 3 easy questions that are required to enter. But it's well worth, as I'm sure you'll want what we're giving out.

What can you win? A one-week trip to Ecuador with SWA, a Jackson Villain, a Werner paddle, so much stuff from Sweet Protection I don't know where to start (1 of 2 helmets, Shambala shorts, gear bag, beanies, t-shirts...), an IR semi-dry top, 1 of 2 IR Thin Skins, 1 of 10 subscriptions to Kayak Session Magazine, Smith sunglasses, 1 of 15 copies of Wildwater, NRS pogies, NRS Attack shoes, NRS straps, a $50 gift certificate to Colorado Kayak Supply, 1 of 2 Snap Dragon spray skirts, 1 of 2 SWA hoodies, 1 of 2 SWA hats.

We drew our 1st winner on May 1st and the lucky guy was Trevyn from North Carolina. He's taking home an IR Thin Skin and a copy of Wildwater. The Thin Skin is roughly 30% bamboo blended fiber- which allows this rash guard/layer to breathe exceptionally well- and keeps the funky mildew smell, that is usually associated with paddling gear, to a minimum! The long sleeve version of the Thin Skin would be a perfect layer to bring to Ecuador on your paddling vacation!
Wildwater, by Forge Motion Pictures, has won 8 awards SO FAR and is a beautiful film about kayaking. It features Ecuador, the North Fork Payette at 8,000+ CFS, the Grand Canyon, and Yule Creek. If watching this movie doesn't make you want to go kayaking, I don't know what will. Even if you don't win a copy, you've gotta check it out--it's amazing.

(Don testing out the surfability of the new 2011 SuperHero. He's on the Oyacachi River, one of our backyard runs in Ecuador. It's a creek run, but does have this great surf wave near the take out--photo Chris Emerick)

Our next drawing is May 15th. The winner will get a 1-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine and a $50 gift certificate to Colorado Kayak Supply (CKS). Kayak Session is the premier international kayaking magazine. Checking out the amazing photos in this mag and reading the articles will have you fired up for sure. CKS is an great paddling shop with pretty much everything you might want and need for a day out on the river. Don't worry, you don't have to live in Colorado to use their gift certificate, they have a full online store as well! If you are in Colorado May 27th-29th, be sure to check out the CKS PaddleFest in Buena Vista, CO.

(Darcy boofing the "last rapid" of the Papallacta River. Just after this boof is one more that lands you into the Quijos River--Photo Chris Emerick)

And, while you are having fun in the sun this spring, remember that you can do the same in January if you come visit us in Ecuador!

All photos (besides the last 2) are compliments of Todd Gilman--thanks Todd for the awesome photos!

Small World Adventures

Last trip of the '10-'11 season!

2011-04-18T11:24:00.011-06:00

Guy airs one out on the Upper Jondachi

Well, considering this trip happened in February, we're more than a little bit late in posting this blog. Sorry! What can we say, it's a bit sad to be writing about our last trip of the season, and we've been busy getting our skiing fixes in since getting back to Colorado!

John gets ready to exit "Aphrodisia" on the Upper Jondachi

We had a great finale to the season though. Guy, John, Doug, Rebecca and Brent joined us for an awesome week of "Mucha Agua." Living up to the trip's name, we paddled some of the best Ecuador has to offer, had great high water runs on the Cheeshouse section of the Qujios, Oyacachi, and Lower Cosanga.

Doug enjoying clear water, sun and jungle fun

Guy was back for his second trip this season in Ecuador, Rebecca was finishing up week 2, and Brent and John were back for yet another Small World visit. Small World "newbie" Doug was our only non-repeat guest. But since Doug had been to Ecuador before on his own, it was a well rounded group of Ecua-veterans.

Rebecca still boofing on week two in Ecuador

We all had a great time both on and off the river. Great friends, food, boofing and beers on the porch!

The harbor at lunch

It's always bitter sweet to finish the season and head back to Colorado, but it was a great way to end a super season.

see ya...

Brent squeezing his way through one of the tight slots on the Upper Jondachi

Thanks gang for helping us put the finishing touches on another great season in Ecuador. we hope to see you all again next year!

Small World Adventures

Feb. 12 - 27

2011-04-14T08:18:00.017-06:00

This wasn't on the actual trip but I am still trying to figure out what a Vegan like Darcy is trying to do to this chicken.

It looks like it is going to be a long week. Remember SWA's one rule on the river, "One swimmer at a time".

The last weeks of February were incredible, we had guests from Austria and Holland besides from the USA, some of them stayed for two weeks. The last week was our Intro to Creeking trip and we got some serious creek time on the upper Quijos, Oyacachi, upper and lower Cosanga, Upper Misahualli and Piatua. Looking at these photos makes me excited for next October to come around so I can head back south.

"Eat, Sleep, Boat" was once our motto at SWA and we still try to live the simple life.

I love those Euro paddlers, focused and stylish. Yvette driving her boat on the Oyacachi.

Hans enjoying a real river, the Cosanga, instead of a man-made one in Holland.

Christoph reviewing the action at lunch.

Jim on one of the hundreds of drops on the Piatua. We got to run it twice at two different levels.

KO spent two weeks in Ecuador and it paid off in her paddling, she took it to another level!

Mark with the GoPro on the Lower Cosanga.

Al driving on the Rio Piatua.

Joerg looking glad he has enough beers to wash this all down.

Small World Adventures

February 12th Torrents

2011-03-15T11:58:00.000-06:00

(Don grinning ear to ear over the 2011 Super Hero)

February's Torrents trip brought together a great group from California, Wisconsin and Alaska. Eclectic mix? Yes! But that's why they were so much fun. Craig came down to Ecuador for his paddling comeback tour and kicked some serious ass. So now he's ready for California's epic spring run off. Ryan and Rebecca were SWA first-timers and it was awesome to show them around Ecuador's best rivers.

(Ryan lining up his boof on the Upper Misahualli)

We got super lucky and caught the Upper Misahualli at an ideal level. We were able to run from the Lodo put in all the way down to Archidona. We boofed so much we hardly had energy for the beers and monkeys at the take-out! (but don't worry, we managed to rally).

(Craig enjoying a beautiful sunny day on the Rio Oyacachi)

The rain gods smiled on us this week and allowed us to run a near-perfect itinerary with this crew. We got sweet levels on the Oyacachi, Misahualli, Upper Jondachi and Piatua Rivers. Certainly can't complain about that!

(Wes, Rebecca, Craig and Don enjoying a beer on top of a dug out canoe. The only thing that could make this bar cooler is if it were actually floating in the river!)

(Rebecca staying focused on the Upper Jondachi)

Rebecca stayed on for a 2nd week with us and rocked our Mucha Agua trip as well.

(Don in Toro Loco on the Piatua)

PARTING SHOT:

(Ryan was super stoked about his elbow pads--mainly because they are so stylish)

Small World Adventures

Rios Escondidos, Ecuador kayaking at its best

2011-02-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Tim looking small amongst the giant boulders and huge trees on the Rio Chingual

February 5th (yeah, yeah, I'm way behind) brought us a group of bad ass kayakers from Utah, Colorado and Chile. This group fired things up and completed an incredible itinerary of paddling some the best Ecuador has to offer!

Marty of Jackson Kayaks test driving the brand new 2011 SuperHero through Piggly Wiggly rapid on the Rio Quijos

So, we left off last time with Texaco now deciding that the world oil situation was favorable to going into the roadless jungles of Ecuador to start operations...The Ecuadorian government was stoked on this plan too as they wanted to finally take control of the eastern half of their country and they had a lot of landless Ecuadorians that they weren't quite sure what to do with.

Curtis, always "cool as a cucumber" is lost in the chaos of a stout flow on the Cheesehouse

Ecuadorian government officials, long frustrated by the disconnect between the eastern and western halves of the country, were especially motivated to bring this region under their control in conjunction with the oil boom. In his 1977 MAG (ministry of agriculture) report, Salvador laments that, “it is not practical that almost half of Ecuadorian territory is permanently abandoned with a scarce population." Prior to the oil boom, the Oriente (where we kayak) did not contribute to the national economy, there was no one protecting the borders, and by and large it was seen as an unruly jungle not being utilized to its potential.

Don and Marty heading to the Rio Oyacachi with their brand new boats--Villain for Don, 2011 SuperHero for Marty

The national government’s goal in the 1970s was to ideologically transform this region into an unoccupied land, then physically transform this vacant space into a contributing portion of the Ecuadorian nation by bringing, “a land without people to people without land.” This seemed the perfect solution to Ecuador's problem of having A LOT of landless people. Give them free land in the Oriente, it will keep them content and will help the government populate, protect, and make productive the Oriente. Of course, the land was not acutally without people, but was home to home to eight Indigenous groups, Dominican and Franciscan missionaries and other Ecuadorians.

Frenchy punching big waves on the Quijos

This very notion of who encompassed a “people without land,” and who received the free land excluded those Indigenous people who would not take up agriculture in the form that the government recognized (clear-cutting the rainforest for a mono crop system of farming). Indigenous practices of polyculture and growing crops in the forest rather than cutting it down and growing on top of the forest fueled the government’s impression that Indigenous people were tied to the land in its primitive, uncultivated state.

Curtis drops the Papallacta confluence rapid--that shit it steep!

With the advent of the oil era, the Ecuadorian government needed to simplify the Oriente in order to make it easier to control. Getting rid of the unkempt jungle was a first step in this process. Using the Law of Empty Lands to give away land to what they hoped would be productive farmers (a la homesteading in the US), the government aimed to transform the Oriente into a landscape they understood as productive and recognized as Ecuadorian.

The gang stoked to be enjoying a little sunshine on the Upper Jondachi

This transformation also meant that the government would have increased control over the region; and, in a moment when oil seemed to literally be spurting out of the ground, control was key. Requiring that every Ecuadorian cut down half of the jungle on their plot of land, the Law of Empty Lands served to wipe out as much of the unruly, unknown, and seemingly unorganized jungle as possible and to transform it into an agricultural system that the government could measure and understand.

Mauricio punching the "rodeo hole" on the Rio Chingual

In the early 1970s, both the Ecuadorian government and Texaco-Gulf had serious motivation to bring the Oriente under their direct control. For the Ecuadorian government, the Oriente had long signified a jungle with all the word’s historic connotations—savage, unruly, dark, diseased, and impenetrable—and in the 1970s, the government capitalized on this image to make their case for recolonization in order to finally overcome this jungle.

Frenchy "blasting" nice move dude:)

In the 1970s, nature in the form of wild, underutilized rainforests was useless to the Ecuadorian government. That this “jungle” was also home to Indigenous people did not matter in the face of the development potential on the horizon. While these people were engaging in myriad activities including certain forms of agriculture, the manner in which they did this did not register with the government as either useful or productive.

Mauricio checking out a different kind of river technology

The problem with Indigenous practices of agriculture in the Oriente was that they “failed the visual test of scientific agriculture.” Many Indigenous groups in the Oriente practiced a form of shifting agriculture, using various parts of the rainforest and growing many crops together. As James Scott explains, this shifting agriculture, “is an exceptionally complex and hence quite illegible form of agriculture from the perspective of a sovereign state and its extension agents.” The government sought to stamp out this chaotic-looking form of agriculture and replace it with a system of titled plots of monocropped land, a system more suitable to rational control and market exports

Tim and Curtis admiring some unique Ecuadorian geology

Additionally, by replacing Indigenous knowledge, practices, and space with Ecuadorian knowledge, practices, and space, the government sought to narrow Indigenous ability to exist beyond the reaches of the state. The Oriente, as the government conceived of it, had no room for Indigenous relationships with the land. In this context, the divide between Indigenous/wilderness and Ecuadorian/civilized grew to enormous proportions.

Paulina and Mauricio blue angel the Oyacachi

Ecuador was on the verge of becoming an important oil exporter, and never before had it been so pressing for a nation to transform its wild landscape (including the people who constituted this landscape) into something tamed, fashioned, and easy to manage. In the 1970s, the government capitalized on popular perceptions of the Oriente as a desolate jungle in order to remake the history of the Oriente in a modern image. By perpetuating the notion that the eastern half of Ecuador was wasting away in a primitive state, the government effectively erased its past and set the stage for a new epoch in the region’s history.

Tim goes big at the P-cubed boof

Don getting his chance to paddle the SuperHero. He says it boofs well!

Marty and Curtis playing together in the "rodeo hole" on the Chingual. Dude, Marty, you are interfering with Curtis's ride--only one rodeo star at a time please!

Bear lining up the boof at the Papallacta confluence rapid

Small World Adventures

Ecuador--Not just for Kayakers!

2011-02-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

Achote plant found in the jungles along the Napo River. This is used for coloring cloth, pottery, the hair of an Indigenous group called the "Colorados," to paint the faces of tourists:), and it's used in a common food coloring oil here in Ecuador.

Ecuador is not just for kayakers! My mom came down here a couple of weeks ago and brought along an entourage of adventuresome lady friends. None of them were kayakers, but Small World Adventures still found a week packed with action and awesome activities...read more below on what you can do in Ecuador if kayaking ain't your thing (more on the oil history next blog when I post the Rios Escondidos write up).

Nancy shooting a Toucan (don't worry, not a real one, a "target toucan" with a blow gun at a Quichua village along the Rio Napo. She also just had her face painted with some achote.

So, we started off the week with a nice lunch in Quito and then a tour of a hummingbird sanctuary in the cloud forests along the Papallacta River. It was great sitting in the peaceful gardens alongside the river watching literally hundreds of hummingbirds feed and buzz around. After watching the birds we continued on to Small World's riverside lodge for a relaxing evening of walking around the gardens there and enjoying the first of Lili's home cooked meals.

Deanna learning that her rafting helmet is much different than her riding helmet--yo! that helmet is on backwards!

Day 2 brought us to the Salado River for some rafting. We started easy to make sure everyone liked it, so just did a short 1-hour stretch and then headed down to San Rafael Falls. It's a 40 minute hike into the over look, but oh so worth it to see the Quijos River fall 485 feet!

Nancy got sponsored by Stihl (you know the chain saw company) for her trip to Ecuador.

Since everyone was stoked on the rafting, the next day we heading southeast to the town of Tena and did some more rafting on the Jatunyacu River (or Upper Napo). Then we had a delicious meal at the fanciest restaurant in Tena and watched sloths roam around the place as we ate our steaks, penne pasta, and Spinach salads.

Tarquino showed the ladies big action on the Upper Napo. It was an exciting whitewater day!

Along the Upper Napo, our local guide Tarquino talked to us all about the rainforest, how the ecosystems work, and about the Indigenous people who live there. Did you know, for example, that of all the sunlight that hits the forest canopy (the tops of the trees) that only 1% actually makes it to the ground?

Some beautiful scenery along the Jatunyacu

3/4 of the way through the river trip some local kids in inner tubes jumped aboard. The ladies were all happy to share their ride with the kids (who said they wanted to be river guides when they grew up) so they paddled to the take out with us. We taught them important English words like "all forward," "back paddle," and "STOP!"

After a day of rafting, we drove down to the jungle port town of Puerto Misahualli. This town lays at the confluence of Misahualli and Upper Napo Rivers. This is where the Napo proper begins and is essentially the end of car travel in this part of Ecuador. From here it's motorized canoe only!

So, the next day we hoped on a motorized canoe and headed downriver!

It was interesting navigating the the Class I and II rapids of the Napo in a big, long, unwieldy canoe. But our driver got us through unscathed, and we only had to get out once to push the canoe up a rapid! Then we had a great lunch at a jungle lodge, enjoyed their gardens for a while and headed back to the civilization that is Tena.

Funny sights on our motorized canoe trip. That's probably a 2 year old girl sitting in a wooden canoe while her brother (probably 6-8 years old) swims along with a rope tied around his waist to transport canoe and sister. That's way different than how I got around when I was 2.

Nice jungle colors on the banks of the Napo.

Sherrie learning what a Chonta Curro is...

When we got back to Tena we toured the local market and saw tons of amazing looking fruits and vegetables for sale. We also got the treat of checking out a local delicacy--Chonta Curro--AKA grubs! We didn't eat any though, just played with them for a while:)

Mom and Darcy enjoying a beautiful sunny day on the Rio Quijos. Mom loves to come visit me in Ecuador to escape the winter cold, get out in the sun, and enjoy the good life at Cabanas Tres Rios.

We spent the last 2 days enjoying the Quijos Valley and Small World's lodge. Everyone got massages from Lili, we hiked to a local waterfall, went bird-watching and did more rafting to check out the amazing Basalt river canyons of the Quijos River.

The great architecture of Old Town Quito is lit up at night to highlight the beauty and to attract families to come out and enjoy the city at night.

Our last night in Quito we had a great dinner up in New Town and then headed to Old Town to walk around the plazas and see all the Colonial churches lit up. The city has made a massive effort to beautify Old Town and make it a pleasant place to hang out at night. It was a really great experience. A nice send off for everyone before waking up early to catch flights back to the United States.

A little Monkey action from Puerto Misahualli

Don, Larry, Tarquino, the ladies and I all had a great week of rafting and touring around Ecuador. Thanks for coming everyone--we hope it was the trip of a lifetime!

Small World Adventures

2011 Jackson Super Hero Review--Ecuador

2011-02-15T20:20:00.010-07:00

Ecuador is the perfect testing ground for new boats as it is full of variety - from steep creeks to pushy big volume rivers so you can really run the boats through the gamut of different types of whitewater. The crew at Small World Adventures has spent the last week checking out the 2011 Super Hero and trying to answer this question: what are the differences between the new Super Hero and Villain? Don Beveridge has been hard at work trying to suss out the specific qualities and strengths of each boat. He’s paddled steep big volume runs (130 feet per mile with roughly 5,000 cfs), and low volume creeks and here’s what he’s come up with:

I got the opportunity to paddle the brand spanking new 2011 Super Hero for the last few days, and it was awesome. Marty brought one down to Ecuador to test out for the week, and we couldn’t let him take it home...

The first time I got to paddle it was when we ran the lower Papallacta into the Quijos river, and the water was coming up as the day went on. It was a great opportunity to start out on a steep creek, and end up in big, fast water on the main Quijos. The boat is QUICK. The hull feels super fast and loose, and it wants to maneuver. Just looking at it, you can tell it’s a boofing machine, but as a bonus, the nose resurfaces quickly if you do end up sinking it. This model is even more agile and maintains speed better than the older Super Hero. It’s better than it’s predecessor in pushy, powerful water. Crashing through consecutive holes was no problem with the surprisingly fast 2011 Super Hero. In fact, as the day went on, I started drifting into holes slowly or a bit sideways to see how easy it was to get it stuck, and I couldn’t! I eventually had to drop into a BIG ledge at the takeout to take it for a surf, and it was stable in the hole and easy to paddle out.

As the folks at Jackson say, the Super Hero’s loose hull and easy maneuverability will make it easy and fun for beginners, but that loose hull also makes it great for advanced boaters, you can spin on a dime in a rapid, and get up to speed in just one stroke. You have to keep an active blade in the water in big rapids though - If you just float along without paying attention, that loose hull might just try to turn without you.

Especially if you like the way a playboat handles, you’ll like boating the Hero line. We often have guests that playboat a lot, and when they get into a creek boat for harder runs, don’t like the way “conventional” creek boats handle. The Super Hero’s hull feels just like a playboat, with the added advantage of volume and speed. It’s also more fun than other creek boats for surfing waves and holes along the way.

This new line is going to make it tough to choose between a Villain and a Hero. I used to think I needed a Villain for hull speed and punching holes, but the new and faster Hero is great at this. The Villain still probably wins out in terms of holding a line and charging forward, but the Hero turns easier. Once you put a Villain on line, it wants to stay there. Loaded down for an overnight or in big water, the Villain likes to plow through stuff. The Super Hero is always ready to turn. If you’re a playboater or someone that finds creek boats a bit sluggish to steer, the new Hero line is the boat for you. The Villain might still be my choice for big volume runs, but on a low volume creek, it’s going to be hard to beat the Super Hero. It depends on your boating style and on what kind of water you’ll be paddling most. Maybe the answer is now we all need a creek boat quiver of two...

The model we have is a Superlinear, with I think a bit lower seat than the Crosslinked boats come with. If you’re a big guy, this is going to make the boat even more comfy and roomy. Tons of leg and knee room. For me, I felt I was sitting a bit low in the boat, so I put a Sweet Cheeks in and the boat fits and feels just right. At 195, I think I’m on the low end of the target weight range but it was by no means “too much” boat for me to paddle. You could put in a bunch of gear (or put on a bunch of weight!) and still be floating high.

Go test drive a 2011 Super Hero at your nearest Jackson Dealer, or come join Small World Adventures to try it out on Ecuador’s best rivers and creeks.

Small World Adventures

Jan. 29th Larry's crew--storming the creeks of Ecuador!

2011-02-14T04:58:00.000-07:00

(Chuck from Ashville running the Lower Jondachi. When Chuck wasn't being a "Candy-Ass" (I think this term was coined on the trip) he was out ripping it up on Ecuador's rivers and creeks).

Larry's Group, AKA Intro to Creeking also had an amazing week of running Ecuador's whitewater. This crew was focusing on fine-tuning their creeking skills to go home ammped and ready for the 2011 spring and summer kayaking season.

(Anne, when she wasn't busy calling Chuck a "Candy Ass" was getting her boof on! Her she is styling the line at "Free Willy" on the Lower Cosanga)

After reading last week's blog, I'm sure you are all wondering, "Darcy, you say Shell pulled out of Ecuador in 1947 saying they only found unviable results, what was up with that?" Well, don't worry, here's a little lowdown on the global oil situation between the 1920's and 2000.

The Oriente’s (Ecuador's eastern half--where we go kayaking) physical transformation was not solely the result of the Ecuadorian government’s policies, Texaco-Gulf’s technology, or Ecuador’s landless population; circumstances in the global oil situation we just right in the late 1960s to push multi-national oil corporations to stretch the limits of their operations and move into a remote region of Ecuador.

(Chrystal showing that you can indeed live in Ohio and be a bad ass kayaker!)

Texaco-Gulf never would have been in the NorOriente if petroleum situations around the world had not conspired to make it a worthwhile investment. Multi-national corporations began oil explorations in Ecuador’s Oriente in the 1920s, but no wells came online until Texaco-Gulf opened their first well and pumped the first crude out of the Oriente in 1972. In the half century between the initial explorations and production, it was not necessarily lack of petroleum deposits, technology or money holding back the industry; rather the world oil climate was not right for bringing more wells (especially expensive wells in remote regions of the world) into production.

Petroleum was crucial to the victors in World War I, and the end of this war saw a huge boom of oil consumption. The rapidly rising popularity of automobiles, combined with petroleum’s functions as a pesticide and fertilizer, caused American consumption of oil to skyrocket in the 1920s. At the same time, the US was facing a shortage in oil from their own fields. The high oil prices that this potential shortage commanded, combined with some early successes by individual oil seekers in what would become the East Texas Oil Fields, sent people into a mad frenzy searching for oil. Individual fortune seekers looked to Texas for this oil, while bigger companies looked abroad. In the early 1920s, at the same time that Standard Oil and Shell were exploring in Ecuador’s Southern Oriente, Walter C. Teagle, then president of Standard Oil, was conducting explorations of his own in Iraq. In 1927, Standard Oil discovered their first Iraqi “gusher.” By 1928, these Iraqi oil fields, combined with overly successful East Texas fields, created a worldwide oil glut. With this glut and these new overseas explorations, we entered into what historian Daniel Yergin calls the “age of oil, without which American civilization as we know it could not exist." It makes sense, therefore, that Standard and Shell did not declare any early successes in their oil fields in Ecuador. It is far easier and cheaper, after all, to build roads and oil infrastructure in a wide-open desert (Iraq), than in a dense rainforest (Ecuador).

(Tom on the Rio Oyacachi. Tom and Chuck were the only 2 guys on their trip, and he was stoked to be paddling with such a cool group of ladies! Everyone was a little reserved at first, keeping to themselves; but a party bus ride to Tena on day 3 put a quick end to that!)

Then, the 1939 discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia sealed the fate of Ecuador’s Oriente for the next thirty years. With Saudi Arabia oil, “the single greatest prize in all of history,” there was absolutely no need for Ecuadorian oil, and Shell (by then Standard was already out) declared their long years of exploration fruitless, claiming there was no oil in the southern Oriente. Today, Maxus (after having bought Conoco’s concession) is producing oil from this region (the region that Shell earlier declared devoid of oil), and their wells have proven so lucrative as to make it worthwhile for them to fight the government to open more land (land that is protected by national parks and reserves) for oil production.

(The Gang scouting some complicated drops on the Lower Cosanga)

Conoco fought for years to open Block 16, which is inside Yasuni National Park. In April of 1990, the Ecuadorian government redrew the boundaries of the park to exclude block 16 and there are now full-scale operations there. Just as conditions in the 1920s and 1930s made it worthwhile for Shell not to drill in the Southern Oriente, a different set of conditions in the late 1960s made it worthwhile for Texaco-Gulf to drill in the Northern Oriente—arguably a more remote part of the region.

(Trying to listen to Larry, but too distracted by the amazing jungle scenery)

In 1956, Egypt’s leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal Company, provoking action from the United Kingdom, France, and Israel who used the canal, among other reasons, to transport their oil from the Middle East to its markets. Europe was transporting two thirds of their oil through the Suez Canal, which gave them motivation to keep control over access and tariffs. Their campaign against Egypt to win back control over the canal was unsuccessful, marking an unprecedented victory for Egypt. Nasser’s triumph with the Suez Canal “was a warning to the oil-consuming West,” and gave rise to nationalism and anti-colonialism throughout the world.

(Heidi, after a little extra encouragement, ponied up and ran this stout drop on the Rio Oyacachi. Nice work Heidi!)

Then, in 1960, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait formed the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the instigation of Juan Pablo Perez Alfonso of Venezuela. A combination of OPEC’s objective of restricting oil production, and the sky rocketing use of petroleum products were bringing the world oil glut to an end, and visions of shortages were on the horizon. In the same year that OPEC formed, Dr. Armand Hammer’s Occidental Petroleum (OXY) discovered oil in Libya and was negotiating terms of extraction with Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi. Although Dr. Armand Hammer did eventually strike a deal and begin oil operations in Libya, the contract was not on his terms. This negotiation marked the first time in foreign oil dealings that the producing country had dictated the terms with an oil company, and as Yergin points out, “the heyday of the majors was over.”

(Chrystal and Heidi on the way to the Oyacachi)

In the mid-1960s Texaco began searching for oil once again in Ecuador. With the world old glut depleted and control of a good portion of the oil industry in the hands of "non-Corporate America," desperate measures had to be taken. And so Texaco airlifted vehicles, wells, road and pipeline building supplies and workers into what is now Lago Agrio to begin their Ecuadorian oil legacy.

(Karen of Ashville running the last rapid on the Oyacachi River. Karen didn't get enough paddling in her 7 day trip with us, so she came back for 4 more! Way to get after it Karen)

Tune in next week to learn more about Texaco's operations here in Ecuador...

Small World Adventures

How did Ecuador's whitewater landscape come to be accessible? (part 1)

2011-02-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

January 29th Torrents aka "don's group"

Darcy leading Caitlin, Paulina and Mauricio through "just a typical rapid" on the Rio Oyacachi

People on our trips often ask questions about the areas we boat in such as, what do the people do for a living here? Who built the roads? Are these Indigenous or Ecuadorians? What's that brown pipeline running alongside the road? And many other questions pertaining to the regions that we boat in. So, having spent 2 years of my life researching and writing on just these topics, I figured I share a little info here.

Caitlin entering "Sabado Gigante" on the Rio Piatua. Caitlin, like all good college students should, ditched a week of class to come paddle in Ecuador with us. But don't worry, besides working on her boof, she also got to practice her Spanish.

I suppose we should start with a little oil history since oil is essentially what has made kayaking possible in Ecuador's Oriente. Plus I'll throw in a little bit about what the Oriente was like before oil, roads,and kayakers. I know that may sound a bit strange; and, kayakers as a group, are often at odds with oil development, but the plain and simple truth is that we wouldn't be kayaking in Ecuador if it weren't for the access roads that Texaco built back in the 1970s. But, Ecuador's oil history started long before 1970, and so I'll dedicate this blog (part 1) to a little precursor before we talk about Texaco.

Paulina counting truchas in "Go Deep" on the Oyacachi. Paulina and Mauricio are warming up with the Torrents trip for next week's Rios Escondidos trip. So far Paulina is stoked on Ecuador, and, coming from Chile, she is learning lots of new Spanish words from Ecuador's lexicon--Esfero, que es esto? In turn, I am learning lots of new Spanish from her!

Ecuador first became home to a petroleum industry in 1878 when the National Assembly gave M.G. Mier and Company exclusive rights to extract petroleum, tar, and kerosene from the Santa Elena Peninsula on the west coast of Ecuador. In 1911, the first active well came online on the peninsula, and in 1917, Anglo-Ecuadorian Oilfields Ltd, which would later become British Petroleum, began operations there as well. Small operations continue on the peninsula today, but are trivial compared to those in the Oriente. Modern oil processes truly began in Ecuador in 1921 with Shell and Standard Oil. The first large scale oil expedition to the Oriente was in 1921 when Ecuadorian president Jose Luis Tamayo granted Royal Dutch Shell and Standard Oil a joint concession to search for petroleum deposits in Ecuador’s Southern Oriente.

Karl driving his Villain through some big Amazonian holes! Karl from Colorado is on his 3rd trip with us and still can't get enough. He loves Ecuador's awesome and continuous whitewater and also enjoys arguing with Don about politics:)

Standard and Shell, began mapping the Southern Oriente in the 1920s, and in 1928, the Ecuadorian government signed a contract with the two companies to begin construction of a road that would link the town of Ambato in the highlands, with the town of Mera in the Oriente. Completed in 1947, this was the first motorcar road into the region, and many of the early settlers used it when they came into the Oriente. Halfway through road construction, Standard Oil fell out of favor with the government and lost their concession, but Shell stayed on. In 1948, Shell pulled out of the Oriente claiming that their twenty-seven years of exploration had produced only unviable results. As the North American Congress on Latin America explains, “the circumstances of oil production on a world-scale were such that the incorporation of any new reserves could only drive down the price of oil.” This crushed the hopes of the severely indebted Ecuadorian government who believed oil would spur the country into its much-needed modernization and be its economic savior. Shell’s declaration prompted Ecuadorian President Galo Plazo Lasso to declare that the “Oriente es un mito” (the Oriente is a myth). Nearly thirty years of Ecuador’s hopes for salvation from economic despair hinged on the Oriente’s oil potential, and this news came as a huge national blow.

Dave and Paulina enjoying lunch on the Rio Quijos. It sure is nice to be able to wear shorts in February!

After Shell pulled out of the Southern Oriente, things quieted down considerably, and all national projects in the region came to an abrupt halt. Twenty years passed before the Oriente saw any more oil action, and both the government and multi-national corporations were almost wholly absent from the region. Many Ecuadorians who moved to the region to work on the exploration teams or on road construction crews stayed behind and opened shops, kept farms or ranches, harvested lumber, and traded what goods they could. The few settlers who did stay in the Oriente pressed on with road and trail construction hoping to link the Southern Oriente more directly to Quito—the most lucrative market—but progress was slow without government or international funding.

Mauricio on the Rio Piatua. Mauricio, a native Chilean paddlers, acustomed to hucking waterfalls, is getting aquinted with the continuous boulder gardens of Ecuador's rivers.

There were no roads east of the Andes until 1947, and no road connecting this region to Quito until 1972. The 1947 road connecting Ambato with Mera was quite useful as a link with the highlands, but still was not enough to integrate the Oriente. While Ambato was a sizeable town, it did not compare to Quito (farther to the north) in terms of lucrative markets. Consequently, most trade was done via a network of waterways in the lower elevations, and then on horse and foot trails to go up and over Papallacta Pass in the Andes to the markets in the capital city of Quito (this is the same route we take today with our kayakers when we come from Quito, over the Andean Continental Divide and down to our lodge to start kayaking).

Michael of Ohio (yes, they do have kayakers in Ohio!) styling a line on the Rio Quijos

While most people maintained a subsistence-based economy, many depended, to a certain degree, on the small market exchanges their surpluses allowed, and they all had an interest in maintaining the trails. In 1950, it was a seven-day journey from Archidona in the Oriente to Quito in the highlands (just over 80 kilometers). Jamie Dalgo, an Ecuadorian colonist who utilized the trails, explains poor conditions on the return trip from Quito. He begins his description on the descent down thirteen thousand foot Papallacta Pass through the village of Papallacta to the small missionary settlement of Baeza (established in 1559) on the eastern slope of the Andes: “slippery rocks make up the path towards Lake Papallacta, legendary and fearsome because of the natives, freezing weather in Papallacta, violent streams, mud without end, until Baeza, a group of houses poorly balanced on a hill.”

Dave enojoying raising water on the Oyacachi. We started with a nice medium low level, and the water slowly came up all day long leaving us with a stout medium by the take out. Everyone paddled well and we had a super fun and splashy day!

Despite these hardships, people made the journey on a regular basis. While this shows a population engaging with its western counterpart via small amounts of trade, it also shows how thoroughly disconnected (at least in terms of twentieth century prevailing technologies) the region was from the commercial centers west of the Andes.

Re-Stocking the beer supply before the next wave of Pilsiner-guzzling paddlers show up!

Larry's group, look for your blog coming next! And more super exciting Ecuadorian history!

Small World Adventures