Get Drenched
July/August 2007

River Kayaking

Rio Santa Maria, Mexico
Travelers looking for ancient Aztec ruins don’t go to the Huasteca Potosina region of northeastern Mexico deep in the Sierra Madre Occidental. Nor do winter sun seekers—the sun is often hidden behind a thin cloudy haze. Those who do venture into this untouristy area go for the Rio Santa Maria, a whitewater river reputed to be just about the most beautiful out there.

It’s not often that paddlers talk about scenic beauty. They describe rapids—big ones, gnarly ones, the ones that left them shaken. Kayakers admire what’s on the river shore, sure, as they are scouting a drop or portaging.

But the Rio Santa Maria is different. I traveled to Huasteca Potosina in northeastern Mexico after seeing a picture and having one of those moments when my stomach rose to my throat and I said to myself: I must go there. The picture is of a kayaker doing an “endo” in a hydraulic in a turquoise river—the Santa Maria. Steep canyon walls rise on either side of him, and, 200 yards behind, a giant waterfall pours into the river from above.

During my kayak trip there, I discovered that there are more than a half dozen kayak runs, with whitewater ranging from class II to class 5, surrounding the Santa Maria. The Rio Micos, where we stayed in grass-roofed huts, was graced with easy waterfalls with wide horizon lines and large soft pools in which to land.

From the Micos we chugged up narrow, winding dirt roads to the Rio Saltos, where we ran boulder gardens and La Luminosa, a 23-foot-high cascade. On the Rio Tampaon we paddled through squirrelly water and kept an eye out for the alligators that live there. These are travertine rivers with water warmed by the semitropical temperatures and colored a bright blue you’d expect to find only in candy stores and Disney movies (the color comes from calcium, which leeches from the bedrock).

On my final day, we ran the Santa Maria in a section that spanned two canyons—the Rincon Grande and the Tamul—and the most difficult whitewater yet. I have to admit, upping the whitewater difficulty after La Luminosa made me a bit nervous. But in the end, what I took from the Santa Maria—what everyone takes—is the scenic beauty. We paddled increasingly technical boulder gardens, but I kept getting distracted by the parrots that squawked at us from bean trees. There were rapids, sure, but all I can tell you about is the steep canyon walls covered in a canopy of trees and ferns and bromeliads—the water was turquoise, and the trees were so bright green they were practically DayGlo.

—Cristina Opdahl

To Go: Agua Azul runs whitewater kayaking trips on the Rios Micos, Saltos, Tampaon, and Santa Maria during December, January, and February. www.aguaazul.com; 208 863 1100

Or Check Out: Ottawa River, Canada. Running as the border between Ontario and Quebec, the Ottawa River was the site of the recent World Championships of Freestyle Kayaking. Known for its endless supply of rapids, sand beaches, and intriguing rock formations, the Ottawa is quickly becoming a favorite for kayakers of all skill levels. With waves, holes, and waterfalls around every bend, the possibilities for exploration on this wide and windy river are infinite. Go June through August for the best water temps. www.riverrunners.com

Rogue River, Oregon. One of only eight U.S. rivers declared “Wild and Scenic,” the Rogue is loaded with salmon and steelhead. And with elk and deer wandering the shores and plentiful osprey overhead, you are guaranteed a scenic trip. Calm waters and advanced rapids provide something for everyone. Following a historic path through a number of small towns running east to west across Oregon, the Rogue eventually flows 215 miles to the Pacific Ocean. The best weather months are May through September. www.white waterwarehouse.com

Ocoee River, Tennessee. In Polk County, Tennessee, bordering North Carolina and Georgia, this river became famous for its whitewater after it hosted the whitewater slalom competition at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. You can now paddle the 1-mile Olympic course or take lessons from one of the many outfitters on the river. The Ocoee, known for some of the best whitewater in the Southeast, is runnable anytime of the year, but the best weather months are June, July, and August. www.ocoee-river.net —Bryn Fox

Rafting

Upper Youghiogheny River, Maryland
Most whitewater rafting rivers are wide highways through the wilderness, roomy enough to fit big rubber barges that fit 8, 10, or even 12 people per boat. To get to the steeper, narrower rivers where you look whitewater right in the eye, where leaves can brush your cheek as you paddle like mad and rocks are more than decoration, you most often need to learn to kayak. Except for one river that I know about, the class 5 Upper Youghiogheny in western Maryland, known as the Upper Yough (pronounced “yok”), is the place to go if you want to get up close and personal with whitewater. Here rafts are as small as they come—fitting just three guests and a guide. The river is too rocky and the drops are too narrow for anything larger.

I was a raft guide on the Upper Yough for two magical seasons long ago, and it changed the way I felt about rivers. Before becoming a guide on the Yough, I had been working on learning how to read water—knowing how to navigate a rapid on sight without any beta. This wasn’t enough for the Yough, however. Here was a river that moved so fast and took so many blind turns at mach speed that I needed to memorize every rock and wave. I learned to scream “all back” as my raft careened through the first drop of Meat Cleaver rapid so that we could slow down in time to thread the needle between the two rock “cleavers.” I yelled “lean left” at Charlie’s Choice rapid long before the raft went up against the Volkswagen-sized rock so folks could get out of their seats and lean before the current flipped the raft like a piece of driftwood. I learned to steer way clear of Tombstone Rock and the Toilet Bowl.

For all its ferocity, the Upper Yough is beautiful. The river- bank is thick with mountain laurel and white trillium in the spring; rhododendron flowers the size of big pink fists bloom in the summer. Running the Upper Yough, said the guide who taught me how to, “is like dancing with the river.” Most who come for a trip on the Yough seem to agree, after a day of taking pirouettes, darting behind rocks, turning in quick three-sixties, then heading back out into the current. Before those magical summers of dancing with the Yough, I had already been hooked on whitewater, but now I was positively in love.—C.O.

To Go: Precision Rafting runs trips on the Upper Yough from April through October. www.precisionrafting.com; 800 477 3723

Or Check Out: Lodore Canyon, Utah. Follow the steps of Major John Wesley Powell as he explored some of the last uncharted wilderness in North America. Discovered in 1869, Lodore Canyon in the northeast corner of Utah has changed little since Powell’s day. The Green River flows through the canyon and offers many challenging rapids throughout the summer months. Calm stretches permit breaks for beaver and bighorn sheep sightings, not to mention Indian rock art carvings and geological formations. The river allows you to travel up to 44 miles and see such notable areas as Disaster Falls, Triplet Falls, and Hell’s Half Mile. www.utah.com/raft/rivers/lodore.htm

Chattooga, South Carolina. The longest undammed river in the Southeast, the “Wild and Scenic” Chattooga flows through the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest and the Fort Sumter National Monument and forms the border between South Carolina and Georgia. The last 7 miles are one of the most exciting river stretches in the Southeast, with many class IVs and even one class VI rapid. The Chattooga is runnable March through November. www.wildwaterrafting.com/chattooga.html

Nahanni River, Northwest Territory, Canada. Rushing 322 kilometers through Nahanni National Park, this river is unique for the variety of terrain it traverses. You travel from mountains and gorges to wide-open valleys. Along the way you can see Virginia Falls, which are twice as tall as Niagara Falls, and you can even run a stretch of river that has 5 miles of continuous rapids. Soak in one of the many hot springs along the river and you have yourself a complete river adventure package. The Nahanni is runnable June through September, though the weather can vary drastically in this short period of time. www.nahanni.com —B.F.

Sea Kayaking

Gulf Islands, Canada
My boyfriend and I launched from the calm waters of Miner’s Bay into Canada’s Gulf Islands, but our sea kayaking excursion was challenged immediately. To get to the heart of the 200-island archipelago just north of Washington’s more well-known San Juan Islands, we’d have to get our timing just right, paddling the narrow straight between Mayne Island, where we started, and the island that sat right next to it before the low tide brought a nasty current into the bottleneck. Our timing wasn’t perfect. We struggled through the passage as though paddling on a treadmill, fighting the current and each other. (“Paddle faster!” “I’m paddling as fast as I can!”) But once we were through, the bulk of the hard work for the four-day trip was conquered. Then it was as though we’d passed through the looking glass.

As we hugged the shoreline, almost instantly something purple caught our eye: a tidepool teeming with bright sea stars. From there mostly uninhabited evergreen forest covered the islands, and wildlife of every kind surrounded us. The seat of a sea kayak was the perfect vantage point. Packs of seals flirted with us from outcroppings of rocks, heron flaunted their diving skills as they fished for dinner, and bald eagles perched majestically just long enough for us to get a good look.

During the day we leisurely paddled the still water. Our lunches were long, as it was hard to resist a lazy siesta on the optimally situated warm slabs of rock. At night we camped on island bluffs and dined on mac-and-cheese and s’mores while basking in the endless views of what felt like our kingdom, made even more grandiose by coral pink sunsets that gave way to perfect inky darkness. After three days of exploring and taking in all that we could, we discovered that we could paddle for weeks and just scratch the surface of what the islands had to offer.

On the last night, we went to bed perched 10 feet above the water, feeling the calm energy of the wild. A few minutes after our heads hit the pillows, we were overtaken by a loud barking noise that sounded like a sea lion on steroids. I immediately sat up and looked out the tent window and, just then, the tail of an orca gracefully kicked up. I wanted to yell and scream and shout: There are whales right there! Instead I held my breath and we reverently listened as a pod frolicked a few feet below us.

The next morning I felt exhilarated and possibly even a little changed from the experience. I looked out into all that water and thought how frightfully deep it was. And then I looked at our tiny kayak and realized that it was the only thing between us and . . . whatever happened to be down there. At that moment leisure went out the window and the only goal was to get back to Mayne Island. —Christian Nardi

To Go: BC Ferries sails from Vancouver to all five main Gulf Islands. www.bcferries.com Mayne Island Kayaking rents kayaks and canoes and gives trip information for launching from Mayne Island. www.maynekayak.com Kayak Pender Island does the same for Pender Island. www.kayakpenderisland.com For general information on the Gulf Islands: www.gulfislands.net

Or Check Out: Anacapa Island, California. Just 14 miles off the coast of Ventura, California, lies Anacapa Island. A 40-foot-high rock arch welcomes you to the island, whose perimeter comprises steep cliffs, lava tubes, and sea caves. Explore Anacapa by kayak in a day or stay overnight at the island’s only campground for a multiday adventure. You can adventure here year-round. www.kayaksb.com

Isla Espiritu Santo, Baja California. Just 5 miles from the town of La Paz at the southern end of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, the island of Espiritu Santo lies unspoiled in the crystal waters of the Sea of Cortez. Literally translated as Holy Spirit Island, you can enjoy white-sand beaches and excellent snorkeling to complement undisturbed hours of paddling among the whales that are frequently spotted here. Composed of lava and volcanic ash, this island boasts rocky points separated by shallow bays that are perfect for exploring the clear waters. For the best weather go October through May. www.islaespiritusanto.com

Tubing

Yampa River, Colorado
Go ahead and sneer. Some do, especially the nimble kayakers who scorn our ungainly advance. Fly anglers have also been heard to curse the “rubber hatch” that clutters the river come June. But even our detractors occasionally abandon their ultratechnical pursuits—if only for a day—to indulge in the guilty pleasure of easing back onto a rubber cradle and rocking carelessly downstream.

The Yampa River courses through Steamboat Springs, a Colorado mountain town where skiing hasn’t quite supplanted cattle ranching and where leather-colored grazing lands still cover most of the broad valley floor. Pines grace the summits of the surrounding mountains, making them seem gentler than the bald, toothy peaks typical of other parts of Colorado, but they’re giants nonetheless: 10,568-foot Mount Werner is a hulking mass with a web of ski runs etched into its flanks.

The river splits Steamboat Springs into two distinct identities: the right bank features bars, restaurants, and other fragments of the downtown shopping district; on the left bank sits Howelsen Hill Ski Area and its venerable jumps. Between the two the Yampa picks up speed as it tumbles over rocky ledges and waterfalls that are perfect for tubing.

You’ll want to launch sometime after the bracingly cold snowmelt season but before the river’s flow dwindles to the point that your butt bounces over every boulder on the riverbed. Watch for that magical window—usually sometime in late June—and on the very next sunny day strap on your river shoes and shove off downstream.

Even on stifling days, the water startles you with its chill. Your breath quickens a little as the river ripples over your abdomen, but soon the black rubber starts radiating the sun’s warmth and you relax, extending your arms like a teenager trying to sneak a cuddle with his date. Tip your head back and you can lose yourself in the yawning sky, clouds shifting silently above you like a blue-and-white mobile. Or focus downriver and scan the water for boulders and splashy little rapids—not that you can do much to alter your course since it’s almost impossible to steer a tube. A better use of your hands is to grip a can of suds and lift it to your lips, occasionally hoisting it high enough to clear leaping whitewater.

A black Lab plunges into the river from the bike path beneath Howelsen Hill. Restaurant patrons on the Yacht Club’s riverside deck wave to you as they chomp their burgers. You sort of wish you had a burger. They sort of wish they were floating on a tube.

And it’s true, you conclude, that you’ve got the best deal going, drifting downstream on a floating recliner. No cares, no effort, just sunshine and water flickering across your skin like summer’s tickling fingers.—Kelly Bastone

To Go: Put in at Rotary Park, 3 miles south of Steamboat Springs at the intersection of U.S. 40 and Mount Werner Circle. The Bud Werner Memorial Library makes a good takeout; from there catch the free city bus back to your car. No tube? Backdoor Sports offers tube rental and shuttle service for $15 per person. www.backdoorsports.com; 970 879 6249

Or Check Out: Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, West Virginia. With the Potomac offering a variety of whitewater and the Shenandoah providing miles of calm, flat current, you can do one or the other to suit your mood—or combine the two for an all-around tubing adventure. Enjoy the historic town of Harpers Ferry as you escape the heat by taking to the water. Gather friends for a day of whitewater thrills or take the kids on a mellow float. Prime time to go is May through September. www.river riders.com

Coldwater Creek, Milton, Florida. With a swift current without the rapids, the cool, shallow water of Coldwater Creek is ideal for tubing. At only 2 feet deep most of the way, this sandy-bottom creek winds its way through the Blackwater River State Forest of northwest Florida and eventually flows into the Gulf. With white-sand beaches on the banks, there’s no shortage of places to pull off for a picnic, a swim, or a campsite. Coldwater Creek can be done in a few hours or a few days and can be run all year long. www.adventuresunlimited.com

Canoeing

Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Minnesota/Canada
I am sitting in a canoe paddling through one of 1,000 lakes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), a 200-mile stretch between northern Minnesota and Canada. Our party of six women glides away from our entry point, our fearless leader, Laurayne Conway, guiding our way to camp while giving pointers on steering and handling our paddles.

Laurayne has been camping in the BWCA for 35 years. As a coach and a counselor from Elgin, Illinois, she brought inner-city Chicago youth to walk in the footsteps of the Sioux and the Chippewa, get intimate with virgin forest, and witness the call of a loon, the wingspan of an osprey, and the antlers on a moose. But even after retiring, Laurayne kept coming. Other than more bald eagle sightings, not much about these trips has changed for her.

The next morning we set out on a day trip. With more than a million acres of wilderness before us (160 miles of portage trails and 1,500 miles of canoe routes), we merely scratch the surface. Sometimes we do this literally, when our canoes hit the igneous rock before a portage. And we portage eight times—once over a beaver dam. Most are quick hoists across a narrow strip of land, but a few are significantly longer, the longest nearly half a mile.

My Nalgene bottle is now empty and I’m parched. Laurayne has been drinking the cool water straight out of the lake, which freaks me out just slightly. The Boundary Waters seems about as pure a place as I’ve ever been. The air’s crispness suggests a straight-out-of-the-fridge quality, the sterile incubating heat of the sun warms my shoulders, and, surrounded by this chlorophyll-soaked greenery, I see clean with every leaf, every blade of grass. But the water?

I decide that if I drink what Laurayne is drinking, I might be able to keep up with her (she is almost twice my age and less than a year out from chemotherapy and she’s still kicking my ass). We are about to head into a river, where she says we shouldn’t drink the water. Now is the time to fill up our bottles. So I do.

Some eight hours later, we return to our campsite, worn and weary but not dehydrated. No sooner is my canoe hauled ashore than I go back and stand in the water, wearing nothing but my Tevas, which are now bound together by medical tape. The chill of the water on my skin makes me halt when it reaches my knees. But my muscles long for its numbing, anti-inflammatory properties. I take the plunge. I feel healed, whole, and clean.—Kara Douglass Thom

To Go: Canadian Waters, in Ely, Minnesota, outfits BWCA trips. www.canadianwaters.com; 800 255 2922 Here are a few helpful websites to use if planning a trip to the BWCA: www.bwcaw.org—the official site for the permit reservation center, managed by the USDA Forest Service; if you’re traveling through an outfitter, a permit will likely be part of the package www.bwca.com—an information resource for all things Boundary Waters www.bwca.net—for getting around Ely.

Or Check Out: Yukon River, Alaska. Traversing what’s often referred to as America’s last frontier, the Yukon is the third-longest river in North America. It flows for 2,000 miles from Yukon Territory, Canada, all the way across Alaska and out to the Bering Sea. The Yukon River will take you through some of the most remote wilderness you may ever encounter. Though a trip down this river takes serious advance planning due to its remoteness, you will be rewarded with days (or even weeks) of floating without a road, store, or cell phone relay tower in site. There are no rapids along this river, but the current is swift and powerful during its short, canoe-friendly season from June to September. www.yukonadventures.com

Black Canyon, Nevada. A beautiful stretch of the Colorado River running from the Hoover Dam on down, the Black Canyon has both flat and swift water, though an absence of rapids makes this a great destination for canoers. For 12 miles below the dam, you can paddle in the meandering river, passing a number of hot springs, waterfalls, a sauna cave, and even petroglyphs—all providing excellent excuses to stop, relax, and take some killer photos. There are plenty of operators to rent you a boat here, so you can go it on your own and do some exploring off the river. You can paddle this stretch of the Colorado anytime of year, although the weather will vary with the season. www.kayaklasvegas.com —B.F.