Pride of Swain Co.

Just a short drive outside of Cherokee, NC is a creek that is unrivaled in quality. Steep bedrock rapids fill this fantastic gorge with some of the most amazing rapids in North Carolina. The Raven's Fork of the Oconaluftee flows out of the southern side of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park before entering the Cherokee Reservation.

Access to the Raven's Fork requires passing through private property that is wihin the reservation. A very nice man named, Emanuel, lives at the takeout. His father accuired the property sixty-one years ago when Emanuel was only seven. He has lived there his entire life, Between a tour in the military, college, and a twenty-seven year carrer with the fish and wildlife deptartment. He has a great sense of humor, and alwasys seems to have a story. He allows paddlers to park at his house and access the park via roads on his family's property. We dropped off a couple cases of beer, which is the prefered medium of bartering around Emmanuels', And set off up the trail. We ran into another goup hiking in and offered them a ride. A steep dirt road travels for a mile or so which is accessable too some trucks. From there you hike for a mile through chest high stinging nettles before arriving at the take out. The trail was overgrown, due to the fact that there had only been a handfull of descents in the previous months. After making our way through the slimy rockslides and massive nettles we eventually arrived at the river.

Once on the river, the character of the Raven's Fork becomes immediately apparant. We ran a few drops above the typical put-in. But within less than a minute we arrived at Anaconda, which consists of a a series of different drops that snake there way through the bedrock. After watching both Craig and Joe get slapped around in different sections I opted to snake my way around this rapid. From this point on the creek becomes very steep and continous. Big rapids seperated by small pools characterize the next few hours of paddling. Everyone was having smooth lines as we made our way through: First Drop, Second Drop, Third Drop,Headless Horseman, Razorback, Mortal Combat, Jedi Mind Training,and Wet willies.

In the steepest section of the gorge is a drop called "Big Boy" which is follwed by a series of portages before entering "Mike Tyson's Punch Out". After a few minutes of scouting Joe and Craig both decided to make their second personal descents. I roped my boat down below the waterfall, and then climbed down to set safety. BigBoy is a very technical waterfall, consisting of a tricky entrance into a 35 foot drop with a very small landing zone. Once, i was in position i signaled to Craig that i was ready. Joe fired it up first and landed perfect. A few minutes later Craig entered the drop perfectly as well. But, in the landing he submurged below the big rock in the landing zone hitting him square in the chest while trying to immerge.

Excited with everyone's clean lines we began portaging around the next section. Mike Tyson's Punch Out is the next rapid. The rapid has a an eight foot entrance drop which leads into a warp vector slide. At the bottom of the slide there a series of holes, that due to the speed of the slide didn't seem to be much of a problem. At this point the rapid takes a turn to the right and over another twenty foot steep slide.

A rapid called "Caveman" caps off the steep section, with one of the best boofs you will ever dream of. After portaging around "The Mangler" we took a chance chill before paddling out through the boogie water. Portaging the Mangler I sprained my ankle which gave me the opportunity, at the takeout, to hear some of emmanual's stories over a cold beer while Craig and Joe walked back up to the car. Swain County Rules!


Pictures: (Above) Joe Barkley entering "Wet Willy's". (Below) Joe admiring all the nettle. Joe entering the second drop in Anaconda. Craig third drop in Anaconda. Craig entering "Headless Horseman". Joe seal launching into "Razor Back". "Wet Willy's". Joe taking a gander at the "Bg Boy". Joe firing the s#$t up! Craig entering "Jedi Mind Training." Joe working on his Jedi skills. Craig entering the warp vector slide on "Mike Tyson's Punchout" Taking out at Emanual's.

Return to the Apurimac

So, last week we had a chance to return to the Apurimac. The river had dropped several feet which offered a different feel on the water. Especially, considering our first time we didn't know where to go. This time i was paddling with some of the local boys. Two brothers, diego and Santiago, whom are part of Peru's most notorious paddling family. They both had the river wired, were great paddlers and were determined to show me all of their favorite lines between droping into huge holes on the fly. The few days we spent on the river were great. Diego and Santiago paddled play boats loaded with overnight gear which was impressive. Though, they didn't seem to think much of it. Getting to the river this time was much smoother than i was used too.We were able to coherese one of the local rafting companies to give us a ride, which was much more comfortable then our alternative.

So, we put on the water mid afternoon and bombed down into the Purgatory gorge. The Purgatory gorge is the most dramatic section of the Apurimac. The river constricts dramatically and provides a long section of continous whitewater amongst smooth rock walls. The bottom drop of Purgatory is a small slot where the entire river pinches between two walls. the left side is not an option and on my previous trip we had walked the whole thing. Diego and Santiago assured me, that at this level it was fine. Diego dropped in first. his entrance didn't look pretty, but we could see that he exited the bottom hole. Santiago followed with not as much success. The entrance is about a five foot pourover that is four feet wide and boxed in. after the ledge there is a twenty foot long flune that slightly twists before pouring into the bottom hole. Santiago dropped in and instantly was backflipped. The backwash held him and for the next minute he withstood an honorable thrashing. Eventually, he caught a bit of green water and flushed out of the top hole while splatting the right wall. But he wasn't able to gain full control before he fell into the bottom hole. He subsequently signed up for another proper ass whooping and eventually swam out of the bottom hole. I wasn't sure if he was out of the bottom hole, as i couldn't see anyone downstream. I waited about another thirty seconds before entering the rapid. Assuming that they were both pushed around because they were in fully loaded playboats. I belived a bigger boat shouldn't have as much trouble. So, i dropped in and was able to jump over the first hole. The backwash made me hesitate and i was immediatly thrown into the right wall. moving through the flume i was able to move off the right wall, but entering the bottom hole i was also backfliped. After a few scramble strokes i exited the backwash to see Santiago on shore. We both laughed, but i could tell that Santiago was mad that he had just swam. Diego quckly emgerged with Santiago's paddle and began to kid his younger brother that he had to buy beers tonight. That evening we stayed at the purgatory camp. Built a bonfire and enjoyed the quality of life that the Apurimac seems to naturally offer.

The next morning, we began to make our out of the gorge. At this level the Apurimac is loaded with great play features that are dispersed between incrediable rapids. Diego and Santiago did not hesitate to take advantage of every spot. There were a few spots that had eddy access, where we could unload boats and trade off. Big waves and Peruvian sunshine...Another incrediable trip down the apurimac......


Pictures: (Above) Santiago below the first portage. (Below) Santiago hunting for waves. Diego catching a little air...self support style. Purgatory Camp. Exiting Purgatory. Diego at the water fountain. Santiago and another great wave. Diego entering "last laugh." Wavelicous.....

Rio Apurimac

The Apurimac River is only a few hours outside of Cusco, and is one of the most sought after multi days in the country. But, to catch this worm you have to get up early. We caught a cab out of cusco at 5 am in route to a small town about 40 minutes down the road. A reliable source had told us that there was a truck that you catch at 6 am which would take you too the Apurimac. We arrived at about a quarter to six at a small roadside restraunt, which also happend to be the transportation terminal. The restraunt owner informed us that a bus arrived a bit after seven which would be able to take us too the river. So, we took the opportunity to fuel up on a classic breakfast of rice and chicken. Which was surprisingly good. At seven, everyone was out and about whizzing up and down the street on bicycles and mosquitos (which is a motorcycle taxi, for those not familiar). The Bus arrived soon after and was packed. I mean way over 200% capicity, and the roof rack was overflowing. We pleaded our case to the driver, but no empathy was recieved. He did inform us that another bus would be arriving soon that could also take us. The driver was correct, and within a few minutes another bus arrived. The second bus possiably had more people than the first. But fortunatly the driver was less concerned about personal space and other irrelevent issues such as structural carrying capacities. So, he encouraged us too strap our boats on top of the already loaded roof rack. We loaded our gear and joined the rest of the passengers of our bus. There were no seats, and too be fair, there were more people in the isles than seated. The next three and half hours we spent rallying toward the put-in on some of Peru´s finest secondary roads.

As soon as we steped off the bus we were greeted by a swarm of natives. The natives didnt hesitate to attack, and immediatly our priority shifted toward swating these agressive motherf#€&$?s. The Apurimac is notorious for its ferocious sand flies which became apparant very quickly. All the locals knew these suckers had some teeth. a few young children were kicking a football around, and everyone of them was wearing a head net. I inquired with the gentleman who ran a small store by the bridge about head nets and he kindly offered a head net for the price of two soles( the equivelent of about 60 cents). Excited to be off the bus, we made our way to the river.

Within thirty minutes of being on the river we entered the first canyon. The river slightly narrowed and the canyon walls began to climb toward the sky. It was the first of the season and the river was high, so entering the canyon we were excited to see what lay between these dramatic rock walls. The river seemed to be mainly long rapids seperated by equally long pools. Floating into big water rapids is an aquired taste, that even when you enjoy it, should be consumed with a bit of trepidation. Combined with the late day sun every rapid looked similar from above. a horizon line of white explosions which was distorted from the glare. As you got closer to the lip the bottom often became apparant, and many times the line was obvious and the rapid very managable. But, every now and again you would float into something that the bottom wasn´t apparant. Which would entail locating an eddy within the rapid, or scrambling toward the bank to take a gander. At the top, as the sun is glarring you in the face, everything looks bigger than it is. And occasionally it is a bit bigger than it looks, but that is another story. That afternoon, we spent about three and a half hours making our way through the first Apurimac George.

we made camp above the second gorge. Fired up at how good the river was, we exited onto a nice beach as the sun departed the canyon for the day. ¨Most of the big rapids come the second day¨, was the extent of the information we had about the river. So tommorow was certain to be good. But, presently the task at hand was making dinner. And taking no prisoners in beach bochi ball. no prisoners were taken. And subsequently, we locked into a good bochi ball rally as dusk entered the camp..... after dinner we sat around enjoying the unique experience of being deep in a remote Peruvian canyon, when we saw the largest shooting star ever! it was one of those moments where three seconds in someone slowly say, ¨are you catchin this?¨ with the equally slow response of,¨oh....yeah.¨

Waking up on the river is an exceptional location to start the day. The light slowly emerges, while constantly changing until the sun shows its face for the day. After a leisurly breakfast, we broke camp and launched into the second gorge. The second gorge is not as dramatic in regards to vertical walls as the first canyon. But the rapids are stout. To our advantage the lighting was better, so it was much easier to scout from eddies. We had no problem making our way down, until in the middle of a big rapid i caught on eddy on the right without paying enough attention to what lie downstream. I signaled for Rob to catch an eddy on river left. He scouted his line and signaled that the left side was a go. When he got to the bottom, he signaled that the right channel had a big hole. At this point i was too commited downstream to make it left. The eddy i was in was deep and has surrounded by ten foot walls. Downstream there appeared to be a series of ledges. I could see the first two. But the bottom ledge was questionable and there seemed to be a suspect feature on the right that appeared to be sieve. After a bit speculation i was able to attain a higher eddie that had a really small ledge which i could get out on. With a bit of luck i was able to scale up the rock and pull my boat up. After scouting the rapid, the hole at the bottom appeared to flush through on the center left side. The top was pushier than i had anticipated but i was able to stay on line through the bottom. The second day proved to be incrediable. lots of big clean rapids. one big portage and one small one. The crux of the canyon was visually impressive, and i am slightly confused how they get rafts through a few sections. After lunch the valley opend up and eventually we arrived at the main road traveling from Lima to Cuzco.

The problem was we weren´t sure which direction Cuzco was. After an hour three cars had passed. two of them were busses, which indicated the direction of our destination. and the other car was going the other way. Neither bus had a roof rack, and even if they did, they were going so fast i don´t think they would have been able to stop. We had a few hours before dark, but after an hour not one potintial ride had passed. We had a little bit of oatmeal left over from breakfast, so we began planning to settle in for the night. And almost as soon as we verbally acknowledged our willingness to camp out by the road. An Angel came from the sky. Actually it was just a Tico (small cab) headed to Cuzco. I was so excited not too have to camp out by the interstate! Too add to our luck, he charged us ten dollars for the two and half hour ride back to Cuzco, which was so fair i could have done a dance on the spot. Actually, I think i did.


PICTURES: (above) taking a gander. (Below) ¨bread for sale.¨ the pinch, upper gorge. Rob, Floating into another exploding horizon line. o.k....you have my attention. Sequence. ten foot wall eddy. sometimes... a little luck never hurts. The cooliest cab driver in the world!

Cotahuasi River

Lying in the southwest corner of Peru is the deepest river in the world. The Cotahuasi river is over 10,000 feet deep in sections, and provides a dramatic contrast to the arid region that surrounds this oasis. Despite the remote nature of the Cotahuasi, This fertile region led rise to a large network of villages. Connected by an exceptional trail system that stands, even today, deep within the Cotahuasi Gorge. Passing through this gorge is a step back in time. Both in regards to the abandonded villages, and the striving regions that are still presently inhabited.....

Traveling to this phenomenal region of the world is a logistical challange to speak mildly. in order to avoid making the mistake of taking the local bus, Gian Marco´s sister was persueded to give us a ride. We traveled four hours up the road where we had arranged to meet another driver that would take us too the town of Cotahuasi. The whole drive took about twelve hours, so we arrived at the river at around two in the morning. Exhausted from the ride, we piled out of the van and made camp. Our mules were not supposed to arrive until the following day. So, we spent two evenings at our camp outside Cotahuasi. The next morning, Gian Marco and i were able to catch a ride up the road and paddled an upper section of the Cothausi. It took us a few hours to get back to camp. the section was pushy and continous, which was an exciting introduction to what lie ahead of us.

The Cotahuasi Gorge, below Flatwater Canyon, is ideally a five day trip on the water. But with amount of fascinating archeological sites and side canyons; I feel as though I could spend weeks inside the canyon exploring. But the river level was high and we were the first team of the year. So, the plan was too move efficiently down stream. In order to have time to difuse any situaions that might have arisen during the extremly high water season.

The mules arrived the next morning and we were half packed. so, we finihed up and met our team of porters. We had ten mules which would carry all of our gear for 16 kilometers to the put-in. On a side note; in the past there had been a problem with mules not wanting to walk with gear into the canyon. They seemed to never want to walk away from home. Recently, it was discovered that the township at the put-in had a satalite internet connection. So they started hiring mules from the village near the put-in. Now, as soon as the mules are loaded. They almost, without cohersion, begin making their way back toward home. We spent all day making our way toward the home of our porters, and also to our launch point.

The next morning we were fired up to get on the water. After building the oar frame, and riging the boat we talked a bit of safety. Everyone got on the same page with hand signals and we even practiced a bit of swiming for our rafters. Once on the river, the Cothausi did not hesitate to dictate her character. Almost immediatly upon launching we entered a long series of rapids. the high water combined with the incrediable countinuous nature of the Cothausi made it challanging to work with the oar rig. The Plan, was ideally to have the four kayakers spread within eyesight and communicate what the line was too the raft. Though if anyone caught an eddy it would only take a few seconds before the raft would come barreling through. If the raft got ahead, then we would be chasing a moving undercut downstream which is not a good idea, and essentially only adds to the drama. So, we would often have to just get into a rapid, that the exit was not apparant. We would boat scout as far as possiable. But if the exit appeared to be suspect, we would quickly exit the river and sling the raft into an eddy. Aiding the raft into eddies became a neccesary skill. Sergio, our oar´s man, did an excellent job of controlling his descent but it was a team effort getting the oar rig to pause. When we were not able to run the raft through a section we would place the boat on a line and control the descent from the shore. By the end of the first day, we were all excited how good the river was but were exhausted from high water challenge of navigating on the fly with four kayaks and an oar rig.

Day two maintained the integritiy of the Cotahuasi. We had camped next too a big rapid called ¨the wall.¨ So, subsequently the firt strokes of the day placed you right in the midst of it. After several hours of continous rapids, we entered a slightly steeper section that proved to evoke several problems simoutanously. We could boat scout, but the rapids were big. And the time it took to catch an eddy and figure out where too go eventually become more time than the raft had room. At the same time the raft lost a paddle and managed to disengauge one of the oars, rendering it useless. As the raft came barrelling out of one rapid into the next Rob and Gian Marco raced ahead in order to sling the raft into an eddy downstream. Keta, had gotten behind the raft so i waited in an eddy for here to gain a line of sight. She had gotten out to scout and was unale to see the entire rapid. She dropped into a large hole forcing her to swim. i couldn´t even see her enter the rapid, all i saw was multiple items floating out of the bottom. She swam hard and was able to catch the eddy i was in before floating into the next large rapid. She acknowledged that see was o.k. so i peeled out in pursuit of the gear that had already entered the next rapid. Luckily, within a few minutes we were able to recover all of her gear and fix the oars.

From that point, we loaded a kayak on the raft and created a crew of three for the oar rig. That evening we camped early. Day two had been a challenge. The Cotahuasi is amazing. The river is so continous. It feels like we are paddling for ten minutes at a time before there is an eddy big enough for everyone to congregate in. The Character of the river is excellent, providing very clean managable rapids. That due to the water level also have plenty of padding...... directly adjacent to the busseater holes. We made a nice camp. Cracked a bit of scotch, while making dinner. And were all in bed soon after the sun had set.

Day three is a big day, which involves Marpa rapid, along with Meter and Centimeter canyon. It was neccesary to get through both canyons, before there would be another appropriate camping location. The highwater in this area would prove to be challenging. Marpa is a long rapid that consisit of several sections and eventually funnels into a massive hole. Centimeter and Meter Canyons also contain simular big long entrance rapids that pinch down at the end, thus giving validation to their names. Passing through these sections was a challange and required a strong team effort. we lined two rapids, one loaded and one light. A missed sling forced Gian Marco to Row Marpa, which was performed with unrivaled grace. The canyons were phenominal! The river boxed up provoding a series of excellent rapids amongst guarded walls. Also, due to the constricted nature of the river in these particular section there were extensive archeological sites where the river did not flood and it was possiable to cross the river via bridge.

Day four was long. we started early and ran a great section of water for about four hours until we approached the confluence with the Moran. This section, above the confluence, was probley my favorite section of the Cotahuasi. At this point the river level more than doubled and entered a slightly broader valley. We had lunch at the confluence. Following lunch, we cranked into a heavy headwind for about four hours before making camp outside the first small village we had seen in alomost a week. Gian Marco and Sergio walked into the village in order to inquire about a ride. There was a bus that left at seven in the morning. We negotiated a few burros to help us get into town. Morning came early. The mules made their way into camp as the sun began to attempt to penetrate the heavy fog that had drifted up the valley. Two mules,three busses, and a landcruiser later we were back in Arequiipa.

PICTURES:(above) Sipia falls. (Below) Plenty of juice. upper Cotahuasi.Gian Marco giving it a going over. our porters heading home. Gian Marco and Sergio making a plan. (two photo sequence) day 2.sergio keeping it clean. (four photo sequence) Day 3. Another no name rapid, Cotahuasi River. Rob in meter canyon. Another archeological site, which i can´t figure out how anyone gets two. Cafe Cotahuasi. Checking for shrimp. early morning departure. the first town in six days

U. Upper Colca

Upon returning from Bolivia we were eager to get back on the river. After hearing several different reports on the river levels, we finally got a sound confirmation that the Colca River was low enough. So, we packed and were ready to catch a bus too Chivay. Where we would attempt to persuade a cab driver to give us a ride over the pass to the the dam. Luckily, we were saved from having to attmept that logistical fiasco by two friendly Canadians. The day before we were planning to begin traveling toward the Colca, two friends of a friend showed up in Arequipa. they were driving a friend of Gian´s Jeep from Chile to Mexico and offered to give us a lift to the dam. The next morning we began making our way toward the Colca. Though, we left with the best exptations of putting on the water that afternoon. We pushed the trip back a day in order to get two full days on the water. so, that evening we stayed in Chivay where we took the opportunity to wash the layer of dust off that had accumulated over the days drive. the Jeep we rode in did not have windowns, so the interior was constantly churning with dust.

The next morning we left Chivay around seven and began the two and half hour drive over the pass. When we arrived at the launch point we were all surprised to see a massive series of slides pouring into the Upper Colca. From a distance they looked big, which is always a good indicator that what you have is one large rapid. the series of slides was close to three hundred yards long, and after further inspection they all seemed to be managable. the entrance had a few massive rocks, but it appeared that they could be avoided. In the middle of the first slide everything pinched down, creating an elevated flume on river left, and a hole on river right. After, the pinch everything opened back up. and the crux was being sure you got left after the pinch. Going right on the bottom section of the first slide was not an option. It appeared that the amount of speed you would carry would allow you get left, but there was really only one way to find out.....

So, my first strokes of the day were peeling out into the headwaters of the Colca. everything was calm, and i could visualize myself being left. Once, i was in everthing went smooth. I cleared the entrance, and was able to skirt the hole and make it too the left side of the slide. Robbin and Rob followed with equal success, and our day was subsequently off to a great start. so we loaded our boats and set out to log some miles on the upper upper colca.

It was almost lunch when we finnally launched, but we were so excited about the slides that we weren´t really concerned about our late start. The upper upper Colca is mostly a mellow section of river that meanders through a spectacular series of canyons on its way back to Chivay. We paddled hard for about four hours and found a nice beach to make camp. Based on the information we had, we assumed that we were only a few hours from the first village we saw before we seperated from the river and began moving over the pass. So, we made camp and enjoyed a very tranquil evening in the upper colca region. Our launch point sat at over 4,100 meters, and we hadn´t dropped that much gradient. So, when the sun departed for the day it got cold. And subsequently, we didn´t sleep that well. When the sun finnally reemerged in the morning,it was a welcomed sign of the new day.

After warming back up and preparing breakfast, we slid into the river expecting another mellow day. The boat i was paddling had been broken and welded....twice. So, by the second day the few rocks that i had managed not to miss had opened my weld back up. So, by mid day i was sinking every ten minutes. so the process was: go hard for eight minutes. try to push a sinking boat through the water for two minutes. and, right before i am about to sink, get out and drain out the water. My method seemed to be working pretty well, but as the day drew on and the sun departed again sitting in cold water became less appealing. After paddling hard for about 7 hours we finnally exited the canyon and arrived at a small village that we were initially planning to bypass and takeout at the next town, which was quite a bit larger. excited to have made it before having to spend another night in the high dessert. As the siutation presented it´s self we took off the river. Luckily, we were able to convice a local man to drive us the hour and a half back to Chivay. And once again.....it all works out.

Pictures: (Above) First strokes of the day, entrance to the Colca Super Slides. (Below) Sequence shot. Colca Super Slides. you know when you have found a hot springs. just look for the colorful rocks. Stuck in traffic. making camp. Rob, taking a peek. local color.