Kayak Huasteca

This blog is from a SUP stand point.  SUP is much more footwear intensive than kayaking.  When we find something good..we get very excited!

http://cksblog.com/2012/12/astral-brewer-long-term-review-by-aaron-

until later

Aaron

You have to choose your waterfalls very carefully when paddling a SUP.  You want the falls to be near vertical and not too tall.  The drop in these pictures is about 14 feet tall.

With these sliding drops it is very important to not use the skegs.  Either turn the board around backwards or choose a board with removable skegs.

Foot placement should be in the Kung Fu stance so you have maximum stability.  I have also tried surfer stance and it worked fairly well.

Your weight has to stay moving with the board.  If you are too far back the board will kick up and leave you in the landing.  Too far forward and it will sub out and become very unstable.

If you can get in a big stroke for the landing it will help to keep you connected to the board.  A change in velocity is what causes falls, whether it be the board or rider.

The downtime was pretty heavy on this drop.  I actually fell after the board resurfaced.  A board with a little more rocker will keep me from going so deep the next time.

At Kayak Huasteca we use Imagine Rapidfire boards and Werner paddles.  All can be Purchased at CKS.

See you on the river…

Aaron

The Middle Ocoee river is a summer time staple for the southeast.  Consistent flows and great class 3-4 whitewater make it a great proving ground for whitewater SUP.

There are many lines through all the big rapids.  Since we started SUP here 2 years ago we have graduated to many of the meatier raft lines.  Jon Shannon (above) is running the guts of Double Trouble!

Lines can be technical or stout, you choose!  Left line at Broken Nose (above)

Tablesaw is one of those rapids that flips kayakers, sends rafts crashing against the rocks and is very intimidating on a SUP.  This year we have been running main line.  250 feet of continuous waves 3 feet high or more.  (above)

If you are confident in class 2-3 on your SUP board, come out and see us on the Ocoee in Southeast TN.  Water temps are in the high seventies and we have releases from thursday to monday.  We have quiver of EmotionTraverse and some C4 inflatables.

See you all on the river

Aaron

This year has been great for SUP in the U.S.  We have more boards than ever to choose from and the mother nature  has been giving us consistent rain.  We had the pleasure of spending a few days in Pennsylvania and while there we visited the good folks at  Emotion Kayaks and Riversport School of Paddling.

Riversport has a great location in Confluence PA.  They are on the banks of the Middle Yough and 3 minutes from the Casselman.  Erica and Andy Smith are the owners and also have the Lucky Dog Cafe.

Andy took us to the Casselman with a flow of 5 to 6 feet.  It was running high and fast when we got to the put in.

The Casselman has good flow all year.  We happened to catch it with a great amount of water.  We put the skegs on the Traverse and hit the water.

Andy on the Traverse.

IR and Riversport hooked us up with dry gear.  The weather was a balmy 50 degrees, water 50 and the wind was gusting 50 as well.

We found some amazing wave trains and huge holes.  The wind was blowing so hard we almost couldn’t leave the eddies.

It took us about 1.5 hours to do the run.  Lots of tributaries with waterfalls could be seen as we descended the canyon.

It was a great day and perfect levels for the SUP First descent of the Upper Casselman.  I can’t wait to get back up there and run it with different flows this summer.

See you on the river!

Aaron

The lower Micos is a gem of a run here in the Huasteca region of Mexico.  It is often overlooked, much like the Lower gauley, because of the 7 waterfalls upstream.

The run is an amazing class 2-3 section with about 25 rapids.  Since river SUP came on the scene, it has given us a new means to enjoy these easy sections of river.

There is a very nice hole about half way through the run.  it is a class 3 hydraulic with an island next to it.

You can run this drop multiple times.  right now with high levels it takes 1.5 hours to finish the run.

we are using the RapidFire SUP by Imagine Eco.  And the Traverse by WWW.EMOTIONKAYAKS.COM

If you are in Mexico and have the urge to SUP, come find us at www.kayakhuasteca.com We’ll be here keepin the stoke!

Aaron

I have been travelling in Mexico for 5 years now. The country never ceases to amaze me. This past weekend we visited a couple of small towns in the state of Queretaro.

The first is the village of Conca. It is one of the 7 sites for the famous Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda. An amazing pueblo with great food and a laid back atmosphere.

Our time in Queretaro was spent exploring the two rivers in the area. The Santa Maria and the Ayutla. The picture above is the Canyon of the Santa Maria.

You can only see the canyon by watercraft. We chose kayaks but a local outfitter offers SUP boards, rafts and Sit on top kayaks as well.

The views from the river are incredible. We spent 4 hours on the water and arrived in the joining of the 2 rivers Ayutla and Santa Maria. One is transparent green, the other turquoise blue. along the river we found several hot springs waterfalls to relax and enjoy the scenery in!

This is an amazing place..if you are interested in exploring Conca..then check out www.kayakhuasteca.com They will be offering trips to this seldom visited place in the world. The best season to go is during the month of december.

From mexico
Aaron

This past month we decided to hit the 3rd annual Alseseca Race in Veracruz (www.alseseca.com) and then grab our knee pads and do some SUP first descents.  Our board of choice right now is the Rapidfire by Imagine Eco.  Its a roto molded, tough as nails, extremely stable Stand Up Paddle Board. 
 
Veracruz has hundreds of rivers everything from steep basalt waterfalls to sandy bottom rivers that end in the ocean.  We chose the class 3+ Rio Filo-bobos to start with.

Filo-Bobos..long class 3, perfect for SUP

The Filo-Bobos is a 6 mile run down to la palmilla..there are three big class 3+ on the run.  La Union, Enfrijolada and La S.

All rapids are excellent for SUP.  With the Rapidfire/Traverse you can remove the skeg and run the shallows with out fear.

There are some manmade tunnels that can be paddled at certain water levels..Inside are bats, lizards and pitch black darkness.

The wall of tunnels.

I give this run a 5 star rating, easy to portage if necessary and you can run the rapids multiple times by walking back up shore. 

 Special thanks to  Aventurec www.aventurec.com   and Liquid Adventures http://liquidadventureskayakschool.org/   for the shuttles and hospitality. 

Next post will be about the class 3-4 Rio Pescados and 3+ Actopan.

Aaron

Flows in the Huasteca are still a nice medium level.  When we don’t feel like driving to the waterfalls there is a great park and surf 5 minutes from the Hotel.

Its a dynamic surf spot below the bridge.  Two distinct waves that form in about 2 feet of water.  With the current river drop, these waves will be here until april and will only get better.

The bridge makes for an excellent photo and video platform. 

The left side wave makes for good ollies and some nice carves.  I t has a strong foam pile that like to spin the board out so you have to stay active.

We surfed the whole fleet…Rapidfires, C4 10’6” iSUP and the Sevylor Samoa.

Its a great time of year for the waterfalls too.  Come on down and enjoy the awesome water levels and warm weather.  We’ll be here keeping the STOKE.!!

Aaron

The high season has arrived here in Mexico.  The rafters are here every weekend.  water levels are excellent, it’s gonn be a great year.

Despite all the bad news in the media we are having a good season.  Today is the start of our #8 cold front and that always helps to keep water levels high.

The 5th canyon of the Santa Maria with some good water.

Iceberg has been delivering a nice big hit!

A little love to the sponsors…

see you on the river

Aaron