Kayak Huasteca

I’ve been paddling the Emotion Traverse for over a year now.   Let me just say “ I LOVE THIS BOARD!”  

Some class 3 below 300 foot Tamul Falls!

 I have had the pleasure of paddling up to Class 4 whitewater, flat water, ocean surf, fishing, and even some waterfalls with the Traverse.  It has surpassed all my expectations.

Emotion Traverse boards ready for action

The Traverse is made form High density plastic so it is tough.  This board can take a lot of abuse.  I have seen mine fly from the roof rack more than once, with no visible damage.  TOUGH!

Another day at the office!

Take a milk crate and some rod holders, strap them to the back, and you have a perfect fishing platform.  4 Traverse and 1 kayak on the river together and we caught over 20 fish.  Large mouth bass, sunfish and even a trout.

Nice bass on the Lower Ocoee.

If you are looking to run whitewater on an SUP?  This is the perfect place to start.  The Emotion Traverse will enable you to run class 2, ferry and surf your first day on the river!

Running the ledge on the Hiwassee. 5000cfs

With a bit of experience the Traverse can even run some of the harder whitewater.

Nice drop on a SUP.

SUP is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.  If your looking to get involved the Traverse is agreat way to go.  Retail prices of $399 is hard to beat.  Get a helmet, PFD and paddle and you are ready to go.  

Be sure to check out www.emotionkayaks.com  and don’t forget about Mexico in the winter with  www.kayakhuasteca.com

See you 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

Last night the TVA decided to test the flume line.  While testing, Mother Nature dumped about an inch and a half of rain.   The end result is several mud slides and some amazing waterfalls.

Slice and Dice rapid has some new dirt on river left.  As you can see in the pic.

Tablesaw rapid used to have 2 lines.  Now the left line is blocked and we will be goin right.

This is one of the leaks coming out of the flume!

It reminds me of Veracruz Mexico after heavy rains.  Waterfalls everywhere.

It will be a couple days before they know if the flume is serviceable.  In the meantime we will be surfing some brown water.  Check us out at CASCADE OUTDOORS

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

If you haven’t been to Andre’s site..  www.supconnect.com  and you enjoy the sport, you are missing out.  It is the Facebook of SUP.  There are lots of groups and ways to connect with fellow Stand Up Paddlers.  We did a small article on the Inland possibilities for SUP here in the Huasteca.   CLICK HERE!  for the article and while you are at it, join SUP Connect and enjoy.

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

We have been using and abusing our rapifires, nonstop, for the past two weeks.  These boards are tough.  They get drug, dropped and scraped across rocks and it doesn’t affect them at all.

We have been paddling technical class 3 and some big water 3+.  Everyday I learn something and feel better the next day.  This board enables you to river run with confidence. 

Soon we will be pushing the limits with some 15 to 30 foot near vertical slides.  Should be interesting!

See you on the river.

Aaron