Fluid Kayaks Team

Kees Van Kuipers on the Rio Rumiyaco.

In the south of Colombia, just north of the Ecuador border, on the Amazon side of the Andes Mountains is the department of Putumayo. Putumayo is still considered “El Corazón” or the heart of the guerrilla territory, but in recent years security has improved around Mocoa, the capital city of the department of Putumayo. To the south and east of Mocoa, in “Los Llanos” or the plains which are part of the Amazon Basin, many areas are still controlled by the guerrillas and are not considered safe for traveling. Mocoa receives rainfall from storms that make there way over the Andes mountains from the Pacific Ocean and from storms from the Atlantic Ocean which cross the Amazon Basin making it one of the wettest places in Colombia. Where there is a lot of rain there are many rivers. The Andes Mountains abruptly rise to over 4000 meters just behind Mocoa, and they are covered by thick cloud forest and jungle vegetation. Mocoa is surrounded by rivers which are perfect for kayaking. Near Mocoa there are small technical creeks, such as the Rio Pepino and big volume rivers, such as the Rio Caquetá. In recent years a few kayakers have explored the rivers near Mocoa and have found some of the nicest rivers in Colombia, many of them within an hour or less of Mocoa which makes Mocoa one of the best places in Colombia to spend some time kayaking.

The Canyon of the Rio Caquetá. One of the most beautiful rivers in the world.

During January of 2011, Mark Hentze, Maud Verboven and David Kashinski spent about a week exploring some of the rivers near Mocoa. The Rio Caquetá is perhaps one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. Mark Hentze, Maud Verboven and David Kashinski did the first kayak descent in January of 2011. The only beta we had was a quick look at Google Earth and stories, or the legends, from the locals. The Rio Caquetá goes under a bridge on the main highway from Bogotá to Mocoa just 30 minutes from Mocoa and then flattens out in “Los Llanos” near the small pueblo of Puerto Límon. There is a police check point in Mocoa where they search for contraband such as the essential liquids necessary for the cocaine laboratories which are further south and east of Puerto Límon. To bypass the police check point the guerrillas fill 5 gallon cans with kerosene, hydrochloric acid, and other essential liquids, and float the cans through the canyon of the Rio Caquetá. The guerrillas accompany the cans by swimming and portaging the cans around the biggest rapids. The canyon of the Rio Caquetá is steep, dropping 300 meters in 50 kilometers, and a big volume river with many big class IV-V+ rapids. legend has it that some of the guerrillas drowned while accompanying the cans full of the essential liquids through the canyon of the Rio Caquetá. The canyon is sheer walled in many places and numerous waterfalls plummet from the walls directly into the river. Where the sheer walls give way to steep hillsides there is thick jungle vegetation, many colorful flowers and there are many white sandy beaches which are perfect for camping. Everything is massive in the canyon, the rapids are huge, the rocks are huge which makes portaging and scouting difficult. The Rio Caquetá will hopefully one day be a world class kayak trip. For now it may be a trip to avoid because of security. Some of the locals say it is safe and the guerrillas no longer use the Rio Caquetá as a liquid highway, and others say the guerrillas still use the river to bypass the police check point in Mocoa. During our January 2012 trip to Mocoa we did not paddle the Rio Caquetá because of high water and concerns about the safety with a big group of foreign kayakers.

Kees Van Kuipers on the Rio Pepino.

During January of 2012, Mark Hentze, Kees Van Kuipers, Charlie Watts and Julian Schafer, and a few others spent a couple of weeks in Mocoa and explored some other rivers. We found some great rivers and made a couple first descents, at least kayak first descents. About 20 minutes from Mocoa is the Rio Pepino, a steep and continuous class IV creek. The Rio Pepino is low volume, but almost always has enough water to paddle, and at low water it is crystal clear. The Rio Pepino is continuous class IV, but with a few pools in between the rapids. There are no portages, many nice class IV drops which are not too intimidating and easy logistics which makes the Rio Pepino a great afternoon run or warm-up run.

Maud Verboven enjoying the Rio Pepino with some Colombian children.

The city of Mocoa is located in the open valley of the Rio Mocoa and near Mocoa the river is mostly class II-III, but just above Mocoa and just below Mocoa the river passes through some steeper canyons which have many nice Class IV rapids. The Rio Mocoa also has easy logistics and the put-ins and take-outs are all less than an hour from Mocoa. Below the city of Mocoa, the Rio Mocoa passes through one more steep walled canyon and with medium to high water levels there are some big class IV rapids and many waterfalls which drop from the canyon walls into the river. At the bottom of the run the canyon walls abruptly open and give way to the “Los Llanos” and the river flattens out just above the take-out.

Kees Van Kuipers on the upper Rio Villalobos.

The most memorable river of our January 2012 trip to Mocoa was the first descent of the upper Rio Villalobos. The upper Rio Villalobos drops 600 meters in 30 kilometers so we packed our boats for an overnight trip and departed early one morning. On the way to the put-in our taxi driver told us that the guerrillas had burned a bus a week earlier on the highway to the Rio Villalobos, which is also the main highway from Mocoa to Bogotá. At least the guerrillas were kind enough to take the passengers and luggage out of the bus before they set it on fire. There is no bridge over the Rio Villalobos, but near the top of the run the highway is not far from the river, so we asked the taxi driver to take us to the closest and easiest access to the river. We found a field where we could easily drag our boats down to the river. As we pulled over the taxi driver told us that just around the next corner is where the guerrillas burned the bus which made us a little nervous, but we decided to go anyway.

Kees Van Kuipers in a typical boulder garden of the Rio Villalobos.

The upper Rio Villalobos is a medium sized creek and at the top the canyon was open and the river was not to steep, but we found a few nice class IV rapids on the first day of the two day descent. Because of a typical late Colombian taxi driver and a two hour drive to the put-in we only had a few hours to paddle on the first day and a couple hours before dark we found a nice beach to camp on. The next morning we did not get an early start either, most everybody slept in Colombian style, and it was about 11:00 am before the boats where loaded and we started paddling down the river again. We started the morning off with another stretch of flat water interspersed with a few bony class III rapids, but then then the canyon walls tightened up and the river bed steepened. The last few hours of the second day was full of great class IV+ whitewater, no portages, and most everything was boat scoutable. The upper Rio Villalobos drops through a beautiful canyon with steep walls covered by cloud forest and we saw parrots and two “Cocks of the Rock”, a rare jungle bird with a bright red head, and a black lower body and tail. The upper Rio Villalobos is another Colombian classic river.

El Fin Del Mundo.

Putumayo is still considered dangerous by some, but many foreigners travel through Mocoa and venture into the surrounding mountains and the guerrillas seem to leave the foreigners alone, or maybe we are all just lucky....Our experiences have been that the people of Putumayo are warm, welcoming and friendly like all the Colombian people. There are still many guerrillas in Putumayo, probably some not far from Mocoa and random attacks still occur, but sometimes the risk is worth the beauty that can be found in places such as Putumayo.

To see more photos check out the Facebook page:

-Mark Hentze

Here is the video that goes with the White Nile article found here is up. Check it out

Craig

www.lifebywater.com

I arrived in Colombia in mid November with intentions of doing some paddling, but mostly with intentions going to see my my very attractive dentist and organizing my business visa, transportation, lodging, equipment and so on for the first kayak school and guided kayak trips by “Colombia Whitewater” in Colombia.

The put-in to the Rio Chicamocha at high water.

The first mission was to do some paddling. I met up with Kees Van Kuipers and a couple of Canadian kayakers in Bogota and then we traveled to San Gil, the kayaking capital of Colombia. As we left Bogota in a heavy rainstorm we drove by some huge lakes that are normally fields. It had been raining heavily in Colombia and most of the rivers were flooded, landslides were washing away the roads and small towns. When we arrived in San Gil many of the best rivers had to much water to paddle so we headed for a multi day Colombian classic, the Rio Chicamocha. The Rio Chicamocha at normal water levels has a couple sections of nice class III-IV whitewater and passes through a dramatic semi desert canyon. The Rio Chicamocha was also flooded, but we were not that concerned because it can hold a lot of water. We arrived a little late, Colombian style, and did not get on the water until early afternoon. We paddled down the first stretch of warm up rapids and then we arrived at the top of one of the biggest rapids in the canyon. Everybody else wisely decided to eddy out and scout, but I was feeling comfortable in my boat and I had paddled the rapid a few times before. I saw a line, at least through the entrance, so I bypassed the eddy and the scout. I paddled past a couple massive holes guarding the entrance and around the corner and I thought there would at least be a short pool or another eddy, but the rapid just kept going and going. After about a mile of dodging massive holes I finally found an eddy. It may have been one of the biggest and longest rapids I have ever paddled. I eddied out and waited for the rest of the group. They all thought I was dead for sure. After a while I gave them a call on the cell phone to let them know I was okay and a couple hours later they caught up with me. One of the other paddlers was in a playboat which was not the right boat for big water class V. Another paddler had hurt his shoulder while they were eddy hopping down the side of the river. It was almost dark and we still had not reached our intended destination for the night, and there was no good camping were we all met up. So we shouldered our boats up the hill and found a barn to camp in.

The pueblo Jordan in the canyon of the Rio Chicamocha.

About an hour later one of the locals found us in the barn and insisted that we come and spend the night in his house with his family. He led us to the house and generously gave us some space to sleep under the roof and the use of their kitchen so we could cook our dinner. The family lived in a rustic house and survived by subsistence farming. They were kind and generous like most people in Colombia and what could have been a rough night in a barn turned into another memorable experience. Colombia has the reputation of being dangerous, but most everywhere I travel and paddle the people are warm and extend random acts of kindness. The next day we decided to exit the canyon and we went to the nearby pueblo of Jordan and found transportation back to San Gil. The road from Jordan to San Gil is steep and rough and we somehow managed to fit six boats, six kayakers and the driver into a small pick up truck, the only transportation available in the small town of Jordan. Just before we arrived in San Gil the wheel fell off the truck and rolled past us as we skidded to a stop. The wheel bounced over the shoulder and rolled through a vacant tennis court and finally came to rest after it crashed into the fence surrounding the tennis court. We were able to find most of the lug nuts along the road and we jacked up the truck and put the wheel back on. We safely arrived back in San Gil after a typical Colombian paddling mission.

Putting the wheel back on the shuttle vehicle.

Soon thereafter Kees cut his leg while he was pulling my boat off a rock and the Canadians returned home. Kees’s leg was infected and walking was difficult and painful and paddling was out of the question. Kees traveled to Ecuador to recover with his girlfriend and I spent the next couple of weeks taking care of some errands for my Colombian business “Colombia Whitewater”.

Kees Van Kuipers, Mark Hentze, Andy Atkins and the rest of the crew on the Rio Fonce.

In mid December I made a quick trip home to the states for Christmas and spent some time doing more business errands and spent Christmas with friends and family. I returned to Colombia just a few days ago and tomorrow I travel to Putumayo in the South of Colombia. Some of the best rivers in Colombia are in Putumayo, Kees will be in Putumayo with some other kayakers that he brought from Ecuador. Summer, or the dry season, has finally arrived in Colombia and the floods have receded. I have finished most of my business errands and I have a few weeks to paddle for myself before my first kayak school and guided trip. More reports to come shortly.

With 2012 having arrived, there are some new and exciting developments coming with Fluid kayaks. The Bazooka is the new creek boat and will replace the long time proven creek boat (and in my opinion one of the best creek boat designs of all time), the Solo. So, after exclusively creeking in the Solo since 2005, I must admit that a replacement made me a little nervous. Like Mary Poppins, the Solo is practically perfect in every way. In early September, I had the fortune of getting to paddle the Bazooka prototype full time. So, after logging many miles in the boat, I am pleased to say that Celliers has fixed any minor imperfections the Solo may have had. He has eliminated the word, "practically," and has gone straight to perfect. So, at this point in time, reader, you may ask yourself, "Did Bobby just make the claim that I think he did? DId he just say that the Bazooka is the perfect creekboat? Oh no, he didn't! Don't go there!" Well, I just did it! I WENT THERE! Fluid Kayaks has created the perfect creekboat and it is called the Bazooka! The day after I got the boat, I headed to the Delaware Water Gap, an area know for SIK creekboating and big waterfalls. On this day, we decided to run Adams Creek, the most difficult and dangerous of the creeks in the area. The run features awesome slides and drops throughout but the final gorge is where the real SIK drops are. There are four major waterfall drops in a quarter mile, dropping over 100 feet total. The first one goes into a hole, pinches through a tight boat width slot and goes off a 10-12 drop onto a slide next to the wall. I punched right through the approach hole and was surprised at the speed I carried through the hole. Being used to the slower Solo, I didn't expect to shoot through the hole as quickly as I did. I ended up hitting the right wall and had to scramble to get back through the slot without getting pulled into the hole. Once through the slot, I launched a nice boof off the falls and landed cleanly on the slide. The next drop featured a steep 8-10 foot cascade that led directly into a 20 foot waterfall. There was a tree sticking out from the right bank so it was imperative to be in the middle and it was also important to keep your bow up due to the uncertain depth of the pool. I came flying down the slide and took a light stroke to avoid getting launched way out and l entered the pool smoothly at a 45 degree angle. A simple 10 foot sloping ledge carried us to the last drop of the gorge. Here the creek goes over a 6 foot ledge that lands directly on the lip of a 20 foot waterfall. I was worried about my stern catching the lip of the falls if I launched off the top ledge so I floated off the 6 footer. This allowed my bow to skip off the lip of the falls, which launched me out. I landed flat at the bottom and it was definitely a solid hit. I was also really excited by the performance of the Bazooka. The initial impressions of the boat were that it is definitely faster than a Solo, is more stable, and boofs nicely. The boat overall would take some getting used to since the boat has a different feel than the Solo. The deck is higher than the Solo so the paddle strokes need to be higher and this creates a slightly different launch point with your propelling stroke. Over the passing months, I really put the boat through its paces, testing it on all of the Mid-Atlantic area classic runs. I tried it in a variety of situations, I launched huge boofs off the waterfalls at Great Falls of the Potomac and on the Big Sandy. I took it down bouldery runs with tight slots and precise boofs such as the Upper Blackwater. I ran cascades such as Swallow Falls on the Top Yough and punched through big holes in rapids like Railroad Cut Falls on Wills Creek. Initially, I found the stern especially tricky to get used to. I found my unfamiliarity with the stern edge would occasionally catch me off guard. The Solo has a very forgiving stern and the edge of the Bazooka is definitely less forgiving. However, I could tell right away that the stern gave me a great ability to carve my turns in a way that the Solo can't. As I started to get used to carving with the stern, I really started to like the boat, a lot. My lines got cleaner and I noticed that, with a tilt of the edge, the boat shoots in the direction you want to go. I feel like I get to know the boat a little better each time I get out and my paddling has climbed to new heights. This boat has really impressed me and I can't imagine creeking in anything else. The boat and I now have become one and I know that the sky is the limit for what I can accomplish in this boat. I can't say enough good things about the Bazooka! I am very excited for the production model to be available! The boat is fast for its size and boofs extremely well. The stability allows you to feel confident when cranking into a boof stroke or even just while running tight rapids. The edge in the stern allows the boat to carve extremely well when put on edge. This boat is a performer and really will rocket in the direction that you tilt the edge. The edge is rounded off near the bow so you don't get tripped up in shallow water or when going for a boof. For fans of the Solo (or similar soft edge creek boat desgns), the boat will instantly be faster and more responsive but the stern edge will take a little time to get used to. For fans of the Detox (or similar hard edge designs), you will instantly notice that the boat is more forgiving but still is very high performance. I think that Fluid has hit the mark of creating a spectacular creek boat that is forgiving yet is great at carving a turn with the Bazooka and this design will make any creek boater who tries it a believer. Thanks, Celliers, for designing this new and exciting boat, which I know will be a leader in the creek boat world!

PDX River Explorers and Team Fluid bring you a whitewater kayaking POV video guide to the class V Upper Cispus River in Washington state! Produced by Luke Spencer, shot with Go Pro HD, www.pdxriverexplorers.blogspot.com

ENJOY! HAPPY HOLIDAYS ~luke