Lower Verde Chico Day 1.

Long Overdue, yet fresh in my mind...not sure I will ever forget this day...quite happy it was only a day...and what an incredible day it was...

Let me begin by saying that I am privileged to have paddled some incredible sections of river in my short 25 years. I have paddled some hard sections...some steep sections...some mentally taxing sections. This one takes the cake. Lower Verde Chico. Giant, long, steep, class V boulder gardens.

Oh...and I only paddled the first half.

We woke up, Daniel Young, Diego Robles and myself, and loaded our boats in a truck taxi and headed up the steep Verde Chico Canyon. For years, I heard about this run from a few close friends.  Daniel Young was one of those friends, along with William Craig "The Hammer" Parks, and Dr. Brian Milhouse Synder Ph.D...but enough name dropping...

Stopping about 1,000ft. above the river, we jumped out and looked down. When a run looks hard and a little scary from 1,000ft away...well, you get the idea. 

It's cliche to say this: but these pictures will never do justice to this run. Enjoy.

Pumpkins at the put-in.

First significant rapid.

Diego from a different perspective.

Daniel subbed out at the bottom.

First big rapid.

Diego looking downstream.

Daniel stern skirts his mint condition Habitat, leading in to the big boof.

Stylish.

Boofage.

Diego boofin'. Beautiful spot.

Long, Steep, Bouldery Goodness.

We took a break in between 2 huge rapids. 

Towards the end of Day 1, some beautiful scenery.

Climbing out at the bridge.

Looking down in to the second part of the run. The boys would finish it the next day.

Shuttle back to town. The boys were nice and let me ride inside with the cops. Thanks guys!

To be continued...(without me)

Joe

Rio Zuñag.

Charlie Watt.

A few days ago, I boarded a bus to Baños, excited about 9 miles of non-stop bouldery boofin' goodness. This time last year, I started this blog with a post about the Rio Topo. One year and a handful of new runs later, the Topo is still one of my all-time favorite's.

At this point you might be wondering: "Why is he talking about the Topo? The title of this post is Rio Zuñag." To that question, I politely respond: "This is my blog, and it is really sick, so just keep reading, alright brah?"

After a delicious llapingacho breakfast, Scotty Baker, Charlie Watt, Jesse "Booty Beer" Sammons and I loaded up and headed outta town. The sun was shining, and we were stoked to be Topo-bound.

Last year, when Craig "The Hammer" Parks and I first drove over the Topo bridge, it looked like this:

A little low, yet glorious.

This year, when we arrived at the Topo, it looked like this: 

Hmmm...

At this point you're probably thinking: "Whoa bro, that water is brown!" Which may prompt you to throw up a brown claw. At which point I would just shake my head in disappointment.

Between the 4 of us, 3 of us agreed it was too high. I had heard from a stylistically-challenged DJ friend of mine that when the Topo was too high, the creek congruent to the Topo was a viable alternative. We decided to check it out.

Only a few hundred yards away from the flooded, brown waters of the Topo, the Rio Zuñag was running beautifully clear, at what appeared to be an optimal flow.  We asked our driver to take us upstream as far as he could manage, knowing that wasn't going to be very far at all. Just above where the road ended, two smaller creeks joined together to form the Zuñag.  Charlie hiked up, scouted the confluence, and told us it was a bit too manky, and not worth putting in any higher. No hiking? No problem.

Enjoy these shots:

Scotty Baker boogyin'...

One of the longest rapids.

Scouting the bottom of the rapid picture above.

Bouldery.

Charlie post-boof.

Scotty makin' his way through.

Jesse emptying and dreaming about booty-beer.

Couldn't help but smile.

Scotty.

Charlie mid-slot.

Jesse is also partial to slots.

Hoping out to scout.

Jesse.
Photo: Scotty Baker.

Makin' my way down.
Photo: Scotty Baker.

Avoiding a nasty hole.
Photo: Scotty Baker.

The Zuñag, while short (2-3 miles), features constant action from top to bottom, letting up only for a second between rapids.  Considering how high the Topo was, I was very satisfied that we were able to catch a new run of similar quality. Thanks to Scotty Baker for some awesome pictures.

Next up: The definition of a class V creek.

Chevre.

Joe

Upper Jondachi.

Tres Huevos.
Photo: Laura Farrell

Ecuador. That's right, I have arrived.

After a long day of airplanes and airports I landed in Quito and headed straight to Baeza. Toting some extra baggage (literally and figuratively) through 3 countries, I walked up the hill, past Gina's and was promptly heckled by some familiar gringo's.  While I was waiting 9 hours in Guayaquil and bussing from Quito to the Oriente, Laura, Dr. Love, Big Drew, and Kesha had enjoyed some desayuno and the Cosanga, and were mid-almuerzo y cervezas as I drug my travel-worn self up to Rodrigo's.  After 24 hours of traveling, it was good to see my amigos. Rather than shower and rest, I opted for beer and homemade tequila (moonshine). I love this place!

Last year, I did not have a chance to paddle the Upper Jondachi, although I had been hearing about this run for years. After a few failed attempts, we passed the takeout bridge to see beautiful clear water, and those more experienced than I agreed it was a perfect level (and it was). After a lovely hike in, I was finally at the put-in for this Ecuadorian Gem.

Enjoy these shots.

Put-In.

Dr. Love with a stylish seal-launch.

Charlie boofin.

Beautiful.

Charlie and Laura hangin' out.

Laura makin' her way downstream.

Laura "Fo-Real" doin' what she does best.

Doug droppin' in to the wall.

Charlie in a landslide rapid.

Waiting for the crew.
Photo: Laura Farrell

Dr. Love
Photo: Laura Farrell

Yup.
Photo: Laura Farrell

D. Love droppin' in to Typhoid Fever.
Photo: Laura Farrell

Trest Huevos Pt. Dos
Photo: Laura Farrell

Thanks to Laura "Fo-Real" for the shots.

Until next time...
Joe