 |
Rio Toro.
Photo: Daniel Young |
On the first of November, I woke up in Truckee, CA, looked at the thermometer, and it read 29 degrees. Four days later, I landed in San Jose, Costa Rica, somehow made it through customs, and was greeted by a wave of humidity and 85 degree weather. Needless to say, it's gonna be another rough winter!
I was greeted by our driver, Miguel Morrera VEGA (badass), and DJ Daniel "Mohawk" Young (not so much), and off we went to Turrialba. Turrialba is the jumping point for 3 Costa Rican gems: The Rio Pacuare, Reventazon, and Pejibaye. We arrived at the Hotel Wagelia, grabbed a casado (typical Costa Rican grub) and a few Imperial's, and hit the hay (not to be confused with "there is/there are").
Every year, in anticipation of our trips, we spend a week scouting out the rivers we will be paddling with our groups. Unlike rivers in the U.S., the rivers in Costa Rica are constantly changing, due to the weather and geological activity. This year was no exception, most recently the regions we paddle in recieved 2 weeks of heavy rain in October. I was excited to see the changes in these rivers I have grown to know very well.
Day 1: Rio Orosi y Pejibaye. ~15 miles. Class III/IV.
We had a mellow first day, starting with the Class III/IV Orosi. We put in above the conventional put-in, on La Macha, and paddled in to the Orosi. A short, yet fun section of Class III/IV boogie, with no real changes from last year. From the town of Orosi, we head to the Pejibaye, which is the typical starting point for our class III/IV trips and above. The Upper section of the Pejibaye consists of a few steep, class IV rapids, which had changed for the better this year. The rest of run is class III, and eventually runs in to the Reventazon which becomes a lake just a few miles downstream. The Pejibaye is a gorgeous run, and one of my favorites.
 |
La Macha meets the Orosi just downstream.
Photo: Daniel Young |
 |
Rio Orosi.
Photo: Daniel Young |
 |
Looking upstream at the Upper Pejibaye.
Full Face: Daniel Young |
Day 2: Rio Reventazon: Pascua - Below Florida. ~20 miles. Class IV+, becoming Class III.
We were happy to find out that the dam project was not far enough along to prevent us from running this section one final time and I feel very fortunate to have gotten to know this section over the years, as it is truly world class. The water level was medium/high, and the difficulty had decreased since my last run in 2010. Daniel and I had a great time making our way down, until we were reminded that in an undetermined period of time this section will be gone. Bummer dude...
 |
The Reventazon looms in the distance.
Photo: Daniel Young |
Day 3: Rio Pacuare: Upper, Middle Section (from new put-in), and Lower. ~30 mi. Class III/IV/V.
Making the long voyage to the put-in for the Upper (Upper) section, we routed down, beating Miguel to the takeout, and jumped back in the van in order to find the new access, carved in for the rafting world championships just a few weeks before. This proved to be more difficult than expected, as the road was not much of a road at all, and Miguel could only make it so far before we had to start hiking down. After a nice 45 minute hike, we arrived at the river, just below the Class V+ Bobo Canyon. We paddled downstream to the next canyon, which started out with a big Class V drop that left both Daniel and I wide-eyed. The water level was definitely on the high side. We made it through the rest of the class IV/V canyon, and completed the final 20+ miles to the takeout at Siquires before sunset. Stoked brah!
 |
The Bridge at the Takeout for the Upper Upper Pacaure.
Photo: Daniel Young |
 |
| On our hike, we had a great view of Steve's Ledge, below the Bobo Canyon. |
 |
| Dos Montanas Canyon. |
 |
| Daniel paddling out of the Dos Montanas Canyon. |
Day 4: Rio Sarapiqui. ~15 miles, Class III/IV.
After 4 rivers and almost 70 miles of paddling in 3 days, we enjoyed an easier day on the Sarapiqui. We arrived at our put-in on the Volcan, a beautiful creek that feeds in to the Sarapiqui just a few hundred yards downstream, but the water from the dam just upstream had not arrived yet. We waited for a bit, geared up, and headed down. The water was low, but we still enjoyed this run, which hasn't changed much since last season.
 |
Volcan Put-In.
Photo: Daniel Young |
 |
Beautiful.
Photo: Daniel Young |
Day 5: Rio Balsa y San Lorenzo. ~ 15 miles, Class II/III/IV+
Finding the Toro a bit too high to scout, we headed west to San Carlos to check out the Balsa and San Lorenzo. The class IV+ Upper Balsa was full of water and full on! Dropping in to the gorgeous, tight gorge, we ran steep boulder drop after steep boulder drop, and when it was over, Daniel told me he had found his new favorite run in CR, shortly followed by the Pejibaye. The middle section was a bit too braided and de-channelized for our taste, but the lower section had not changed a bit, and remains a great class III section. The Balsa and the San Lorenzo meet a mile or so above the takeout, and after finishing the Balsa we headed to run it's counterpart. Due to the rain, the Balsa was quite brown, but the San Lorenzo was running clear and beautiful. This year, the majority of the trees had been swept away, leaving the San Lorenzo much less hazardous than in previous seasons. After the river, we had some delicious Costa Rican pizza in Cuidad Quesada, and found a nice hotel (not to be confused with motel).
 |
Near the put-in for the Upper Balsa.
Photo: Daniel Young |
 |
| Daniel on the Upper Balsa. |
Day 6: Rio Toro. Upper Section. ~5 miles, Class III/IV.
Fortunately for us, the Toro dropped out just in time for our final day. This is one of my favorite runs in Costa Rica. Similar to the Upper Balsa, the Toro drops through a steep walled gorge, and features some really fun class III and IV rapids. A short run, perfect for Friday's, this was a great way to end a great week. We finished up by finding a new takeout, and headed back to San Jose. Juliet greeted us with beer and rum, and we de-briefed, excited for our first trip of the 2011 Costa Rica season.
 |
Rio Toro.
Photo: Daniel Young |
 |
These guys were all over the takeout of the Toro.
Photo: Daniel Young |
Pura Vida!
Joe
