Winter kayak self support on the Lower Box, New Mexico

So with Northern New Mexico not getting much snow, It was time for a nice overnight trip down the class 2-3+(at flows of 600cfs) lower Box. The Lower Box is a great 15 mile wilderness run deep in a basalt gorge just west of Taos, NM. My friends Nate and Duke had never been on a kayak self support trip before and were amped to give it a try. We headed out Dec 10th, 2010. Although the 2 days were fairly warm, the night time temps were still getting down below freezing. So we packed tons of firewood, duralogs, food, beer, very warm sleeping bags and bivy's. Our kayaks probably weighed about 100lbs each. This was not a lightweight trip by any means. I was excited to just get away for a couple days and enjoy the beauty of the basalt canyon. We saw tons of Bighorn sheep. They were reintroduced to the area a couple years ago and are thriving. In our kayaks we were able to slowly drift by them as they were feeding. Pretty darn cool. This a great mellow run for a first time self support. The new Burn handled the tons of gear great. A must have in the winter time when kayaking is a good Drysuit. I slept in the fleece that I wore under the suit in the day, and I was totally dry. Helps in the event of a swim or rescue also. We had a fantastic time. Now I wish it would snow like crazy! happy New year. Beers, Atom....

A vid of our good times...



Keeping an eye on our progress

Our camp just below Ski Jump rapid...

Nate and Duke enjoying the great outdoors courtesy of a kayak...

Nate got excited by seeing all the Rams....

Morning at camp......

The big Ram....

kayaking and travelling in Mexico is dangerous (Narco Killers). So not true!!!!!

I have been traveling to Mexico to kayak since 1994. My last journey there was in 2007. It was time to go again. Everyone freaked out when I said I was going with a group of friends to a place we know well. Mexico is crazy right now they said, 28,000 killed since 2007, drug wars, epic gunfights between drug gangs, stupid to travel, you will be kidnapped, killed, tortured and never able to kayak again, get life insurance, blah blah....
Well, we had a blast (and we Drove from NM and had 4,000 miles total) and never saw anything that would make us question our travel decisions. Sure the Narco gangs are heavy down there and the killings are going on but just travel in the daytime and be respectful. We got bribed for 200 pesos by the cops (pay no more than that) and that was our only issue. For example, If you go to LA or NY in the USA, don't hit the bad parts of town. Same goes for Mexico.
We had a total blast and were one of 2 groups of Americans that seemed to make the trip by car. So go, have a blast, ignore the American media mass hysteria and huck some waterfalls..
We did a class 3-4 trip and it was O so good. Don't worry though, The same areas we hit have awesome class 5-5+ hucking. So go do it.....
When you make it to Ciudad Valles, look up Aaron Koch and Kayak Huasteca for all the local beta. The hotel that they base out off is great (on the main drag in Valles) and Aaron has the area dialed for the kayak info and is also getting the Mexico SUP scene activated. He is the man!
If you make it farther south to hit the famous Alseseca, stay at Adventurtec, they rock and have all kinds of good lodging. Give a hug to Tinker, Tormenta and Sheba for me (the local dogs).
Here are some photos I took. I am learning to to take photos and loving it. Mexico is not all about kayaking, enjoy the food, culture, people, roads or lack off and just go now and not be worried.
Thanks to CKS for supporting me over the years. The Watershed bag kept my Canon 7D dry and the new Burn rocked out! Thanks to Leland and Andria Davis (and Hudson) for making a guidebook that actually gives good Mexico river advice and directions. Go explore folks, life is to short. Beers, Atom....

Photo Dump :)