A stream below the jungle

Paddling Rio La Venta, Chiapas Mexico

By Stio

July 9^th, 2018

Words by Wyatt Roscoe, Photos by Andy Cochrane

WHERE: La Venta River, Chiapas Mexico

WHEN: Summer 2017

THE CREW:

Wyatt Roscoe - Street Taco Aficionado
Andy Cochrane - Bad Idea Generator

THE PLAN: Meet an old friend in Southern Mexico and drop into a narrow canyon of Rio La Venta for 4-5 days with the goal emerging 80 km downstream in Lake Nezahaulcoyotl.

Packrafting Southern Mexico’s Sacred Canyon

Growing up the son of a ski patroller and park ranger in Jackson Hole is like winning the outdoor lottery. The sweepstakes include legendary ski bums as surrogate parents, hand-me-down gear from the 70’s that doesn’t fit but does the job and a childhood without TV. It came with the lessons, opportunities and encouragement to continually look for new kinds of adventure. This winning ticket has produced countless bad ideas, lots of gray hair for the people who gave it to me and an itch to go outdoors that grows exponentially any consecutive day I sit in front of a computer. So when an old friend called to see if I was interested in boating a remote river in Mexico, I bought a ticket from my cubicle that day and filled my flask of whiskey for the trip that night.

The Team

Six years ago, Andy Cochrane and I connected quickly on the type of bad ideas we charge after and the shit-eating grin we wear as we do it. Andy hails from leading month-and-a-half long canoe trips in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. He can be counted on to never leave the coffee behind, an enjoyment of discomfort that he'll impose upon you, and to get you through to roughest of conditions. I found my love for paddling remote rivers when I was introduced to glorified rubber duckies (also known as packrafts). In 2009, I started taking them into the Gros Ventre and Wind River Mountains. They have shown me the best parts of this world and have become a core part of my gear quiver.

Planning

With our busy lives, there was minimal planning for this trip. We read the few trip reports we could find which suggested a 5-6 day trip and warned of a handful of class IV & V rapids. Hours before we left, I received some beta and a map roughly marking the rapids from neuroscience PhD and world river guide Rocky Contos. With the fact that he has “boated most rivers in Mexico” listed on his CV, we trusted the info and continued packing the food, emergency gear and whiskey.

Almost turning back

The setbacks started as Andy broke his record of never missing a flight. The booking agent falsely told him bags needed to be checked 3 hours in advance for international flights and after an hour of disputing, Andy rebooked. The next morning he made it to Mexico City, but proceeded to get stuck in a 2.5 hour customs line and missed his second connection. A day and a half later Andy and I hugged, exchanged our classic grins and piled into a taxi.

As we reached the rim of the canyon we unloaded our gear and were met by the host of the ecological preserve. The wind was quickly taken out of our sails as she strongly warned against a decent due the recent 8.2 terremoto (one of the greatest Spanish words of all time) that had “opened up the earth”. She warned of a changed river with new obstacles and stated that no one had been down there since the quake. Descending to the river did not help our decision as a notable landslide have covered a once picturesque beach. With the missed flights we now had two days less than planned to paddle the 80km and we wavered about whether to enter this committing canyon. In the end we decided to get our feet wet by running the first 10km and making a decision at the last place we could hike out.

After rounding the first bend our mouths dropped, our smiles made the dimples appear, and we knew were going to run the entire canyon.

Navigating the unknown

Smiles, fear, and the next corner. For three days we picked our way down the thousand foot deep, jaw-dropping canyon. With an unreal cadence of beaches, waterfalls, and rapids these three days had all the ingredients of my favorite kind of trip. I have been blessed to be able to make exploration a big part of my life, and I am able to say with confidence this was the the most beautiful place I have ever been. And that's something I don’t say lightly.

The canyon felt prehistoric and untouched. Had a forty-foot pterodactyl come roaring over the cliffs neither of us would been surprised. A decade ago I wouldn’t have shared this place with anyone, but with the loss of large parts of Bears Ears and Escalante National Monuments, I have shifted my views and understand the importance of having more stewards of these beautiful places to appreciate and, in turn, protect them.

Making it happen

To think we almost decided to turn back is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. There are moments I am proud of where I helped turn parties back due to heavy winds or avalanche danger. But there are moments like these that we intentionally and cautiously push boundaries and it pays off. This was a trip of a lifetime that almost didn't happen. Call your friend and put something on the calendar!