DR 2018: Part IV - The Staircase Section of the Rio Jimenoa

The Staircase Section of the Rio Jimenoa is an incredibly special place just outside of Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic.  I'll let the pictures and video tell the story, but this one makes you work for passage through its fun rapids and amazing scenery.  What is not shown in the pictures or video is after a short lake paddle, paddlers must exit the gorge by hiking boats up 900 concrete steps that connect the dam to the road on the mountainside above... hence the name "Staircase Section".

Below: Jason Bordwine and Brandon Dale scouting the first drop. Photo by Adam Goshorn.

Below: Brandon Dale on the first drop. Photo by Jason Bordwine.

Below: Jason Bordwine on the 2nd drop. Photo by Mikel Carr.

Below: Jason Bordwine and Mikel Carr running the first rapid after the first portage.  Photo by Adam Goshorn.

Below: Mikel Carr and Brandon Dale about to enter another tight, walled-in section. Photo by Adam Goshorn.

Below: Brandon Dale dropping the ten-footer after the seal launch into the hallway.  Photo by Adam Goshorn.

Below: Adam Goshorn coming out of the hallway. Photo by Brandon Dale.

Below: Jason Bordwine at the lip of the biggest drop. Photo by Adam Goshorn.

Below: A quick video tour down the Staircase Section of the Rio Jimenoa.  Filmed by Mikel Carr and Adam Goshorn.  Edited by Adam Goshorn.

Until Next Time...

-adam goshorn

Below: Adam Goshorn out in the river trying to get a good angle on the other guys.  Photo by Mikel Carr.

DR 2018: Part III - The Upper Rio Jimenoa

Below: Mikel Carr above the first major rapid on the Upper Rio Jimenoa with Brandon Dale setting safety.  Photo by Jason Bordwine.

Below: Adam Goshorn running one of the numerous smaller rapids on the run.  Photo by Mikel Carr.

Below: Brandon Dale somewhere on the Upper Rio Jimenoa.  Photo by Adam Goshorn

Below: Mikel Carr dropping into the largest drop.  Photo by Adam Goshorn

Below: Mikel Carr finishing the largest drop.  Photo by Jason Bordwine.

Below: I compressed the footage from our run into a quick two minute video tour.  Filmed by Mikel Carr and Adam Goshorn.  Edited by Adam Goshorn.

Until Next Time...

-adam goshorn

Below: Scouting the big one.  Photo by Jason Bordwine

DR 2018: Part II - The Lower Rio Blanco

Below:  Brandon Dale boofing into a tight landing.  Photo by Adam Goshorn.

The Rio Blanco flows out of the steep mountains east of the city of Banao, almost in the center of the Dominican Republic.  It cuts an impressively deep and beautiful canyon with vertical walls that narrow to a width of less than twenty feet across in places.  

The trail reaches the river about a quarter-mile upstream of the power plant, so paddlers have to scrape down part of the dewatered section and ferry across the strong outflow from the power plant before the actual run gets started.  This access is a bit time consuming to figure out the first time, but should only take about 20 minutes on future laps and the whole process makes it feel like mini expedition every time.  

Below: Mikel Carr boofing a hole into the tightest part of the canyon.  Photo by Adam Goshorn

Below:  Near the end of our time in the DR, we headed back to the Blanco, but arrived at the powerhouse just as the last trickle of water was cutting off.  We waited a couple hours in hopes it would turn back on, but eventually had to accept our fate and wheelchair the two miles out of the canyon.  Photo by Adam Goshorn.

Below: A quick Two Minute Tour from the footage we shot on one of our runs down the Lower Rio Blanco.  Filmed by Adam Goshorn and Mikel Carr.

Until Next Time...

-Adam Goshorn

Below:  The boys floating through the tightest part of the canyon.  Photo by Adam Goshorn.

DR 2018: Part 1 - Las Guazaras Canyon

In December of 2018, I traveled back to the Dominican Republic, this time accompanies by my good friends Jason Bordwine, Mikel Carr, and Brandon Dale.

While we were primary focused on still photography on this trip, Mikel and I did shoot quite a bit of footage and I plan to break it into short videos showing the rapids in order for each run and starting them with a beta box about the run.

Below is a quick tour of Las Guazaras Canyon on the Rio Yaque del Norte near Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic.

Until Next Time...

-adam

kayak session

Summer 2018

The summer of 2018 involved a lot more work and a lot less travel than I prefer, but I still managed to get in a 10-day trip to Colorado with a few friends.

Below is Mark Kieran running one of the slides on the Upper East River near Crested Butte.

Like most years, after summer travels were over I spent a couple months almost exclusively paddling the Ocoee river.  Luckily in 2018 I had the Large Ripper to keep things interesting.

Below is a little video of me putting the Large Ripper through its paces on the Ocoee River in TN.

Until Next Time...

-adam

Spring 2018

Spring 2018 was another great one in NorAL.  Plentiful rains kept the local goods running for months on end.  Below is our favorite local stout, LRC Falls.  

Below is a little video I make to give out of towners a little tour down the Alabama classic, Johnnies Creek, which is a tributary of Little River Canyon. For those aspiring to do this run or just wanting to know the names of the many many rapids to learn it better, all the named rapids are labeled in this video.

Until Next Time...

-adam

kayak session