Cascadas de Valles (III-IV)

Itinerary: 

• Day 1: Pick up in Tampico airport, travel to Aldea Huasteca, get acquainted to the Cabanas, Hike up to see the Cascadas de micos, outfit boats, and have a typical Mexican dinner.
• Day 2: Have Breakfast at Aldea, short drive to the Micos, put in below the 100 foot falls, and paddle down 6 waterfalls, walk back to the top and paddle them again. We can repeat this process until our arms fall off, when we are done we will paddle down the rest of the Micos to our Cabanas, which are located off the Micos river, enjoy a relaxing dinner.
• Day 3: We will have an early breakfast at the roadside restaurant on the way to the El Salto river. We will put on below the dam and paddle through a small canal and above the first waterfall, the 18 foot La Luminosa. We will paddle the rest of the day boofing through orange groves, scouting drops near wild horses, and paddling in crystal blue waters. We will have to option to do the El Salto twice if we choose, or if we have had our fill we can head back to Aldea Huasteca. We will have dinner on the road and talk about the plan the next day.
• Day 4: We will be up early for the drive to the Upper Rio Valles. We will stop to have breakfast on the road. Once we arrive we will be handing out group gear as this river requires 2 repels one 70 feet, the other 90. We will paddle some amazing waterfalls and have an asado with a local family, that will put us up for the night.
• Day 5: We will have a short drive down to the Lower Rio Verde. Where we will paddle a few miles of class lll-lV whitewater until we reach Puerto de Salto, which is a 40 foot waterfall. We will run the falls as many time as we’d like then take out and drive to the put in for the crux of the trip, the Santa Maria! We will have dinner on the road and camp out at a local school.
• Day 6: We will have breakfast with a local family in the town at the put in of the Santa Maria. After breakfast we will get ready for a great day of adventure. The water on this river is crystal blue, surrounded by limestone canyons, and ends with a 300 foot waterfall pouring into it called Tamul. The adventure doesn’t stop there though we have to carry our boats up a system of ladders to the top of the waterfall, where we will soak in the pools directly above the falls! After the river we will drive back to Aldea Huasteca to shower and sleep in our cabanas next to the Micos.
• Day 7: We will have a late breakfast at Aldea, and head back to the Micos. We will do laps on the waterfalls hopefully seeing an improvement from day 1, and taking new lines. We will then make our way to the Cabanas to pack up, have our final dinner together, and debrief the week.
• Day 8: We will travel to Tampico where we will say our goodbyes, drop folks off at the airport.

Rivers: Micos, El Salto, Guayalejo, Ojo Frio, Tampaon, Gallinas

Great weather isn’t even the best part of this week in Mexico! Focused on running drops, boofs, improving your boat handling, this trip challenges your abilities in miles of rapids. In the state of San Luis Potosi, we start on the clear waters of Micos Cascadas with a series of slides and small falls. There is plenty of easy and fun practice boofing down the many falls and landing comfortably. We stay at a beautiful, eco-resort at the take-out of the Micos. Using this as a home base, the group will travel to rivers in the area, all travertine drops with aqua-blue water and lush landscapes. Our exact itinerary will depend on water levels. We are sure to hit the Rio El Salto, stepping up waterfall running with 18 ft Luminoso followed by many smaller drops down below. One day is spent on the Santa Maria river, putting in downstream of Tamul Falls and paddling the fast-moving canyon section of the Tampaon. You will be surprised by how much your paddling will improve in a week.
This trip is ideal for people with Class III – IV skills and some experience running drops. Ohiopyle, Wonder, and Valley Falls are great warm-ups for this trip.