This is kayaking to me. The purest version of why I kayak in the first place. A few weeks ago Isaac Hull and I had the funnest and stoutest waterfall day I’ve ever had kayaking bombing from the top of the Jalacingo River all the way to the bottom of the Seven Sisters on the Alseseca in Mexico.
A few days earlier, we’d paddled almost the whole thing but ran out of daylight after getting lost on a couple of portages and being extra careful on scouting features because there were some sketchy rapids we had to portage. So this time, with the lines dialled and the river already in our heads, we set out again. And when you know the river, when you can just truck and trailer your way through rapids and off waterfalls without stopping. It becomes fast-paced and flowy in the same way skiing or biking does. That’s my favourite kind of kayaking.
The first of the “big five” waterfalls was Twisted Pleasure, and I’d like to downplay it, but I was actually pretty proud of my line there. I’ve been making some fine adjustments to how I 45-boof to stomp waterfalls, and this one felt textbook. There’s less room to make mistakes when you go for the 45-boof, but when you hit it right, it’s the softest way to run a waterfall. Softer than a traditional plug even. So the next step is to just do it on something even bigger ;)
Straight after came Dirty. My line was a little sketchy this lap, I managed to avoid the caves on both sides still … YEET! Number 3 of the “big five” was Dungeon, an epic 30-footer with a curler that you can fly off. Just a classic big ol’ Mexican boof into a tight and spectacular gorge. Even though Mexico is warm, some of those canyons are tight and dark, so I was happy to be in my Fuse drysuit. The GlideSkin neoprene neck without the latex seal means I could keep full functionality and comfort of a semi-dry, but not be soaking wet and cold in the canyons.
I can’t write this and not mention all the in-between rapids down the Jalacingo. It’s stacked with smaller high-quality rapids that kept the stoke high all the way down.
We made sure we didn’t miss the portage for Black Hole, a peering off the edge into a terrifying 100-footer landing on the opposing wall, six people have accidentally blue angeled off it, not realizing it was there and somehow all survived. Looking at it with my own eyes makes me think it must be one of the craziest survival stories of humankind.
By hour three the Jalacingo had merged with the Alseseca, and we arrived at the last two crux moves of the day, Tomata 1 & 2. Isaac and I had surprised ourselves with what a good time we had made, and had conveniently caught another crew who had rocked top for a park and huck session on Tomata 1. More safety meant it was rude not to go for the back freewheel. I’ve thrown quite a few big back freewheels lately, and on a sharp-lipped waterfall like Tomata 1, they’re honestly easier for me than running it straight. You’re actively doing something on the way down instead of dealing with the touchiness of setting and holding your bow down. Disclaimer: If you want to do big back freewheels, it’s a good idea to practice them on a 15 ft and gradually work your way up, making sure you learn how to get your nose back down and not land flat. I threw mine clean, felt the control, and came up upright. It was one of those non-existent hits that makes you wonder whether someone should probe a 200 footer!
Isaac followed with his first big back free wheel attempt. I’d watched him thrown an insanely clean one off Double Drop in Norway early in the season, so he was definitely ready to give it a go. He somehow threw a little bit oververt which is so unforgiving, and sent him onto his head. The flow, fortunately, was perfect and the hit wasn’t too bad at all.
The last of the crux moves of the day was Tomata 2. Normally, the notorious amount of carnage there has been on this drop would make me a little scared, but after running so many waterfalls in the last few hours, fear had left the chat. We couldn’t set proper safety since it was just the two of us and the route into the pool is cliffed out, so we opted for rolling safety. We figured our odds were good for at least one of us to make it through, so the one who made it through could help the other if they had a problem. Ironically, we both ended up hitting a flake on the lip and it sent us flying onto our heads, instantly ejecting on impact. I had dropped about 20 seconds after Isaac and as soon as I came up after ejecting, I started looking for him to save me. Instead, I burst out laughing as I spotted him and his yard sale in the pool too. The pool, luckily, was huge, so getting everything back didn’t take long before finishing off the lap with the joy run of the Seven Sister Section. Never something to underestimate, it’s one of the most fun little sections out there!
Looking back on that day it was one of the best kayaking days I’ve ever had. If you are looking at building some more Dad Lore (or mum lore) I would definitely advise a kayaking trip to Mexico!
