Alseseca
From Wikipaddle
The Alseseca falls precipitously off the high plateau near Altotonga, and, narrowly channelled in dark volcanic rock, keeps falling all the way to the Filo Bobos. There it makes its final, 100' high gesture, called El Encanto Falls. Along that route, it is said that there are no less than 15 drops over 30 feet high. But the most accessible and do-able section of this river is along the road above Puente Tablazo where there are about 30 drops between 10 - 20 ft in 2.7 mi.
Race the Alseseca
2a Carrera de Kayaks Alseseca Mexico 2010
- Video of the 2009 race on Youtube. - Video of the 2010 race on Youtube.
2009 was year of the first race down the Alseseca. The purpose of the event is to clean up, to conserve, and to expand appreciation for the recreational value of the river. About 20 min. long and beginning at the El Siete Ranch, the race covers over twenty different falls and rapids before the finish just below a low stone bridge. There is a short course and a long course. One particularly difficult class V rapid, called 'S-turn' or 'the Toboggan', forces racers to pay close attention as they accelerate down a steep drop and around a bend. The short course ends just above the S-turn rapid.
The race is timed, and entrants are started at two minute intervals. Racers must be experienced running this stretch of the Alseseca. Participants will meet at El Siete Ranch at 10 AM, where the race will be explained and numbered bibs will be distributed. Registration fee is $100 pesos. Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places are distributed at the Awards Ceremony at 7 PM in the center square in Tlapacoyan.
Volunteers are needed. For more information, please contact info@aventurec.com, tom@liquidadventures.org, and the Alseseca Race Website.
Upper Alseseca
At high water, there is an upper section of the Alseseca that has been run, ending at Rancho El Siete. See the external link.
El Siete to Puente Tablazo
Commonly referred to as the "Roadside" section, this section follows the highway from Perote to Nautla, and is the most runnable section of the Alseseca. You can drive in through El Siete Ranch (for a small fee), or walk down from the highway. There is good parking off the highway at Puente Tablazo.
Puente Tablazo to Big Banana Waterfall
This section has been explored twice, first by Ben Stookesberry and company and later by Charlie Center and the Garcia brothers. It is said that Tao Berman attempted it and walked out. It consists of un-runnable and runnable high falls, rappelling by rope, and jumping over waterfalls.
Big Banana Waterfall to Pezma
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| Big Banana Waterfall to Pezma | |
| Grade | IV - V |
| Distance | 4mi / 6.4k |
| Time | 3 - 5hrs |
Most of this section is runnable for a class V boater, with several do-able waterfalls, and one slide rapid for which there is no option but to run it. Nearer the bottom there is a double falls called Meatlocker. Be sure to set up safety there to guard against someone getting pushed into the cave.
From the town of Nicolas Bravo next to the school, you can find a pathway that goes downhill to where it meets the stream. Follow the stream downstream and in about 40 min. it will lead you to the Big Banana Waterfall and the put-in. Take out at Pezma, an ecological resort accessed off the Tlapacoyan-Altotonga Hywy. --Tommcewan 12:42, 11 March 2010 (PST)
Tomata Falls
Below the highway to Tlapacoyan, there are two consecutive falls that both have been run. The first is about 70' high first run by Tao Berman, the second about 60'.
Below Tomata Falls to Puente Cochota
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| The Seven Sisters Section | |
| Grade | IV - V |
| Distance | .5mi / .8k |
| Time | 2 - 3hrs |
Access to this section is easiest made by rappelling from the bank in a tangerine grove down into the pool 110' below. After the pool, there are 7 consecutive runnable water falls - sometimes called the Seven Sisters Section, after the famous waterfalls in Quebec's Rouge River.
The first two are fairly simple class IV ledge drops. The third is a 35' high ledge, a slide into a falls, scoutable on the Left and runnable. There is a dangerous looking recirculating boil at the bottom on the far Right. The fifth drop is the most difficult, as the flow makes a 90 degree Right turn and then immediately falls off a 20' ledge - with a retentive hole at the bottom. It is scoutable from the top of the right side cliff, and it is jump-able from the top of the rock. The next two drops are less serious, and just after the seventh falls it is possible to carry up the right hand bank to the farm road and hike back to the beginning.
About a mile of relatively flat water below the Seventh Sister, there is a 100' waterfalls overlooked by a residence and immediately below that another 50' falls. One or two simpler rapids and then a smooth and swift stretch brings you in sight of Puente Cochota - over which passes the road from Tlapacoyan to Plan de Arroyos. You will have to get out of the river on the Right as soon as you see the bridge, as below is an un-runnable canyon from which there is no exit.
Puente Cochota to El Encanto hydro dam
Just below Puente Cochota, the river enters a short but unrunnable canyon ending in a 30' waterfall. Below that last falls, the river continues somewhat more reasonably, with some runnable (and some unrunnable) rapids. The river passes beneath a natural bridge. Eventually, after several carries, and a tricky rapid that flows into a large undercut boulder, you arrive in the slack water behind the dam where you can get out. A couple hundred yards of dry river bed below the dam, is the 100' high El Encanto Falls, over which only a trickle of water passes as the water is sent through a tunnel to the hydro station.
El Encanto to Junction with the Filo Bobos
Below El Encanto follows a peaceful class l-ll-lll section, suitable for beginners. It is possible to run down to the Confluence with the Filo Bobos and take out before the river gains additional power and volume. Then, it is just a hike back across the fields to the parking lot.
External Links
- Hotel Aventurec - Camping, River Rafting and Ecological Resort
- Jefferson State Creeking - First Descent of the Middle Alseseca log + El Siete to Puente Tablazo + upper
- The Alseseca in Men's Journal
- In high water there is an upper section of the Alseseca
- A blog with good photos of the Alseseca drops above Puente Tablazo
- Video of a group of Canadian slalom paddlers frolicking down the Alseseca above Puente Tablazo
- A trip in 2007 down the Big Banana section to Pezma
- Miscellaneous shots of the Big Banana section and the Puente Tablazo section
- Video of the 2009 Alseseca race on Youtube.
- Some photos and comments by three Brits about their Mexico Trip in 2010
Location Map
From Google
