10 Things I Learned in Pandora's Box

I recently had one of the best river experiences of my life. Pandora's Box (formally known as Baker's Box) on the Animas River is by far the most beautiful river gorge I've ever been in (including the Grand Canyon). The river has a high volume character with gorge walls that come straight out of the water and shoot 400 feet to the top of the canyon. This run is committing to say the least. Big water Class V rapids with thrash the uninformed boater. Access is illegal. The lines are tight. And here's the kicker: You can't scout or portage any of it.

(the put-in. that rapid on the left drops about 20 feet.)

Here's what the guide book (Whitewater of the Southern Rockies) says:

"...The whitewater is pushy and the walls overhang the eddies for the first four major drops - including the unportagable, unscoutable Swollen Member. Actually the entire first 1/2 mile or so if of this nature - but Swollen Member is the largest of the bunch and can be downright terrifying. Even your guide will be scared. Swims here have resulted in expert paddlers literally swimming down the ensuing rapids until they could escape the walls towards the end of the run...

...Despite the poop floating around in your boat, and as long as you're still in your boat, this is one of the most enchanting and intimate river stretches that I have ever experienced..."



So on my 2 runs through the box, I learned a few things.

1. You don't hike in - you jog. Hiking is an afternoon activity that involves water breaks and granola bars, not trotting up and over rocky mountains for miles to get to an illegally accessed river. When "hiking in" to Pandora's box, you aren't allowed to stop and switch your boat over to your other shoulder, if you do - you will be left.

2. You don't scout any of the rapids. All of the rapids must be run solely on verbal beta. If you don't like running Class V+ blind, stay on the Upper Animas.

3. You DO NOT swim. If you are getting the beatdown of a lifetime (I did), you stay in your boat and stick it out. Coming out of your boat requires that you swim through the remainder of the rapids until canyon walls recede near the takeout. Luckily, after my 4th or 5th recirc, I was able to rally out of the boxed-in hole that handed my ass to me. Others weren't so lucky.

4. You don't go in there with anything less than a super solid crew of local boaters that know the hike and the lines like the back of their hands. If you try to do it without a guide, you will likely get caught on the hike or take a bad line (remember, you're not scouting in there) into a sieve.

5. Just because you had clean lines on Vallecito (a nearby Class V+ creek) doesn't mean you'll be ok in Pandora's Box.

6. Unless you run everyday, you won't be fast enough to keep up with your guide on the hike in.

7. There's no talking allowed until you're in your boat at the put in.

8. If you don't like sketchy 200ft rappells (without your climbing harness), you won't make it to the put in.

9. You aren't allowed to take pictures of the rapids, the locals don't allow it.

10. You DO NOT swim. Period.

I hope whoever reads this will someday get to experience this gorge the way I did last week. Pandora's box is by far my favorite section of river I've ever paddled and I'll never forget my voyage through there.

(the scene above the rappel at the put-in, don't slip - it's a long way down)