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A trip down The Devils River 26 miles of river, wilderness and adventure; 26 miles that belongs to the Devil. Or so we were told…
The Devils River is in south Texas, 60 miles from the nearest town of Del Rio which is a stones throw from the Mexican border. The 26 miles is one of the most remote and isolated rivers left in the United States. Many say it is the most ‘pristine’ river in the county. Flowing south it spends some 40 miles underground in limestone caverns then bubbling up crystal clear and cool, virtually untouched by humans.  There were 8 of us on the trip, a couple accountants, a CPA, investors…ect. Two were from Houston and the other six from Dallas. Several had never even been in a canoe and few had never really camped in the wilderness. I was invited because of my experience growing up in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We put in at the only access point with nothing but a quick word and liability signatures form some young kid that supposedly worked for the outfitter company. We began to realize how remote the Devils River is. The spring of '07 has been an uncharacteristically wet season leaving the river not calm, clear or pristine; instead over three times its normal flow fills the banks with cold, murky raging waters. We loaded our Old Town canoes (with far too much gear), took a few pictures and started down the river full of nervous energy. In the first half mile it became clear that I was the only one of our group with any significant canoe or fast water experience. I watched as canoes went wildly; unguided in every direction around the first turns and small rapids, then we lost the first canoe. Only the first half mile of 26 yet to go…yikes! The first sight of gear, paddles, canoes and people came floating down the river. I began to understand how unprepared we were for this kind of adventure. After regrouping it was time for a quick paddling lesson, then off to the next half mile. The first real ‘rapid’ normally an easy Class I became a difficult Class II-III, way to difficult for our overloaded and soaked Old Town Discovery canoes. The first canoe turned sideways mid rapid and dumped wrapping snug around a thick clump of grass, each canoe attempting to avoid the first, succumbing to a similar fate. With much effort we freed the canoe from the rivers grasp, collected our gear and bailed water before heading down stream…this was becoming an all too frequent occurrence.  The Devils is a classic pool and drop river with moments of absolute adrenaline pumping excitement followed by gorgeous pools with steep canyon walls. By the time we made it to lunch every canoe had been dumped at least once, with multiple stuck canoes, bent paddles, lost fishing poles, soaked gear, and tired water logged adventures. Every piece of gear not secured in dry bags was either lost or completely soaked. The entire first day consisted of running rapids then quickly finding an eddie current to stash the canoe to begin rescuing boats and people. We were experiencing an adventure of a lifetime and we loved every minute of it! The entire 26 miles of river is privately owned by ranchers who, rumor has it, will shoot any trespassers on site…which I might add is clearly legal in the great state of Texas. The only public land is a tiny ¼ mile ‘Devils River Natural Area’. The entire site is one sign that ID’s the land as public and a second “NO TRESSPASSING” that marks its end. The only good place to pitch a tent was on a large flat slab of rock; very comfortable with a Therma-rest sleeping pad and very hard without one. Everyone was exhausted and despite the rock hard beds slept very well. The night was beautiful with a cool breeze and a cloudless sunset followed by brilliant stars. A far cry from the city lights and noise of the Dallas Metroplex. I am reminded of my love for the wilderness and can't wait to return home to the wonderful Rocky Mountains. The Devils has provided a wonderful opportunity to a part of me that has been lost in the big city. The second day provided significantly clearer and slightly less water rushing down the Devils. The worst rapids and the biggest water fall in all of Texas were waiting for slightly over confident river runners. Everyone had learned and practiced their white water skills in the first 15 miles, but the last 9 proved far more exciting. The name was Three Tiers Falls, simple enough really, the river takes a hard right down the first rapid then left throwing you against the rocky wall the straight down a chute. This would have been fun enough in a raft, with high water and canoes we were doomed, not to mention we never really saw it coming. We were warned to stay far left as you make the first drop...but the first drop filled our canoes to the rails with water making navigation near impossible. It felt like slow motion as our water logged canoe torpedoed though the biggest waves which turned us sideways and dumped us on the rocks. Except for a little rock rash we floated out the rapid unharmed. I looked up river to see a similar outcome with people bailing out of canoes at various points in the rapid. It is an oddly humorous site to see arms, paddles, heads, legs and canoes bobbing up and down as they thrash through white water. With our adrenaline pumping we floated out to a calm deep pool to regroup as everyone replayed their individual brush with disaster. We patched our wounds and paddled a mile down to a beautiful bend in the river for lunch.  There were several other large rapids that submarined our little boats, a few other moments of excitement, but Three Tiers Falls proved the most difficult. The most beautiful part of the trip was Dolan Falls which just happens to be the largest natural waterfall in Texas. And they say everything is bigger in Texas? At 12 feet tall and with the extra high water levels we decided it too dangerous to run and portaged our canoes by lowering them around the falls. A fun challenge, and good change of pace.  We finished the trip with a few miles of long slow pools and lots of paddling to the only take-out on the river, Gerald Bailey place. He is the only outfitter and shuttle on the river before the lake which would be a 30 plus mile long paddle. We were more than willing to pay the small fee to be returned to our cars. After two solid days of adventure the end is bitter sweet. The river lived up to everything I could have imagined. We didn't see any people or trash, and except for one house (really a mansion) and a few hunting shacks no evidence of civilization. The Devils is remote, pristine, dangerous and exciting, a perfect recipe for adventure. I had blindly accepted an invitation to challenge the Devils... as I dragged my soggy tired body out of the river I'm not sure who won, me or the Devils. There is an old song about “danc'n with the devil”; I think this time we got lucky, next time, if there is a next time, we will give the 'Devil' the respect it is due. |
