A Ran Creek- Sentinel Gorge
Section Length: ~ 4 km
Put In: Confluence below Cong Troi Take Out: Ka Dau School |
Difficulty: III - IV (IV+)
Est. Flow: 200 - 500(?) cfs Paddlers: Alfonso Perez & Kit Davidson |
[Flows for this trip we estimated around 200 cfs.]
In northwest Quang Nam, Just downstream from the famous Cong Troi arch, two streams come together to form a small river. Known to the Vietnamese as the Song Giong, or Giong River, and to the local Co Tu people as the Tam A Rang, or A Rang Creek, this stream offers several different kayak runs that can be run with a surprisingly small amount of water. The highest of these is the first 4 kilometers below the confluence, which is known as the Sentinel Gorge, and it contains a whole bunch of small but fun rapids through the boulders and the bedrock, all set in a handful of small mini-gorges.
The action picks up right away with a handful of small, technical and fun rapids. Most of these are easy with only one real line, but they are tight and filled with plenty of rocks. The first series of mini gorges starts just below these, with a noticeably larger drop appearing in the bedrock. This rapid, "El Raton", is fairly straightforward, and is a fast chute through a series of small holes and ledges. Below this are a couple more small rapids, including a fun one we named "The Ramp" because of it's sloping tongue, and then the first mini gorge opens up briefly. It's best to get out and scout here as the next rapid, "El Gato" is just around the corner and is the crux of the run. A couple of small holes leads to the flow being divided by a large chunk of bedrock. Both sides look like they would go at around 200 cfs, but it's worth a scout if you haven't run this somewhat complex drop before, as it would help any would be descender immensely to see how the currents are working in this.
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El Gato is also the gatekeeper of the next mini-gorge, which holds the best real whitewater of the run. Almost right away is The Ledge, which is a straightforward clean lip of bedrock, but it is unfortunately followed by a junky rockpile that might be easier to simply hop out and walk around. A short paddle downstream is El Pescadero, a two part drop that has a twisty and fun lead in through some holes and over some rocks, a short break, and then a somewhat abrupt drop through some soft holes at the bottom. Just below this is a nice calm but moving pool, and then up next is El Perro, which is the largest vertical drop of the run.
Below El Perro, a couple more small rapids, including a fun one we called "The Bend", give way to the end of the mini gorge. After a short opening, the river splits into two channels, with most of the flow going down the right. This whole channel is basically one long rapid called "Dancing in the Bushes", and the first half is quite nice, with a lot of fun maneuvering around rocks and holes, but the bottom half is kind of junky and you might have to hop out. Below this is the "Class V Trees" rapid, which has only one decent line through it- directly under the low hanging branches on the left. Be careful of any GoPros or headcams here! Below this the walls open up more, although there are still a handful more rapids down to the takeout, including one longer affair aptly named "Pinball". The best takeout for this stretch is via a small trail found just downstream from the Ka Dau school.
All photos and videos copyright Kit Davidson.
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