No Coolers

CAMP WITHOUT COOLERS ~ Kick the Cooler Habit!

River – General

Is Peru’s Rio Marañon really another Grand Canyon? I had to go see for myself. This is what I learned. My expectations for a trip down the Rio Marañon, through the so-called Grand Canyon of the Amazon, were high. Could there really be another river as amazing as the Colorado through […]

NRS: Peru´s Rio Maranon. Is it Another Grand Canyon?

January 25, 2014 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Healthy fear is part of boating smart, but sometimes fear can cloud our judgment. In this article I recount one such time on Mexico’s Rio Sirupa. The monsoonal rain would not stop and the river kept rising. A feeling of dread was overtaking me. Cascada Sirupa loomed only a few […]

NRS: Cascada! Fear and Dread on the Rio Sirupa – ...

December 9, 2013 in River - First Descents / River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

In the Sept/Oct 2013 issue of AW (American Whitewater) I am honored to be profiled for a series called Women in Whitewater. – LACEY ANDERSON: WHITEWATER MAVEN – Lacey Anderson is a rarity in the whitewater world – a mature woman who thrives on adventure and the unexpected while pursuing […]

AW: “Lacey Anderson: Whitewater Maven”

November 30, 2013 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Administrator

Our first river south of the border for 2013 was the upper Rio Bavispe. This reportedly is a Class III-IV run with one Class IV that may be difficult for large rafts due to narrow passage. As the canyon is supposed to be beautiful, it sounded good to us – […]

Upper Rio Bavispe – Sonora, Mexico

November 16, 2013 in River - First Descents / River - General by Neil Nikirk

I peeled down to my bikini and slid into the hottest pool at sunflower hot springs on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. One of the clients (he, still fully clothed) looked down at me and staring incredulously, commented, “You’re not normal!” His comment struck my funny […]

NRS: Expedition to the “Grand Canyon of the Amazon”

October 15, 2013 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

It was a hot tropical fall evening in Tlapa de Comonfort, Mexico. I found myself tossing and turning on yet another lumpy Mexican mattress. I was finally slipping into a fitful sleep when I was awakened by the sounds of soft clicking and saw an unearthly blue hue of light […]

NRS: “Exploration by Raft”

September 1, 2013 in River - First Descents / River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Well, we finally did it this time! The staff at Go Light Outdoors (Neil and Lacey) are off on another grand adventure. We will be heading into northern Mexico to run some rivers in the Copper Canyon area before heading south in search of other rivers on our way to […]

Off to Mexico and …

August 11, 2013 in River - General by Neil Nikirk

Maps, Maps, and more Maps! Don’t forget to study those graphs too! What kind of maps and graphs? topographical maps, road maps, GPS maps, Google Earth, hydrology graphs, climate and precipitation graphs. Why all this map madness? We are about to embark on another major river adventure in Mexico. I […]

Map Madness

July 30, 2013 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

“Undercover – Exposing Our Sports Covert Heroes” is the cover title for the article in the May 2013 print issue of the magazine Canoe & Kayak. This last winter while I was recouperating between working river trips in Chiapas Mexico I got a call from the editor of the magazine Canoe & […]

CANOE & KAYAK: “Exposed” (Lacey Anderson Profile)

May 3, 2013 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

It was the end of the world, according to the Mayan calendar and I found myself once again in the land of the Maya; preparing to row a gear boat for an exploratory commercial descent of the Rio Lacanja. My love of boating in southern Mexico started in late 1990’s […]

NRS: “Rafting Mexico’s Rio Lacanja”

April 24, 2013 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

It’s been 10 years, let’s do it again! Doug Rhodes of Pariso Del Oso and I organized the first commercial descent of the Urique river in Copper Canyon, Mexico. After the adventure Doug wrote the following article. I am thinking about running this river again in 2013. After reading this account from 2002, […]

Rio Urique, Copper Canyon Mexico – First Commercial Descent

March 15, 2013 in River - First Descents / River - General by Lacey Anderson

Here is a picture of our latest aluminum break-down day frame packed for travel. It really is quite small and weighs about 35 pounds. Very easy to deal with. Full featured with scout rails, adjustable seat bar and yokes, adjustable oar towers, and obviously full break-down fittings. Ready for adventure; Peru here […]

Our Light-weight Break-down Frames

March 6, 2013 in River - General by Neil Nikirk

In 2009 I was laid off from my teaching job for the last time! I said goodbye to that old career and did not look back. Instead of seeking another teaching job I returned to a lifestyle I love. Basically, I moved into my trusty 4×4 Toyota Tundra and hit the road. To pursue a life once […]

Sweet Obsession

February 5, 2013 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

I started out a winter guiding season on the amazing travertine drops of the Lacanja river in southern Mexico. Thank you Rocky Contos ( SierraRios) for giving me the amazing opportunity of working a few more trips for yet another year. This waterfall jungle run on rio Lacanja was the perfect opportunity for contribution of my light-weight, low-bulk nocoolers […]

“Wild Crazy Mexican Jungle!”

December 25, 2012 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

Support Our Conservation Efforts

October 10, 2012 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

Location: Tlaplaneco-Mezcala River in the state of Guerrero, country of Mexico Boaters: Rocky Contos (kayak) and Lacey Anderson (cataraft) Total Miles: 224 K (about 140 miles) Days: Five Class: III – IV Date: September 23 – 27, 2011 First things First. We hired Antonio (a local taxi driver) to drop […]

Rio Tlaplaneco / Mezcala in Guerrero, Mexico – First Descent

October 2, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General by Lacey Anderson

Rocky had done the initial research of the Rio Tehuantepec and had discovered the river looked good for an initial run. During the summer of 2011 Rocky Contos and Lacey Anderson were doing river explorations in Mexico. In October of that year Neil Nikirk and others were able to join […]

Rio Tehuatepec, Mexico – First Descent

September 1, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General by Lacey Anderson

Location: Xochiotlahuaca in the state of Guerrero, Mexico Boaters: Rocky Contos (kayak) and Lacey Anderson (cataraft) Distance: 13 miles Class: VI+ Date: October 3, 2011

Rio Xochiotlahuaca in Guerrero state, Mexico – First Descent

August 11, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General by Lacey Anderson

“What started in late January with an international expedition to paddle the remote Rio Copon-Chixoy in northern Guatemala quickly escalated into a tense faceoff in lawless lands … ” So begins the tale of indigenous Mayan villagers detaining a group intending a raft-supported descent of the pristine 55-mile Class IV […]

CANOE & KAYAK: Update for Hostage Incident

June 12, 2012 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

This is the last of a three part series about boating in Mexico. I have titled this one “Read and Run”, I hope you enjoy! Click here to read full story First Descent of the Rio Atoyac, Oaxaca, Mexico. Flotation Device for the locals along the Rio Atoyac. Second Descent […]

NRS: Mexico Boating Adventures, Part III

May 25, 2012 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Administrator

It was impossible to stop for a scout at the top of “Unscathed”. We had to scout from our boats at the entrance into the rapid. The top section of the class IV rapid had many flipper waves and just when I made it through the tough upper section, I […]

NRS: Read and Run – First Cataraft Descent

May 21, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

The Rio Baluarte was done once before by Rocky Contos. I was fortunate enough to be hanging out with Rocky in the winter of 2011 and we went back to the Rio Baluarte. This is one of the most amazingly beautiful canyons I have ever been in and the boating […]

NRS: Mexico Boating Adventures, Part II

May 20, 2012 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Usumacinta River, Chiapas, Mexico

May 10, 2012 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

Mulatos Aros River, Mexico — Lacey Anderson had one heck of a boating year in 2011, rafting over 30 rivers in the U.S. and Mexico. In this first of a series of articles, the longtime guide and author of the Camp Cooking WITHOUT Coolers cookbook lets us ride along for a second descent of Mexico’s […]

NRS: Mexico Boating Adventure, Part I

May 6, 2012 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Rio Atotonilco / SantaCatarina in Oaxaca, Mexico – First Descent

May 3, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General by Lacey Anderson

I made children laugh all over Mexico, I was a very funny spectacle to them. As we floated past small villiages children would come streaming out of their adobe houses and the surrounding jungle foilage. They ran along-side us, on shore, to get a better look at us and our whitewater boats. Often they seemed a little frightened, but more […]

Rio Atoyac, Oaxaca, Mexico – First Descent (upper canyon)

April 20, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General by Lacey Anderson

We had just completed 150 miles on the Mulatos-Aros River in northern Mexico. It was August of 2011 and since May of 2011 I had completed nineteen river runs, most of them multi-day wilderness trips. The Mulatos-Aros was the first of many international runs I was looking forward to. We […]

NRS: Ten Lessons

April 19, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Baluarte River, Sinaloa/Durango, Mexico – First Cataraft Descent

April 18, 2012 in River - First Descents / River - General by Lacey Anderson