Amina, DR

Low water Amina

Low water Amina
Photo of Roy Clifford by Dag Grada @ low

River Description

4WD only road down to the river near Arroyo del Aguacate provides an intermediate access point 3.5 miles downstream of the put-in bridge north of Diferencia. This access point is upstream of the steepest part of this reach. There are trails that access the river several miles upstream of the listed take-out but I've always figure the carry up and out would take more time than paddling 3-4 miles of bobble water.

An extra degree of caution needs to be taken with this river as the large numbers of pomo trees (Syzygium jambos) which line the upper corridor are dying, creating a higher than normal risk of deadfall. As this section of river features very narrow, vertical walled sections, the prescence of wood may be problematic. In 2006, Franz Lang and another paddler in IKs encountered a drop in a vertical walled section that had an entire tree, rootball upstream, out of sight just below the horizon line. They ended up having to throw the boats over the tree and jump to follow as there was no clear channel and no clean portage to speak of. IKs offer a high point of view so this obstruction may not have been visible to a paddler in a kayak. Please don not run anything blind here.