Mulatos - Barranca Mulatos

A number of dirt roads lead to the river from the mining town of Mulatos. Probably the best access is to take the main road past the mine, which winds about 3 miles down to the river, staying right at the junctions. This road is very steep and rough, but leads to a decent river access at El Naranjo. The other roads from Mulatos lead to various access points upstream and downstream of this point.

This small pueblo has at least one small store with very basic supplies. The road leading uphill from the river ford on RL makes a good take-out spot. Don’t miss it! The house overlooking the ford is owned by Arturo Monge who was very hospitable on our 2015 trip. There is a telephone for public use (pay for minutes used) in a residence at the end of the school nearest the river. There is road access (4X4 recommended) to Sahuaripa, generally a 4 to 5 hour drive.

This is the first big rapid in Barranca Mulatos and is just upstream of Arroyo Amargosa (RL). It should be possible to scout (and take pictures!) on RR unless the water is very high. The main drop of 1-2 meters is on the right of center and is a slide through a narrow slot. The slot may be too narrow for rafts at low water.

To the left of the main drop are large boulders with various slots, possibly large enough for a kayak. At high water, these create very dangerous pour-overs with retentive holes. At extremely low water, we lowered the rafts (with rope) from the left side boulders. It is possible to camp on the rocks at Amargosa at very low water.

Scout from small eddy (at average flow) on RR. To the right of the main drop is a bedrock outcrop that has a couple of narrow slots where the water flows at moderate to high levels. In the slot at the upstream end of the bedrock is a boulder that is a good gauge of water levels. If it is barely covered, flows are ideal; when just a trickle around it, flows are low; if completely covered, flows are high and the Barranca could be very challenging.

Recognizable by the pink-tinged rocks after a sharp left turn.  A series of ledges/holes leads to a huge boulder that splits the current into two channels. The right channel is the most visible and easiest to traverse. Both are tight.

Scout if possible on RR from well above the main rapid.

The river pinches down with most of the current running along the cliff face on RR, through a relatively narrow slot. Don’t be fooled, you are not at “Unscathed” yet!

Read and Run

One of the tougher rapids in this section where an arroyo enters on RR. The entrance into “Unscathed” has many flipper waves and holes and just when you make it through the tough upper section, you go careening into a blind right hand turn with many more tricky maneuvers to make and several Class III drops below.

This one is worth a scout on RR if you can.

Located where the river turns back to the northwest are two significant drops. The first is a near river-wide ledge where the current breaks through just right of center. It looks big at high water, but runs pretty soft in the center tongue. Be aware of the huge rock downstream on RL that forms an undercut sieve about 50 feet below the main drop.

Be wary and ready to pull away from a huge boulder pour over at the second drop (unscoutable at higher water) as this is exactly where your boat will be pulled by the swift current. At low water, it was possible to line the rafts/cats on either side of the lower drop. The scenic gorge continues downstream with some impressive canyon walls.

You may be able to scout the first drop on RL at some flows, particularly lower flows.