Karatog:
When paddled: 10/11 Aug. 2007 and early Sept. 2008
Volume: this river rises throughout the day
A paved road goes to the town of Koron (a sanatorium and vacation spot). A Neva road goes from there to Hakimi, about 20 km upstream. At Hakimi the road crosses the river and becomes a footpath. There is a military checkpoint at Hakimi and a base upstream of Hakimi, but passage is almost always allowed. Above Hakimi there is only small, shallow, braided whitewater; on the tributary leading to Lake Pairon there is some whitewater but not much. Whitewater starts just below Hakimi and continues to a
couple kilometers above Koron. The whitewater is very steep and continuous. There is a 15 meter waterfall that lands on a huge rock about 7 km below Hakimi and is obvious from the road. Towards the bottom, there is one large gorge section we chose to carry entirely in 2007 and carried only around the bottom drops in 2008. This gorge begins when the river goes down a very continuous straight away and then bends right. The
length of this section is about 3/4 kilometers. Downstream, the whitewater becomes easier, good class III/IV. Towards the town of Karatog the river is diverted for irrigation and becomes shallow and braided.
Recommendations: about 300 cfs- shallower, yes, but also more runnable.
Pleasure: Pain (with transport to Hakimi) 6:2
