The first day on the Rio Cotahuasi was crazy. In one of the first rapids Hootie lost an oar. Gone. Baker and I saw it go under a rock and pin, so we tried to get it out but we couldn´t see it... eventually gave up because we had to keep moving downstream.
The river was really low. It was steep, technical, and continuous. There were 2 rafts, one raft with 4 people, gear, and a kayak strapped on it, one gear raft, one ducky, one riverboarder, and 8 kayakers. It was a lot of boats to have on such a steep, technical river at low water. We decided that the best plan was to have 5 kayakers, the riverboarder and the ducky out front to scout and give signals, then 2 kayakers and 2 rafts in the back all running together. Drew Parker was killing it on the oars all day, every day. His rowing ability through the rapids was astonishing. He ended up styling almost everything.
After we changed the Hootie, Sara, Emily raft to a paddle rig, they flipped off the stuck gear boat in a big rapid and we lost some food. Gian Marco was intense in the momment and decided it would be best if he guided the raft, so he hopped in and took over. They got through one rapid and then flipped again!
The river was really low. It was steep, technical, and continuous. There were 2 rafts, one raft with 4 people, gear, and a kayak strapped on it, one gear raft, one ducky, one riverboarder, and 8 kayakers. It was a lot of boats to have on such a steep, technical river at low water. We decided that the best plan was to have 5 kayakers, the riverboarder and the ducky out front to scout and give signals, then 2 kayakers and 2 rafts in the back all running together. Drew Parker was killing it on the oars all day, every day. His rowing ability through the rapids was astonishing. He ended up styling almost everything.
After we changed the Hootie, Sara, Emily raft to a paddle rig, they flipped off the stuck gear boat in a big rapid and we lost some food. Gian Marco was intense in the momment and decided it would be best if he guided the raft, so he hopped in and took over. They got through one rapid and then flipped again!
The river karma was unreal. Gear was floating everywhere, people too. We decided to call it an early day and camp before we crashed any more. Everyone was pretty tired, but it was apparent it was time to pull it all together. We lined a rapid for the rafts that had a sketchy line for the kayaks:
As the sun set over the canyon walls, the red glow of the canyon was impressive. The photos don´t really capture it, but here´s the 'Mars Wall':
As the sun set over the canyon walls, the red glow of the canyon was impressive. The photos don´t really capture it, but here´s the 'Mars Wall':
The campsite we stayed at had awesome inca ruins and terraces. We dried gear on the terraces and hiked up to the ruins, finding skulls, bones and pottery.
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