Rio Futaleufu - The Rundown

The last week on the Rio Futaleufu has been awesome. I've been able
to paddle some incredible rapids, surf huge waves, get worked in some
big holes, and not swam (yet). The backdrop for the Futaleufu is
amazing with rugged mountains, lush green forest, and some glaciated
peaks in the distance. I've been staying with Aaron and Sarah along
the Rio Azul and they have been gracious hosts at their riverside camp
(http://www.regionxrivers.com/). The days have looked like:

1/19 - Rio Espolon (slept at Treehouse)
20 - Bridge to Bridge Section with Liz (slept at Treehouse)
21 - Hitched ride to Region X at Rio Azul
22 - Rio Azul to Terminator to Bridge to Bridge
23 - Inferno Canyon to Rio Azul
24 - Rio Azul to Terminator to Bridge to Bridge
25 - day of rest
26 - Bridge to Bridge
27 - Rio Azul to Bridge to Bridge
27 - Rio Azul
28 - Rio Azul to McCall
29 - Inferno Canyon to Rio Azul

Some of the highlights include:

1) Bridge to Bridge Section: The 'B to B' section of the Futa is the
commercial day trip for the raft companies. It is a quick 10km of big
water class III-IV. There are some epic playwaves like Aquarium,
Pistola, and Rodeo Hole, with some huge rapids Mundaca, Entrada,
Tobogan, and others. Ran this a bunch and its always a good time.

2) Inferno Canyon: The Inferno is the uppermost section of the Futa.
It starts on the Rio Espolon, meets the Futa, and then drops into the
Canyon. There are five big rapids through here, and they are BIG.
Entrada, Wall Shot, Wall Shot II, Dynamite, and Exit all have narrow
lines, ass kickingly big holes and big whirlpools and boils.

Entrance rapids
Dynamite, line is down the middle

Exit Rapid, the last of Inferno Canyon. At least 50 feet above the river.

3) The Throne Room: The Throne is the biggest rapid on the Futa.
The whole mess looks like a giant white rollercoaster that crashes
down onto a huge rock on the right side. I dropped in on the right,
but started to cut left too early, accidentally dropping into the big
hole in the middle. I went super deep, resurfaced rolling up into the
pillow on the rock at the bottom, got surfed half upright, half
upsidedown across the river and rolled up just in time to paddle hard
and go under the final hole. It was a rush.

4) Espolon Pools, The Espolon flows right next to the town of Futa, and has some great swimming holes as well as local play spots. Its also totally beautiful. I spent my first afternoon in Futa here borrowing kayaks from the locals and hanging out with my Argentine friends Laura and Sonia. So sweet.

5) Zeta: This is a seldom run rapid on the Futa. Most people portage because the risks outweigh the reward of running it. None the less, its an amazing rapid just to look at, and the bubble pool below framed by the huge boulders and blue skies can´t be beat.

The Futa is a magic place and I can´t wait to stop through here again
my next time South. Logistics are hard, but the boating is amazing.