days on the river

Salto Nilahue, Region X, Patagonia, Chile

2008-03-04T23:54:00.000-08:00

Salto Nilahue was the last stop on the "Epic Patagonia Kayak Roadtrip." After 3 weeks paddling the Futa, Baker and other big rivers, the boys were fired up to run a big drop. In between Puerto Montt (where the ferry dropped us) and Temuco (where we needed to return the rental truck) lies the Salto Nilahue, the perfect end to a perfect trip.

A year and a half ago this waterfall was first run by LJ Groth and Trip Jennings as a straight 60+ foot drop. Shortly after their run the drop collapsed and has been constantly changing since. The new version was first run at the beginning of this season by Ian Garcia, Cris Korbulic and Rodrigo Tuschner. Since their new first its only been fired up by a few other crews. Tom, Phil and I ran the huge falls on Feb 23rd, 2008. Tom ran three times... it was THAT good. The first 30-35 feet are a near vertical ramp which terminates in a 30-35 foot freefall.

Phil Caravick down the middle.

Tom's first run, a little off.

Tom's second, nailed it.

Jonathan about to freefall.

The drop was the largest I've ever paddled and had a softer landing than expected. The spot is very photogenic and not too hard to get to. If you go to Rio Bueno, Chile and head east 50km to Lago Ranco, the road turns to dirt 1km past the town of Lago Ranco. Follow the road 22km and you'll see signs for the falls. We paid 800 pesos ($1.75) for access and picnic area.

Rio Baker, Region XI, Patagonia, Chile

2008-02-18T05:43:00.001-08:00

The Rio Baker is one of the classic big water runs. With flows ranging from 20-40,000cfs, the holes, waves, seams, boils and features of this behemouth dwarf anything I have ever paddled. We guestimated a flow of 32,000cfs for our runs, although it was really hard to tell.

We arrived at the Baker after a shorter than expected 13 hour drive from Futaleufu. Our team of Tom McLay, Ben Bedingham, Phil Carrivick and myself setup camp in Puerto Bertrand (at the birth of the river) and then headed down the road to scout out the first canyon. The scouting missing revealed 4 rapids in the canyon which we anticipated running the next day.

Jonathan scouting the second rapid.

Above the first Canyon is Salto Nef, a riverwide waterfall cascading 30 feet over two tiers and terminating in 'The Pit of Death'. There was a good sneak on the far left side which we ran.

Tom running the sneak at Salto Nef

After the Salto Nef, the first canyon fires off three rapids back to back. The first is a big move through the middle right to avoid the monster hole on the left. The tounge on this rapid must be 20 feet deep as you plunge into the cascade.

The second rapid follows closely after the runout of the first, with a left entrance, cutting behind 'the dragons back' behind a huge lateral to the right to dodge another huge feature. Then making it back into the middle to run down the center wave/hole train to the end.

Ben and Phil in the bottom of the 2nd rapid.

The third rapid is the most consequential, with most of the flow crashing into the right wall at the bottom. The move cuts accross from right to left. At the bottom of the first trough is a small rib that you fly past as you cut left. This single tounge is the largest I have ever seen. Standing at least 20 feet tall, you can´t see anything in the rapid once you´ve dropped down it, and the stoke of cruising up the wave face is unmatched.

Ben dropping into the tounge on the 3rd rapid

There is a 2km break in the action before the 4th and final rapid in the first canyon.

The second canyon takes a mere 15 minutes to paddle, and has no real 'rapids'. The whole canyon is full of whirl pools and constrictions. In some ways, this is more nerve racking than the first canyon, as house-sized whirl pools open up under you at any time for no real reason. Its hard to see them coming and they suck you down further than you´d like to think. At one point, I got pulled under for5 seconds in a Pyranha G3 275, a huge boat to be logging downtime.

The second canyon ends at the orange arch bridge. Below the bridge is a great playwave/ hole with eddy service.

The third canyon is the location of the proposed site of a hydro project courtesy of Endesa, a Spanish company set on ruining Patagonia with a network of dams and powerlines headed North. Because of the likelyhood of this section of river being lost forever, paddling this section of the Baker was a main goal of our Baker Mission. The third canyon proved stunning and full of great whitewater.

The third canyon has 6 distinct rapids. The first is a massive channel full of boils and unpredictable features that come out of nowhere. Scout right.

The second rapid is a portage (at least for most). The entire Baker drops through a mess of a channel, maybe 20 feet wide, creating unfathomably big holes/whirls/seams/death... Portage left over the hill.

The third rapid is the biggest in the third canyon. The huge V shaped hole/wave caught Tom on the first run, ending in a 20 second ride/ rag-dolling in one of the largest features on the river.

The fourth rapid goes from the right, then cutting back left towards the bottom. The waves are super erradic, and you have to cut through the middle of the mess.

The fifth rapid is unscoutable and unportageable. A giant pointy rock on the right signals its approach. There is a huge hole on the left, so center to center right is best here.

Tom and Ben above the 5th rapid, next to the pointy crag.

The sixth rapid is fairly straightforward, dropping down through a few big waves and holes, cutting left to right.

The Rio Baker is a classic trip. Between its remote setting along the Carratera Austral (Southern Highway) and the huge scale of the rapids and river, it will set the bar for all bigwater trips I do from here out. A strong team is a must on the Baker as a blown skirt or swim on the river isn´t really an option. Most of the rapids are scoutable and portageable, although portaging in the first canyon would basically be a hike-out to the road. For those boater who can catch the third canyon of the baker before it is lost to the dam, get down there. For info about the damming of Chilean Patagonia, check out: http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl/final/

Rio Futaleufu - The Rundown

2008-01-25T11:34:00.001-08:00

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.

Hitchhiking towards real disaster on Ruta 40

2008-01-16T09:18:00.001-08:00

Wow, where to start... the last few days have been a very intense experience.

After the last hitch hiking debacle getting caught out in Rio Gallegos, Nadia and I hopped a bus to El Calafate. Calafate was a cool but very touristy kinda place, reminiscent of Hood River in the summer. There are lots of good outdoor activities in the area, and its the main hop off city for the Glaciers National Park. The main street is lined with outdoor gear shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and tourist agencies. The locals say the place is very relaxed in the winter, when all the tourists have left and it returns to just being a quiet little town (very similar to HR!). There is also an endless amount of good ice cream and bakeries, making it a dangerous place to stay for too long.

From El Calafate we did a day trip to the Perito Moreno Glacier, the most popular of the local activities. What makes the glacier so famous is that you can stand from a viewing platform and watch the ice tumble into the lake. We saw a couple of big chunks shear which was sweet and did a boat ride in front of the glacier to get a different perspective.

After the glacier we got a bus to El Chalten, the small community that has developed around tourism around the northern part of The Glaciers Park and Mt. Fitz Roy. From the windy town, you can see Cerro Torre, an inspiring Granite Peak that towers 2000m+ over the valley. You can also see Mt. Fitz Roy, equally inspiring (if you can see it!). We arrived and stayed 3 days in the campground, with endless amounts of wind, bit of rain and lots of cold. The irregular winds were collecting clouds up around the peaks, so we never actually got to see Fitz Roy, a bit of a disappointment. We did a hike around the park, circumnavigating the area below the two peaks and the valley in between. The scenery was spectacular, with occasional views of the Torres.

From El Chalten we wanted to go to the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway), Ruta 7, in Chile, which begins in Villa O'Higgins. The only way to get there is from a water taxi that goes only on Saturday if there isn´t wind, which there always is. Apparently it goes less than once a month. We missed the boat, so we decided to try to head up Ruta 40 (the inland Argentine Highway), made famous by Che Guavera's Motorcycle Diaries, much of which was traveled on this desolate, baren, dry, dirt road in the middle of the pampa (high desert). Our plan was to travel 600km up Ruta 40 to Los Antiguos, cross the border there into Chile, and follow Ruta 7 up through Chile, hiking in San Lorenzo Mastif, Cerro Castillo, Coihayqui, Futaleufu and other spots along the way. The next bus wasn´t for 2 days, so we decided it would be better to try our luck hitch hiking, rather than waiting the extra days for the bus.

We got lucky heading out of El Chalten and got picked up quickly by a nice couple, Merlin and Marina, who own Mountaineering Patagonia (http://mountaineeringpatagonia.com/). They gave us a ride about 100km to the 40, sharing stories, mate and grease cookies (kinda like croissant cookies, only better and more addictive). They dropped us at the intersection of Ruta 40 and 23 where they were headed south to El Calafate. We got lucky again and after 20 minutes got a ride to Tres Lagos, another 40km up the road. At the intersection of Tres Lagos and Ruta 40 were 4 other hitch hikers, so we decided to wait as the gas station to try our luck asking people there. This is the last gas station for more than 300km, so anyone heading north has to stop for fuel. Seemed like a good idea.

We met a really nice group of Argentines who were headed north to their farm on the side of Lake Cardiel. They took us to that intersection and left us around 5pm. The sun was high and hot. We waited patiently for our next ride. Sitting for a while, we realized there weren´t many cars on the 40. The longer we sat, the more we realized how few cars there were. A few passed but no one made any intention of stopping. Most sped by rapidly, as if they had somewhere more important to be, or couldn´t be bothered to slow down to even see us. It was discouraging.

The sun began to set and we were stuck with the realization that we would be sleeping out in the middle of the desert. This wasn´t totally unexpected, and we had food, water, camping gear, and were okay sleeping out. At the sun set into the horizon, it was impressive the solitude we experienced. We were at least 100km from anyone or anything, surrounded by flat plans of desert dust and sand. Vegetaion was sparse and the panoramic vistas reached far into the unknown. At one point as the sun was setting, I looked around to see the sun illuminating the rain clouds to our north, the bubbly storm head to our south, the sunset to the west, and pure blue skies to the east. It was like 4 different climates surrounding our desert camp. Pretty spectacular.

The cross where we had been left off had a cement culvert under the road, and we decided to sleep under the road, rather than braving the windswept plains around us. The breeze was stiff, strong enough to keep a tent rocking to its ebb and flow all night. Our culvert was lined up perfectly East-West, so we had a sunset view from the window. The road also lined up that way, giving way to some wild shadow photos as our dark spaces climbed up the road toward the horizon, getting taller as the sun got lower.

Around 11:45pm it got really dark, and the temperature dropped to a cooler, 40s farenheight. This wasn't so cold, but it was quite windy, so we blockaded the end of the culvert with out backpacks. The night wasn't so bad, but it was short, maybe 6 hours. The sun set in front of our tunnel and rose 6 hours later 80 or 90 degrees to the left of the tunnel, not making it all the way east for the sunrise.

We started hitching around 8am and we were optimistic. As 8am turned to 10am, we still hadn´t seen any cars. After 10am we saw a few, mostly full of people, not interested in the two people sitting in the middle of the desert so early in the morning. Some waved, some began to slow down and then sped up, but mostly, not a single car stopped fully.

Around noon we began to worry. The sun was getting high in the sky, powerful and hot. The wind also began to blow again, washing dust up into our eyes. We could see cars coming from miles away, spotting the small tail of dust blowing across the horizon. Heat waves distorted the horizon, dissapearing up into the long blue sky. We watched clouds rise, cross the 180 degree panorama and fade into the distance. We were there for a vey long time.

We were getting low on water, so we began waving arms holding a water bottle, hoping to stop someone who had a bit of water. Most of the cars didn´t understand or didn´t care. We could have been lying there on the side of the road dead and I don´t think they would have stopped.

Around 4pm a overland transit vehicle (like a big truck, only full of people with a few windows) turned at the lake and headed off into the distance. A few hours later we saw two bicycles heading down the road towards us. It was an interesting encounter. They couldn´t believe we were there, and the could have been a mirage. They were from the overland tour and had gotten stuck in the sand at the lake. They were riding the 40km to a small farm on the other side of the lake to get a truck to help them out. We explained our situation and they said they would pick us up if they got out that night; not likely. So we waited.

It was difficult waiting, not sure if you could expect anyone or no one. At what time do you call it a night and go to sleep when you NEED a ride. We waited till darkness, around midnight and were about to call it a night and hunker down in the culvert for another windy, desert night. As we were discussing our options, we saw lights coming down the road from the lake. It was the overland truck, unstuck and headed our way.

They took us all the way back to El Calafate, where we began our trip a week earlier. It was a great relief to be back into civilization with food, water and shelter. Out of the desert. Although our situation didn´t become serious, it could have, easily. We were well prepared with food, water, shelter, but in a harsh and unpredictable climate, these kind of provisions only mean so much. It was disheartening to see all the cars passing, as if no one cared if we were there or not. We became part of the landscape, another things to drive past without a second glance. Not really people.

Now that I´ve put my time in on Ruta 40, I think I´m going to bus back up towards Futa and catch a few weeks of boating before heading further north towards Mendoza, Cordoba, and Buenos Aires.

Hitching towards disaster in Rio Gallegos...

2008-01-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

It turns out that the next great adventure was right around the corner...

Once we got off the Sierra Valdivieso we needed to get back to Ushuaia (13km down Ruta 3). We tried to hitch but there wasn´t much traffic at 9am. So we started to walk down the highway, waiting for a ride to pick us up. About a km down the road we stopped a colectivo that gave us a ride back to our hostal for US$3 each. We got some stuff together, repacked our bags, picked up our stuff from the Refugio del Mochillero (thanks to Sebastian, Fernando and crew) and headed out to hitch to Rio Grande or as far as we could make it.

We walked a few blocks towards the edge of town where we tried to get a ride. After 15 minutes a van picked us up and took us to the real edge of town. Here, at the sign claiming, 'Welcome to the Southernmost City in the World!' we awaited the next ride. In short time we got picked up by Ricardo, an amiable truck driver carrying air conditioning units from Korea that had arrived at the port. He was taking them to Rio Grande, some 200km from Ushuaia. He took us all the way there, which was great. In between his sentiments about the government, Che Guavera, and crossing himself every time we passed a cross or place where he knew a trucked who had died there in an accident, he was a really smooth ride for us.

He brought us to the warehouse laden edge of Rio Grande where we began to walk towards town. A few minutes later a taxi stopped to solicit his services, and we asked to be taken to the other side of town. For US$6 he took us all the way to the far side of Rio Grande, next to the beach. He said all the trafic would be passing through headed to San Sebastian, the border with Chile where we would need to cross to get off of Tierra del Fuego and back onto the continent.

We waited a while, ate sandwiches, waited some more, and finally got picked up by a very friendly, larger man with dark skin and no teeth named Oscar. Oscar was headed to northern Argentina, maybe 26 hours north of where we were headed. His mother had passed away that morning and he was rushing home for the funeral. Normally people fly, but since it is imposibble to get a flight out of Ushuaia (which is why we were hitching in the first place!), he was driving home for the funeral. He agreed to take us to Rio Gallegos, roughly 500km from Ushuaia, which is way further than we expected to get that day! We were smooth sailing all the way to the mainland.

Oscar was a very fast driver, rarely letting the speedometer drop below 140kph. This was good becuase we got there fast, but didn´t get a chance to relax very much. To get to Rio Gallegos from Ushuaia, you need to cross the border into Chile (exit Argentina, enter Chile), cross Punta Delgada across the Straight of Magellan, cross the border into Argentina again (exit Chile, enter Argentina) and drive another 150km to Rio Gallegos. Oscar helped with all of this and we made it to RG around 11:30pm. We were feeling good, even though he dropped us off outside of town.

We walked into town, maybe 2km, which was quite an effort considering we were carrying everything we owned. We started asking at each hotel we saw if we could stay, but suprisingly they were all full. We figured there would be more downtown, so we kept walking and kept asking, to no avail.

When we got downtown, we were worked. IT was close to 12:30am, we had been hiking at 6:30am, made it back to Ushuaia and then to Rio Gallegos and all we wanted to do was rest a bit. Every place we went to was sorry, and sent us to the next place. After 10 hotels, we had had enough, and decided to convince the hotel people to let us sleep wherever we could. The conversation went like this:

Jonathan: Estas completo, verdad? (You´re full, right?)
Hotel: Sì. (Yes)
J: Estamos muy consados y caminamos todo el dia, tienes algun lugar donde puedimos descansar? El sofà? (We're really tired and just walked all day. Don´t you have any place where we can rest, maybe that sofa? )
H: No. (No.)
J: Tenemos carpa, bolsa a dormir, todo! Por favor? El jardin es tan bonito? (We have a tent, sleeping bags, everything! Please? The garden looks nice?)
H: No. (No. )
J: Sabe donde podimos preguntar? (Do you know where we can ask?)
H: La comissaria. (The police station)
J: Gracias por nada. (Thanks, ass.)

So that was about it until 3am when we gave up. We caught a taxi to the bus station where we were sure we could sleep, at least lay down for free. As soon as we rolled up to the bus station, it all made sense! The entire bus station was FULL (really, full) of people, sleeping on the benches, floors, corners, phone booths, the whole place. Every backpacker in the city was there. I´ve never been so relieved to sleep on the floor of a bus terminal. And so we rested.

1/6-1/19 - Sierra Valdivieso Circuit, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

2008-01-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

The reflection of Monte Olivia on Lago Argo Iris (Rainbow Lake)

1/6 - Ruta National 3 to Refugio Bonete to Salto del Azul, 18.5km, 10 hours

We began this circuit with a few interesting circumstances. I wanted to go and do the trek, but didn´t want to do it alone. I met two Israelis (Oshri and Pleiah) who also wanted to do the trek, but couldn´t leave until Sunday because of Shabbat. Additionally, the Israelis had bought a bus ticket to leave Ushuaia on Wed, making the normally 4 day trek into a forced 3 days. The book said this would be possible, mostly because the first day is really only 4.5km to the Refugio, a short day at the least. I ended up doing all the shopping because they couldn´t shop on Shabbat, which was fine, but made things a bit difficult, making decisions for the group without their input. We had a small planning session, but Israelis don´t really plan the way American´s do, and when the plan isn´t to have a real plan, that doesn´t work well for me. So I made a plan according to my plans.

The night before leaving I got an email from a French-Canadian girl staying at the same hostel who had seen my posting about people to do the trek. We met and decided she should forgo the Tierra del Fuego National Park for this trek; a wise decision on her part as the trek was much more impressive than the park. I was also glad to have someone else to talk with in English (although French is her first language) and someone with North American sensibilities. It was a bit of a relief to have a fourth.

The group of four met at 10:30 and got a ride with a colectivo to 17km out of Ushuaia at the trailhead. From the beginning, I though we were starting late (especially for a day where we had two mountain passes!) but the group was sure we could make good time and get over the passes. The track was easy to find, but after 30 minutes, it was obvious that the 'trail' was disintegrating into low alpine forrest without markers. We had a topo (1:50,000) and compass, so we figured we could navigate our way out of anything.

We wandered mostly lost through the lower forest for close to 3 hours to cover the first 4.5km of the track. We walked up, down, north, south, did circles, were mostly lost. Oshri was convinced that we could find the Refugio and that was very important so we could know the exact spot we were at on the map. Finding the small cabin was much like finding a needle in a haystack blindfolded, and we never did find it. Eventually we gave up on it in favor of heading into the valley towards the first pass.

Up the valley we saw it turn left and we followed the small stream up the valley. The directions said to follow the valley, but there was a large hill in our way, and we weren´t sure if it was the valley in front of or behind the big hill. This was nerve racking and we consulted the topo every five minutes or so to try to ascertain our exact locale. This was Patagonia navigation hell, with poorly contoured maps, vague directions, and pressing night time. Fortunately the sun doesn´t set in southern Patagonia until 11pm, but I wasn´t really interested in pushing these limits. We chose to go in front of the hill, and in the end the hill ended and we were in the same valley as the other lead to. Go figure.

At this juncture, we were surrounded on all sides by stellar, glacier cut valleys and steep granite walls. In front of us, the first pass, Paso Beban Este (830m) appeared, a small afterthought of the dramatic mountains towering thousands of feet up.

We got to the top of the first pass, a steep climb up shale and snowfields. There was totally amazing geology with big pieces of shale, granite, lots of quartz and rose quartz, and a very waxy green mineral.

Then we crossed a high scree field across a caldera to reach Paso Beban Oeste (850m), a windy pass looking down the valley towards the Rio Torito Valley and other high peaks. We descended rapidly, starting our decent around 7pm. We passed some beaver dams along the way, creating cascades and pools as we headed down into the valley. Around 8:30 we decided to camp, about 30 minutes short of our destination at Salto Azul.

1/7 - 30 minutes above Salto del Azul to Valley Carbajal, 16km, 8 hours

We broke camp late, around 11:30, another late start. It is really difficult to get the momentum in the morning when its cold, and has been raining a lot. Everyone was cold and getting the group going took some doing. Once we got hiking, we had to follow the river down for 30 minutes to Salto del Azul, then along river for another 1.25km before heading back up the valley towards the Laguna Azul and the next pass. We started to climb a bit early and got really lost. I didn´t think we had gone far enough down the valley to be climbing and the map looked like we were still short of the trail. After climbing for an hour through very thick brush, trees and streams, we got back to the river. We headed downstream in search of the supposed trail, but were unable to find it. Frustrated we headed back up the valley towards the waterfall, completing a big circle of maybe 4-5km. This loop brought us back to where we started around 1:30pm. From here we decided to climb up the valley again, this time heading due south up the steep valley walls. We finally got high enough to orient ourselves in the valley around 2:30pm, but the fog and clouds were so dense, that it was very difficult, if not impossible to navigate.

We continued south and up the valley, resting frequently because of the inclination of the slope. in places, we were climbing 45-60 degree rock and dirt up the valley. We got glances of the surrounding mountains, but couldn´t figure out exactly where we were. Around 4:00pm I decided that we were going to go until 5pm, and if we were still feeling lost we would descend the 600m or so we had climbed from the river and go back to where we had camped the night before. It was a harsh reality, but we couldn´t be starting the crossing at 6pm with 4-5 hours of hiking to be done. I wasn´t willing to take that risk.

We were headed up in search of the Laguna Azul, which was very impossible to find. We came across some small ponds, but nothing that would warrant a Laguna. As we neared a high summit, I said we should go to the top of the ridge, thinking we might have missed the laguna and that this was the pass. We headed up, but at the ridge line, it was clear that we hadn´t found the pass. Regretfully, we began to head down towards the river valley, resigned to the fact that we weren´t going to finish the trek as planned. We stopped to take photos of the cloud-filled valley, joking that we were less than a few hundred meters from the Laguna and couldn´t see it, or that the small, pathetic looking boggy pools below were the Laguna Azul.

As we descended, the sun broke for a second, the clouds cleared, and as I looked north up the valley, I saw something blue. Very blue. It was the Laguna, less than 200m across the ridge. We had found it. We triumphantly traversed the scree slope, heading to the Laguna around 5pm, right at the cutoff time. From the laguna, we could see the pass and the sun was shining. We decided to go for it. Reaching the Paso Mariposa was a trip highlight. From the pass we had a high view of the surrounding mountains, the Laguna Azul and its smaller counterpart, the 4 lakes on the other side of the pass. It was magic.

We glisaded down the scree on the back side toward the Lago Capullo, more than 500m below. We reached an early camp aside the Lake around 7:30pm amongst some large boulders. About 30 minutes later we were treated to a rainbow over Lake Capullo as we made dinner. We stopped 2 hours short of our Camp in the Valley Carbajal as we were all totally worked from the day. I think we walked more than 20km with more than 1500m vertical. It was an exhausting day.

1/8 - 2 hours short of Valley Carbajal to Ruta 3, 16km, 12 hours

We left camp early this day and headed straight back up the valley wall toward the Paso Valdivieso. There was again some discrepancey about which direction we needed to head this morning, but it was pretty clear after close inspection of the Topo and compass. We needed to head south away from the Kami Lake, and from the ridge it was clear which way we needed to go around a large rocky mountain/ ridge. Around 9am we reached a high rib overlooking the 5 lakes below including Kami, the large lake that bisects Tierra del Fuego. Around 11am we crossed Pass Valdivieso and descended towards Lago Valdivieso. This was a steep decent, and 15 minutes down Nadia sprained her ankle, not a good way to start a huge day.

We reached the Valley Floor around noon, with roughly 7 hours of hiking left to finish the circuit out to Ruta 3 and back to Ushuaia. Again, the valley proved unwilling to let us out. As soon as we got to the Rio Olivia Valley, the trails went crazy. The entire valley has been taken over by the pesky North America Beaver, who has managed to flood every part of the valley, fall trees everywhere, and build knee deep pools that make everything that isn´t inundated with water, deep sticky muck. It was a mess. Nadia and I were feeling very worked and had the time to stay another night, so we stopped about 2 hours early while the 2 Israelis headed to Ruta 3 for their bus the next morning. I imagine they arrived in Ushuaia around 11pm.

1/9 - 2 hours short of Ruta 3, 5km

We camped at Lago Arco Iris and were treated with amazing pre-sunrise fog and reflection over the still morning. It was another trek highlight for me. Watching the steam rise over the lake and the cold, stillness that can only be found in the early minutes of the day was relaxing in the cold air.

The rest of the hike out was mellow. We saw a beaver slap its tail in the water as it crossed a pool. Then hiked the rest of the way out to Ruta 3 where we hitched back to Ushuaia and on to the next adventure...

Why I love Argentina, Day 1

2007-12-31T04:51:00.001-08:00

I just arrived in Ushuaia today, the southernmost city in the world! It is in the southern part of Tierra del Fuego along the Beagle Channel. This is also the first time I have been in Argentina thus far. As best I can tell, Argentina totally rocks, and I´m already feeling better about being here than I´ve felt in Chile in the past few weeks.

Tierra del Fuego is stunning. On the trip down from Punta Arenas, we crossed the Straight of Magellan, and then continued accross a desolate, gravel road through the Tierra. The first thing you notice is the sky, which spans endlessly as far as you can see in all directions. It is a rich blue, dotted with clouds like you might see from an airplane at 36,000ft. Then as we cruise the barren, windswept nothingness, we pass by some ponds, teaming with bright Pink Flamingos. Really. Thousands of them. They effortlessly run across the water, like ice skaters doing a well rehearsed performance. We make a rest stop in San Sebastian, 5km short of the border with Argentina. The bus stops for 30 minutes, but in the short time its easy to see why people call this 'the

As I get off the bus, the sun is shinning. A stiff breeze blows, but not too hard. In the distance, a grayish haze lurks. The wind picks up to a gusty 50-something MPH and the air turns cold. The Grey haze advances rapidly, like a swarm of bees disturber out of their hive. Within minutes, the rain begins to fall. It gets colder. Then the hail comes, hard and biting, clicking lightly on the plastic cover at the rest stop.

Just as fast as the hail starts, it eases off to a pounding rain, drops hitting hard and splattering the gravel; attaching more dirt to the already dusty Bus. The wind continues to usher the torment along, as if it has other things to do and can't afford a bit more time with us. And then it is gone. The flamingos fly by, a pink flutter signaling the passing of a nemesis.

The rest of the drive is scenic and beautiful, easing into the Tierra del Fuego Andes, the southernmost part of the andes that rise dramatically from the Beagle Channel. The mountains are dramatic and we´re graced with clear weather and great views of lakes, mountauns and sky.

Shortle after passing km 3000 on the Argentine Hwy 3, we round a corner to a spectacular double rainbow, as if signaling the entrance to Ushuaia. The rainbow streches from mountain to mountain, arching over the arid forrests that look like they belong at 10,000ft, even though we are at sea level. The windswept land and rugged mountains rise from the sea, streching into the blue sky, and then dropping in front of us into the Beagle Channel and behind Navarino Island. Boats dot the horizon of this stunning sea scape. Welcome to Ushuaia.

12/17-12/24 - Grand Circuito, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

2007-12-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

The Grand Paine Circuit in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, is an 8 day, 124km trek through some of the most spectacular scenery in Southern Chile. The trek is one of the most popular in Chile, so it has been developed for tourism with hostals, accomodation and transportation within the park. I´d say the development is more complete than a place like Yosemite, although not designed to handle so many people. The play by play is below, but if you want some interesting tidbits without reading the whole thing:

-The actual Torres (Towers) weren't nearly as impressive as the Grey Glacier

-You can drink the water anywhere in the park without treatment (lakes, rivers, streams, glaciers, huts...), so you don´t really need to carry any

-There are places along the way to buy food, gas, and rent gear, so you don´t really need to bring any of that either...

-The weather in Patagonia in the middle of the summer is erratic and unpredictable. We saw rain, snow, sun, hail and knock-you-on-your-ass winds almost daily.

-Paying US$7 per person to pitch a tent is the norm

-Passing day trippers with daypacks is infuriating when you're carrying a 40lb pack with 8 days worth of gear and food

-There are some good first decents to be had if you´re willing to carry a kayak 10-20 miles
-Climbers on the Torres often spend 15-30 days on the wall; way more core than kayaking
-The Torres at sunrise cast a red glow for about 2 minutes if it is clear outside
-The Torres are particularly spectacular because they are granite spires capped with a dark layer of shale, a rare geologic formation

12/17 - Day 1, Puerto Natales to Laguna Amargo (bus), Laguna Amargo to Camp Seron, 20km (7km in bus)

The first day of the trek began early with a 7am bus to the park (US$18R/T). The three hour bus ride stops at the guard house, where you purchase a park pass (US$30) which allows unlimted stay in the park. From the entrance, you are still 7km from the Las Torres Hostal, so we opted to take the park shuttle (US$2) for the 7km gravel road to the trailhead. We had a bit of trouble finding the start of our trail, but the views of the Torres (towers) from afar is quite impressive.

At Las Torres, Day 1

Once we got to the trailhead (well indicated by two blue sticks that were falling over), we climbed gradually along the Paine River on a 4x4 track. The color of the river is glacial grey, a milky white haze that only comes directly from glaciers. After an hour of gradual climbing, we stopped for lunch, and then pushed on to the meadow. The meadow is a huge flat riverplain where we stopped to just lay around in the grass. The field was full of daisys, which make a nice click against the toe of your boots as you swish through them. About an hour later we reached Camp Seron, the first night's campsite.

The camp is nicely situated along the river in a big open pasture. Hardly a bargain at US$7 a person to pitch your own tent, the campsite had bathrooms and a small house with beds. We were some of the only people there to our suprise. However, we had been on the first bus into the park. By the time we went to sleep, there were at least 40 others camped with us. Throughout the trip I was suprised by the sheer number of people in the park.

It rained a lot, maybe all night long. One of my biggest concerns for the trip was rain and snow, so this was a good night to test out the tent. By morning, we were swimming. It was a good litmus test for how well the tent was going to work for the rest of the trip. Or at least we knew what to expect.

At Camp Seron, Day 1

12/18 - Day 2, Camp Seron to Refugio Lago Dickson, 18.5km

After a long night sleeping in the rain, we were relieved that it cleared a bit for the second day. It was mostly cloudy (as it usually is in Patagonia), but the rain was holding off. After packing up our wet gear, we headed out for Dickson Lake. We continued up the river valley, passing a small lake, and then continuing up to Lake Paine, the source of the Paine River. Heading up to the head of the lake was unbelieveably windy. Not just wind, but fierce, cold, through all your windproof layers chilling wind. From the lake we cruised up towards Lake Dickson, finally arriving later in the afternoon, maybe around 6pm. This wasn´t much of a problem as the sun doesn´t set until at least 10pm, and it doesn´t get dark at all until 9pm or so. Lake Dickson was nice, with glaciers coming down into the lake on the far side, and great views up the Hidden Valley. Anat and I river crossing between Seron and Dickson
Lake Dickson before sunset, Day 2

12/19 - Day 3, Refugio Lago Dickson to John Garner Pass Campsite,

This day was a shorter one then the others, but had some good vert. We began climbing up the Rio de Los Peros, a steep creek full of wood. I think there is potential here with nice gorges and a clean 25 footer, but it would require hauling a kayak 30 or so km... I don´t think it has been paddled before.

Anat and Arik heading towards John Garner on Rio de Los Perros, Day 3

Anat above Lago Dickson, Day 3

12/20 - Day 4, John Garner Pass Campsite to Campmento Paseo

The intense wind on John Garner Pass, Day 4

Looking over Glacier Grey after coming down the pass, Day 4

Glacier Grey, Day 4

Lago Peohe, Day 5

The girls at camp, Day 6

Heading towards Las Torres, Day 7

Bienvenidos a Patagonia

2007-12-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

''Patagonia (wikipedia): Patagonia is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America. Mostly located in Argentina and partly in Chile, it comprises the Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateaux and low plains to the east. The name Patagonia comes from the word patagon used by Magellan to describe the native people who his expedition thought to be giants.''

The trip to Patagonia is a long one. I got a bus from Osorno (just west of Pucon) to Punta Natales, the southernmost city in Chile. The ride left around noon and didn´t arrive until 6pm the next day. The trip passes from Chile into Argentina, and then crosses back over the border 20 hours later. As you head south, its like driving from Washington north towards Alaska. The trees change, the landscape flattens out, and you cruise for hours through high plains. The windswept high dessert makes you wonder how the flowers and trees cling to the arid ground amidst the torments that hammer all winter.

As you head further south, the days get noticeably shorter, changing from a 12 hour day around Peru to a nearly 20 hour day here in Patagonia. Its easy to loose track of time and dinner usually falls around 10 or 11pm, simply because its sunny until 10pm and light until 11pm. Its a stretch, but is quite enjoyable.

Tomorrow I head 113km north of Puerto Natales to begin the Paine Circuit. The trek is 8 days through the park. I´ll be traveling with 5 Israeli travelers whom I have met along the way: Arik, Danny, Adi, Dikla and Anat.

The interesting cultural experience of this section was this afternoon. There are many Israeli travelers who visit South America after their service, so there are tons of freedom happy, young, fit, extreme Israeli backpackers going around South America. Because most of them speak no spanish and some english, there are special tour agencies that have come up because they can speak hebrew. Since there are so many of these travelers, one agency offers a daily seminar on 'Everything you need to know to not kill yourself in the Torres del Paine Park.' Because I'm with the Israelis, I went to the seminar. Imagine 40 Israelis sitting in a room at the bottom of the world, all decked out in treking gear, ready to go adventure in the park while a Chilean guy rambles on in Hebrew about how the treks work, where the campsites are, what to expect, what to bring, ect... We´re at least 1,000 miles from the nearest real city in the middle of nowhere, desolate, windswept, plains. And there I was.

12/7 - Rio Nevados, Pucon, Chile

2007-12-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

The Rio Nevados outside of Pucon, Chile is a total classic. Between the quality whitewater, awesome scenery, and proximity to town, this ranks as one of the better runs we´ve bagged on the trip. The water was a little low this day, so we started about 1km from the putin at the beginning of the big slide. This is a heady place to start the run as you peel out of the first eddy, bump 30 feet down some shallow rocks, and then go off a 15 foot slide into a 150 foot slide. Big start.

The view from the Upper putin bridge

Baker at the top of the 15 foot lead in

Nick lining up the lead in. You can also boof the rock on the left with a bit more water.

Nick down the gut

Nick about 15 seconds later down on the big slide

5 seconds after that, maybe 200 feet downstream...

Ben at the bottom of the slide

Baker pluggin in the rapid below the slide

The '15 footer', more like 20.

The entrance to the 25ish, about as wide as your boat...

Ben running

Looking back up at the drop

Ledges below the big waterfall

Tight drops below the scary ferry

Ben boofing right in 'Boof right'

Nick below the left-right-left-right drop

The muddy slog up to the car

Kiwi Nick rocking the tunes home in the Suby.

A small taste of the goodness that can be had just 20 minutes from Pucon. Good stuff. Perfect for a few laps a day.

12/4 - Rio Trancura Alto, Pucon, Chile

2007-12-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Rio Trancura is the most popular comercial run outside of Pucon, Chile. Although the river is not particularly difficult, its proximity to Pucon and easy shuttle make it a popular run for the locals, and for commercial guests.

The river really only has 5 rapids and one portage. The rapids are all big water, pool-drop style. The first rapid is a huge horizon line after the tranquil first 1/4 mile. This can be run any which way, but has an easy tounge down the middle, or a tricky boulder dodge to the far left. The second rapid is the most difficult. The river splits around an island, and then drops significantly. The run is to the right of the island. The river then goes over/next to a huge boulder in the middle. You want to dodge right of the rock because behind it is a huge wave-hole that pushes into the right wall which is sieved out. Emma accidentally went into the sieved out part and swam through the sieve in her boat! Andy roped her from the rocks above, but it isn´t recomended. Stay left here.

The left channel in the second rapid re-enters below the rapid.

Looking back up at the second rapid, you can see the sieve on the left (river right)

The third rapid is a huge hole with a clean line down the left side. There are some big powerful waves and hydraulcs as you drop into the whiteness, but it is super clean. If you look back upstream from below this rapid, you can see the Pucon Volcano in the backdrop with the river. A beautiful spot.

Below this is the forth rapid (portage) followed by the fifth rapid. The portage is fairly obvious with a huge amount of gradient. You can boof the entrance drop to the left and then float down alongside the gnar before getting out to carry the main part of the drop. If you blow this boof, you would likely run the gnarly Class V+ portage rapid.

After the portage, you have one more big water Class IV+ rapid that is most easily run down the left side. You can takeout at the Trancura Rafting company on the right or at the bridge below.

Across the Andes...

2007-12-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

We've been hanging in Pucon, Chile for the past few days. There't tons of amazing boating and outfdoor stuff here. Paddled the upper Trancura River yesterday and the day before. May try to hit some other good stuff before the time is up.

We met up with a really amazing couple, Daia and Gregg. They've been walking for 17 months. Check the out at:

http://acrosstheandes.com/

That's all for now. On to the Futa, maybe?

JHB

The long road to Chile...

2007-12-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Since the last post I did in fact get healthier. I think the Cipro helped. Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail were amazing (photos up at http://picasaweb.google.com/blumjonathan/MachuPicchuAndTiticaca)

Now I´m headed to Chile... but it going to be a long haul. Here´s the deal (I think...): I left Cuzco this morning at 8:30am headed to Puno. The goal is to get to the Peru-Chile border at Tacna. There are lots of busses from Cuzco to Tacna that go through Arequipa, which is lame because of the timing:

CUZ-ARE: 11 hours
ARE-TAC: 10 hours

CUZ-PUN: 6 hours
PUN-TAC: 10 hours

So its 5 extra hours on a bus to go from Cuzco to Tacna the way all the bus companies want you to. So, I´m in Puno waiting for a bus to go to Tacna. Hopefully, this bus will drop me in Tacna early enough to exercise one of two options:

1) Get a direct Tacna to Santiago (33 hours, US$100)
2) Save some money by taking a collectivo (3 hours, US$5? to Arica), then catching a bus from Arica to Santiago (31 hours, US$40)

Then we´ll see where the road leads. With a little luck, Ben, Baker, and Andy (and maybe Liz, Hootie, Drew, and Emily) will still be in Pucon, where I hope to meet them. If not, its another 12 hours south to the Futaleufu. I can´t wait to be back in the kayak firing off some of the great stuff Chile has to offer. More to come...

In the meanwhile...

2007-11-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

Its been a bit since the last post, mostly for lack of boating... Here´s whats up:

Nov 11, my grandmother passed away at the age of 94 in Miami.
Nov 12, I got on a flight Cuzco to Lima, Lima to Panama, Panama to Miami.
Nov 13, I met up with the family in Miami.
Nov 14, funeral and family stuff.
Nov 15, more family stuff.
Nov 16, went to Lake Placid with Cousin Bryan for an awesome few days.
Nov 17, more Lake Plancid, getting sick off bad food.
Nov 18, Lake Placid and return to Miami to sleep in Airport for AM flight, more food sickness.
Nov 19, back to Lima, continued food illness.
Nov 20, back to Cuzco, feeling a bit better.
Nov 21, siteseeing in Cuzco, feeling ill again.
Nov 22, market in Pisac, still feeling ill.
Nov 23, laying low in Cuzco, feeling worse, took Cipro.
Nov 24, headed to Machu Pichu for Inca Trail, hopefully feeling better!

There is great irony in my sickness coming from Miami. After spending more than a month in Peru, drinking all the water, eating all the food off the street, eating the salads, all that, it took a few days in Miami to really mess me up... More to come after Machu Pichu, then down to Chile for Pucon, the Futa, and more rivers... Ciao.

Some other sites...

2007-11-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here are a few sites of other people traveling with me:

Liz´s stuff:
http://findingconsciousness.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/gingerwatergirl

My picasa with all the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/blumjonathan

This list will grow as more come up.

11/7-8 - Rio Paucartambo, Day 6/7

2007-11-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Getting off the Paucartambo was smooth but slow. The sunrise ferry came as promised at 5am sharp. The launch driver wanted 20 soles ($6.60) a person with our kayaks and we consented, knowing we could talk him down later. The driver was amazing cruising up the Urubamba against the current, running rapids, tipping the boat from side to side. It was like a 60 foot long wooden canoe with a 75hp outboard. We cruised on the 'Yoga':

Ben and Jonathan on the 'Yoga':
When we got to the small town at the end of the boat ride, there were a few busses waiting for us to begin their journey to Quillabamba. We got a 12 hour bus there for 18 soles each including out kayaks ($6). Its interesting that the luxury bus lines charge an arm and a leg to load a kayak, while the cheap chicken busses never even blink an eye. Sadly, this bus ride was long, spine jarring, hot and sweaty, and even stopped for an unexpected 2 hour lunch. The driver must have been hungry.

We arrived in Quillabamba around dark and went to the Cuzco bus station to get our tickets. We got an overnight to Cuzco for 20 soles each on the Luxury bus and then went to town, hoping to walk off the ride to Quillabamba before taking the ride to Cuzco. The market in Quillabamba was sweet, and I managed to get my board shorts stiched in the street for a sole. This was interesting because I didn't have other pants to put on or underwear. It took some convincing but they stitched them up for me. There was a ton going on in the streets with vendors, kids, acts, shops, and tons of motor taxis:
The ride to Cuzco wasn't much of a sleeper, but we caught a minute here and there between the bumps. Upon arrival in Cuzco at 4:45am (24 hours after we caught the water taxi) we slept on the parked bus till 6am, headed to the Hostal, crashed hard. The Polica in Cuzco were confused by our kayaks, as usual:

Out.

11/6 - Rio Paucartambo, Day 5

2007-11-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

The highlight of Day 5 was the confluence of the Rio Paucartambo and Rio Urubamba. We started paddling at 8:30 and didn't stop till lunch at 1:15pm. We knew we had to be getting close but we didn't really know how close. I asked a local farmer how far at lunch and he said, 'Cerquita! 20 minutos!' (Very close!). Of course, he had never seen a kayak before, so we took this with a grain of salt. He was pretty close and 25 minutes later we were sitting in the eddy between the two rivers. Sucess! Self portrait of the crew in the eddy at the confluence of the Urubamba River and Paucartambo River:

We paddled across the river here to ask when the next water taxi or bus would be passing by to pick us up. We had expected there to be some there or something which was unrealistic since we were in the middle of nowhere. Ben, Todd and Scott walked to a small 'town' where the drunk/sleeping/crazy radio controller guy was unhelpful. It turns out that we were in good luck because the water taxis only run on Monday and Wed (it was Sun) and the road is unpassable once it starts to rain (which it had been). We got mixed messages, but bottom line, boat leaves at 5am, be there at 4:45am and you might get it.

Some local kid, Daniel, invited us to stay on his property on river right. We watched in awe as he skillfully pilotted his 20 foot long wooden canoe across the Urubamba with fewer than 3 strokes. We followed in suit and were soon camped on the right side.

Andy pumping water from the Urubamba at the confluence:
The house where we were invited to stay at the confluence:
The rocks outside where we slept at the confluence:

Daniel was very hospitable, and we invited him to dinner with us. We also fed his dad and friends. He showed me how to scale a tree and cut down plantains to eat. Its really quite easy:

1) Find tree with plantains
2) Find machete
3) Hack into trunk of tree until it falls down
4) Pick up plantains off ground

The next morning was an early one for the sunrise ferry...

11/5 - Rio Paucartambo, Day 4

2007-11-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

Flow guesses day 4:
J: 3150 4500
A: 3000 4350
B: 3200 4196
S: 2998 4450
T: 3000 4200

The guys who paddled the Paucartambo in 6-8 days clearly didn't know Andy Round, nor were paddling with him! We probably paddled an estimated 60-80km today, mostly flatwater. The amazing thing about the river was how just when you expected it to be done, you'd round a corner and be faced with more great whitewater. It just kept going. The jungle scenery got better and better, with dense, lush, green folliage, birds, and of course, the jungle humidity. It was HOT!Jungle butterflys like the green Mystic:
We began the day at 8:15 and paddled mostly flatwater until we got to a HUGE rapid around 11:30. This was a stomper. The whole river (at least 4,000cfs) crashing down over fairly steep gradient. It was awesome! This rapid was in a huge open valley with some braided channels. The right side had a bit of a sneak Class II line with 300cfs or so, but the main flow was unreal. Andy ferried down to the eddy on the left side, and signaled that I should come down and take a look. The move was difficult and as I caught the eddy, I clipped a rock under my hull. As I slid slowly off the rock, my stern caught and I flipped over right above this massive rapid. I hit a quick roll and oriented myself just in time to hear Andy yell, 'Left then right' and drop backwards into the brown maelstrom of holes and waves. Dropping blindly into a rapid where you can barely see over the wave in front of you is interesting because you don't know what's coming, but you can't focus too much on what's in front of you. You need to look at the bigger picture. It all went well and I made it through to the bottom right, no problem. Tood for scale inthe middle of the main drop:This big water canyon continued on for another 15 minutes of huge holes, towering waves and great fun. It was the highlight of Day 4. We paddled till 3:45, passing under the blue Puente Penetracion at a small town. Pierro had told us we could take out there, but we kinda missed it and all had our sights set on the Urubamba confluence. The camp that night was hot and humid on wet jungle black sand beaches:

I think Day 4 was the longest I have ever paddled in one day. Sitting for the hours was painful but rewarding, reminicient of rowing crew in high school. After 4 days of being in wet, stinky gear, the jungle made me long for a cold shower and clean clothing. A difficult but fulfilling day for the team.

11/4 - Rio Paucartambo, Day 3

2007-11-08T13:51:00.001-08:00

Day three started early at 7:45 with the anticipation of a big day of whitewater. The first 30 minutes were mellow until we reached 'Go Left and Flip II', a big move left of a boulder into a hole. The river backed off again until 9:00 when a steep creek entering on the left signals the entrance of 'Steep Bouldery Canyon Rapids'. We scouted the first series here on the left, which had a tricky entrance down the left side into an ender hole. I got squirted up and Todd got flipped over backwards here. Then it moved through the center passing some huge holes, and ending with a tricky move right in front of a boulder. We scouted this series for an hour or so and the rapids below it. It was 250 fpm gradient with close to 2000 cfs. Epic:
Todd running the move at the bottom:

The second part of this series involved a hard move into a narrow slot, off a 3 foot boof into another manky channel that dropped rapidly into a minefield of holes. Todd and Baker run the mank:

Scout right, portage right. The holes at the bottom are monsterous. Below the first few monster holes, the river mellows to steep gradient, high flows, and lots of super high quality lines. We loved this section of the river. Almost every hole was big and pushy, but they all went for at least a mile, maybe a few miles.

At 10:45 'Dos Amigos Creek' entered from the right, and we had a great run down 'Balls to the Walls Left' (just like the Wind River, only 5x bigger!):

We ate an early lunch at 11:15 at a beautiful creek on the left. It was our first day of Manhar Blanco (carmel) and jam on totillas, a nice change from bread and avo.

We boated down a bit more to a line of huge boulder across the river. We knew this had to be the 'portage grande' as described by Gian Marco. The entrance to the portage was pretty obvious, with boulder choked channels and sieves everywhere:

The full portage took us a little more than an hour using ropes, teamwork and going over and under the huge boudlers. It wasn´t very dangerous, but carrying 80lb loaded boats over sharp rocks is quite difficult. At the bottom of the portage is another rapid that Gian Marco recomended we ferry left and then portage. Andy saw a line and we both ran down the center with no problems. Jonathan running the portage line:

With the 'Portage Grande' behind us, we were happy, but knew there was one more canyon up ahead. 15 minutes later we approached a vertical walled canyon choked full of huge boudlers. We scouted left and felt pretty stuck with some lines we couldn't run, walls we couldn´t climb, and a sketchy portage situation. The line on the right looked like certain death, with the entire flow going under a house sized boulder. The line on the left went off a ledge and directly into another rock ledge, posibble pin or piton.

We portaged the entrance on the left, and then Andy did a sketchy climb out of his boat onto rocks above the meat of the rapid. He figured out a line that looked iffy to the group, so everyone portaged and he and I ran. Andy seal launched off the rock into the wall, pinnaing vertically out of the water. Ben had to come pull him out. Then we ran the line down the middle, through the first hole and off the left of the second hole. My line was pretty bad, but went through the two huge holes without getting worked. The rapid below was sweet, and there was an amazing slot canyon on the side of the canyon we were paddling through. I don´t know how many people have ever seen this canyon, but it couldn´t be much more than 100. Truley amazing spiritual place.

We found a perfect camp of black sand right below the canyon at 4:15. We had a celebration dinner of pasta with mussels, garlic and soup. Perfect way to end an incredible day of whitewater.
The final canyon on Paucartambo:

11/3 - Rio Paucartambo, Day 2

2007-11-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

Day two began early on the river at 8:15. Right below the giant boulder portage was a narrow slot no more than 3 feet wide, and then right into a Class V rapid we called 'Wakeup!' The rapid drops quickly down the left side around a tall pillar rock, and then into a series of other boulders. Scout left. Ben got worked a bit but it got us all fired up about the day to come!

Before exiting Orange Canyon, we ran a huge rapid in a tight gorge where a boulder splits the river. The line was down the left side, right was gnarly.

At 9:00 we passed under the cement Puente Sahvey (car bridge that looks like its about to fall into the river), signaling the exit of the Orange Canyon. Below the canyon, the river valley opened up a bit with some crystal clear tributaries and open Class III-IV boulder gardens. At 10:00 we reached a significant horizon line of boulders with multiple slots and sieved out channels. There is a huge boulder on the right signaling the rapid, but it is best to scout on the left. Scott and Andy ran the third slot from the right, Scott got worked pretty hard in a hole before dropping back into the main flow. Ben, Todd and I opted for a sweet rock slide sneak on the left:

The main flow below the channel Scott and Andy ran:
15 minutes below there was a marginal portage. Gian Marco had told us about a 20 foot seal launch into a pool below a riverwide ledge, and this spot matched the description. It probably would have gone, but we all took the seal launch on the right. The portage ledge:
Below the seal lauch the canyon got really spectacular, like something out of a Hollywood Set. There were steep limestone canyon walls with vines all the way to the river, thick jungle folliage, and a new diversity of plants and birds. The river kept picking up more volume from a bunch of clear, jungle streams entering the milky brown Paucartambo: We stopped for lunch from 12:15-1:15 and ran a great narrow slot on the far right after lunch. This slot couldn´t have been more than 6 inches wider than my boat. The character of the river was beginning to change from manky, creeky to normal river flows with more hydraulics and waves.

Around 2:00 we reached a great pair of rapids. 'Go left and flip' went right up on a huge boulder in the center and then kicked back hard left. Right below that was a huge pushy hole on the right, but it all went well. We were feeling really good about our progress down the canyon, and enjoying every minute of it. Todd loving it:
At 2:45 we passed under a local bridge (of sticks and rope) that had an awesome rapid below it. Ben mystery moved into the hole and the rest of us just held on for the ride:

We camped at 3:15 on a great beach on the right side, below a campesino's house. We didn´t see them, but they didn´t seem to mine we were camping on the black sand. That night we were treated to an incredible display of fireflys and jungle sounds.

We slept easy knowing we had a big day ahead, but that we were making great progress into the canyon. We also discovered that the elbow noodles with the bacon and chicken soup stock make for a mean Bacon Chicken Noodle Soup.

Day two flow guesses (start/end):

J: 1300 1725
B: 1175 1800
A: 1200 1500
S: 1325 1680
T: 1190 1680