Over the summer Alex and Hannah asked if I wanted to do a trip to Chile in November. I told them I was definitely interested, and after some deliberation I joined their trip. I’d be there for the week before Thanksgiving. I hadn’t been to Chile before and was excited to finally be making a trip down. It ended up being a choice since we ended up in a drought in late September. Without releases and no natural flow, the trip would end up being the majority of the paddling I’d get in the end of the year.
Day 0: Travel
I started out early in the morning with a 7:45 Acela out of Back Bay. The Dunkin there was overrun after I placed my order. They were really slow that day and I was afraid that I’d have to abandon my food. Luckily it came before I had to go, but took longer than wanted. The ride to Penn Station nice and the train wasn’t full. I like to pick the side of the train that goes along the ocean, but today it meant the sun was constantly in my eyes. Once at Penn, I headed to the new food hall in Moynihan Train Hall. They had a great area to sit surrounded by restaurants. I got some ramen, but was disappointed that the pickle themed restaurant didn’t sell individual pickles.
Once I had finished my ramen, I decided it was time to head over to JFK. Better to wait at the airport I thought. Got lucky and the LIRR to Jamaica was boarding with a departure in one minute. I jumped on and took it to the AirTrain. Overall the experience was very smooth. Then it was time to check my bags. When I showed up at the Latam bag check I initially though they weren’t open. It looked like they had no people processing bags and there was a long line. Eventually I decided to go to one of the self-service kiosks that was turned on, but after I printed my boarding pass and bag tags a dude ushered me back into the line. Apparently they were slowly letting groups of 10 or so out of the line to go and check their bags at a self serve with 2-3 people taking the checked bags. This was disappointing and felt poorly managed and understaffed.
Once through that I had to find the TSA PreCheck area, which turned out to be hidden off to the right. I was happy that this line was short. Now I had hours ahead of myself to relax and wait for both Alex and Hannah, and our flight. First I went to an interesting looking bar in a food area. But I was disappointed to discover the cocktail I had ordered was $25. Since drinks seemed to be too expensive at JFK I went and found a place with some nice chairs to read until Alex and Hannah got there. Once they found me, we wandered over to the area where our gate was and had a few drinks before boarding.
The process was fairly smooth, and it’s been a while since I last flew on an airline that let you reserve seats. I mostly travel southwest. For both our flights from JFK to Santiago to Temuco I reserved the spot next to Alex and Hannah. This was a great choice. It let us chat and we didn’t have to worry about randos wanting to use the bathroom. I knew that international flights had food and drinks served, but Latam did seem to be a step above the previous ones I’d been on. I had trouble falling asleep and unfortunately they served breakfast at three in the morning. Had they not, I might have gotten some proper rest. Once we landed in Santiago, we had to go and retrieve our bags and head through customs. It was going smooth but the customs guy didn’t speak English. This lead to a panic when we realized he wanted the address of where we were going. It was good there was free wifi at the airport. Once this was sorted, it was through a parking lot and across the street to the other terminal to check our bags and get the flight to Temuco.
We landed in Temuco about mid afternoon. This definitely was the smallest airport I’d flown into. There was a short period of worry where Alex thought the airline had lost both his bag and the paddle bag. We were waiting by the baggage carousal and Hannah wandered off. I asked if either of them would like some coffee, but since Hannah wasn’t there decided to wait. A minute later she wandered back with both Alex’s bag and the paddles. Apparently they had both went to a different area for oversized bags.
Day 1: Rio Liucura
We went out front of the airport to wait for Jon to pick us up. He is the owner of Patagonia Paddle Institute. We started getting concerned since he wasn’t there. Eventually we got some wifi and were able to get a message to him. There was an accident on the road and he had been sitting in traffic. Relieved, we waited until we saw what was obviously a boating vehicle. Jon drove us from Temuco down to his property on the outskirts of Pucon. The drive was enjoyable, especially once we got to Villarica and drove along the lake. When we got to his property we unloaded and did a little settling in. He had a great spot up the hill. There was a nice view of the mountains and the building we had rented out was impressive. This was definitely the way to do a trip down to Chile. We hadn’t even seen the rivers yet and were already stoked from the initial impression.
While we were tired, we all felt that we would like to get in some boating on our first day here. Even if it was short and easy. Jon said we should head out to the Liucura, a class 2 – 3 run. He took us up to a a newer put in used by locals. Chile had enacted a law that all rivers needed some form of access for boating or fishing. In recent history they also started enforcing it and fining land owners who weren’t allowing people to the river. The new access point wasn’t under any sort of contention, just not particularly well known.
The river was a decent size and felt to have a big water feel to it. I had requested a Dagger Code, but have never paddled one. This would be my testing time to see if it would be the boat to replace my now deceased Phantom. The rapids weren’t particularly challenging but definitely had a big water feel to them. I was a twitchy and a bit on edge in the new boat. The river was moving flat water with rapids appearing every once and a while. It was nothing too challenging, but it was nice having Jon show the lines when we were tired. Eventually we came to a road bridge with a takeout on the left below an old swinging bridge. This brought our first short day of paddling to a close.
We headed back to base to unwind and have our first Asado. An Asado is a style of cooking meats over a fire. It would take a bit until it would be ready and I wasn’t sure I could make it. While waiting we had Pisco sours, which Alex assured would help provide a little more energy. Somehow this drink, pre-mixed and all, helped rejuvenate me. After one or two, I no longer felt like I need to just pass out. On the menu tonight were sausages, then steak once it was ready. We spent the evening in a Pavilion on the property chatting, drinking, and eating meat. What a way to start the trip.
Day 2: Rio Trancura
We for breakfast still a little tired. Marta, Jon’s wife, prepared us an excellent breakfast of yogurt, granola, and fruits. There were also eggs, bread, and cheese to go along with it. Still looking for a bit of a warm up day we decided on the Rio Trancura, both the upper and lower sections. After breakfast we prepared some burritos / wraps with the left overs from the night before. Then we made our short drive out to the put in for the Upper Trancura. This was a small dirt pull off on the side of the road with some parking space. Jon told us that they used to us a put in on the other side, but a raft guide messed up and lost a couple of fingers while lowering a raft. So the state closed that put in and forced everyone to use this put in for safety purposes.
I still wasn’t used to the Code, so I was happy today would be and easier / more chill day. I needed some time to acclimate to both the boat and the water. There were a couple of warm up drops interspersed between the flat but moving water. After a bit, we came to a horizon line and got out river left. We scouted the first big drop on the Trancura and I set up to take some photos. I had been warned at breakfast to bring my camera. This was one of the well know rapids that people usually get photos at. The river is aligned so that you have the volcano in the background of the drop. I tried my best to get photos of everyone as we were running the river left line instead of the normal line. This puts the volcano and subject at opposite sides of the photo.
A little further down we found ourselves at the big rapid on the Upper Trancura. We got out river left in an eddy to both scout and decide if we were going to portage the rapid. The entrance did not look too difficult, but you could seen that it was building up to something bigger. Jon described the line, and we walked further in to get a better view of the next part of the rapid. When I got there, I knew I didn’t like it. The line was to punch into a diagonal hole and let it kick you right, only to work back to the left. The hole looked meatier than I wanted. This is where I decided that I wasn’t running this rapid. We walked further down to see the rest and it turned out that everyone else was going to walk. So we carried around the big rapid and had our lunch at the beach for the portage put in. I was now very happy we made some lunch this morning. I usually don’t bring a lunch, only a small snack.
Once everyone had been rested and satiated we continued on. The rapids were bigger, but not as big as either of the two previous ones. They had what appeared to be some good boofs. Not all were taken by Jon. I didn’t want to go for any on my own as I didn’t know this river. I also was missing a bunch of them when he did go for them. I was not yet used to the boat or the rivers down in Chile. Eventually we made it to a bigger rapid that lead to a road bridge. There was a nice fan boof below the bridge at the bottom, but I missed it. The bridge signified the end of the upper section and the beginning of the lower. Also below the bridge was a painted visual gauge. We were just barely at the bottom of the green section of the pained rock. That’s the start of the good levels supposedly. Alex had told us that when he was here last, it was significantly lower. I was really surprised that the bottom of green (runnable) was somehow high compared to when he last did it.
From here down we had a few rapids until we got to Pescador. As the river picks up some gradient, it turns sharply to the right. There’s a large rock outcropping on the left where you can scout from. We caught an eddy a couple up from the rocks to go and scout. It turned out the line below the horizon was not that bad. Enter center right moving slightly right. As you get into the rapid, punch the wave/hole and start boogieing left to avoid the big munchy hole at the bottom. Overall, not that hard a move. We all ran it without issue, but I cut left too soon and got spun around mid rapid.
After this there were a couple more big rapids. There were big holes and waves, and the general style was river running. Once we had gone through these, we joined up with the Liucura and followed the same path as the day before to the take out. It was then back to base to hang out for the evening. Tonight the beverage to accompany dinner was the Pisco Cola. As it sounds, this is Pisco mixed with Coca Cola. The night was good and many Picso Colas were had.
Day 3: Rio Palguin [upper]
Woke up today feeling a little off and was concerned that I may have caught the cold that Hannah has. Also had a few too many the night before and had a slight hangover. We were heading to the Upper Palguin and I was hoping all the water I was drinking would kick in by the time we got over there.
Unfortunately I still was feeling a bit off, even after the hike in. The first drop didn’t seem too bad. There’s a busy entrance where you start center and work to the left. When you get to the first part of the drop you are aiming to be boofing on the left side. Then you continue down the left as close to the wall as you can and boof off the second stage of the drop. I followed Jon through and everything went smoothly, but I would have liked it if I had gone off the second drop a little better. I didn’t quite get the boof and my bow was pointed down more than I wanted. Alex didn’t get the line, penciled in, and went deep. He had his paddle ripped from him and swam. While we were collecting, I decided that I was not feeling it and would hike out. The hike out was rough. While mostly the same as the hike in, from the first drop you take a steeper trail for a bit.
Eventually Alex and Jon came back to the car, they weren’t feeling it either and walked out too. So we headed back to base and on the way stopped and got some Suerox, a special hydrating drink to help with the hangovers. Some naps were taken, and once people were properly rested we went in the hot tub while waiting for dinner. For dinner we first had a mussel soup and clams, and for the main course Chilean Sea Bass and fries.
Day 4: Rio Puesco [lower]
Started off the day feeling better, but also more sick. I was definitely getting congested, so took one of the decongestants that Hannah had got. As everyone was feeling a little low energy the day before, the decision had been made to go to the lower Section of the Rio Puesco. This section is a continuous class 3 boulder garden a little more than a mile long.
We headed out and so far this run was the furthest away that we have done. The drive out there was pretty as you follow the Trancura up into the mountains. As you go further up the scenery changes as you get into a valley. Jon informed us that the whole thing is actually the Trancura. The Puesco is a creek that meets up with another to form the Trancura.
We put on and the run starts out pretty much right away. There are plenty of boofs strewn about, as well as boulders to dodge. The first rapid of note is a sort of slide down the left, but its decently blended in. A little bit further and you catch an eddy on the left and set up for a ledge boof on the right. After some more boogie you come to the last bigger rapid. Again you set up from an eddy on the left. Then as the river curves left you enter center and drive left with the curve to avoid a curler in the middle. After some more boogie you come to the end of the run where they run slalom races.
We headed up and did a second lap and after finishing stopped for lunch which was salmon burgers. I’ve never had these before, didn’t even know you could get them. Once finished it was time for a third lap. On this one the energy levels were definitely fading. Lines were getting sloppy. Alex and I did a run down from the slalom ramp with Oscar before we went up to load up the car. Afterwards we walked up a hill to go and buy some lettuce. While there we had some snacks and mate, which really helped with the energy.
On the drive back we stopped at Lunatica for dinner. This was a small cerveceria along the river. To get to it you had to cross a swinging bridge. We ordered some pizza and beers and then went down to the tables by the river. It was a great spot to sit and watch the sunset. The selection of beers wasn’t large and I made sure to sample it all. I enjoyed all of them. I’d definitely recommend stopping there.
Day 5: Rio Palguin [todo]
It was time to go back and try round two on the Palguin. We had all rested up enough and were feeling better about the run. So today we were going to be doing a todo Palguin, both the upper an lower sections. For this we were accessing the river from the other side than the first time we went to the Palguin. It turned out to be a significantly shorter and a bit easier of a hike.
The water was a little bit lower than the first day we were there, but not significantly different. Since we hiked in from the other side, we were making use of a race start ramp to start our lap. Once all collected we headed down the first rapid. I had a slightly worse line then my first one. After I boofed the first ledge, I slowed down, almost to a stop, and had to dig a little to get going off the final stage. It all worked out, but it could have been smoother. Everyone had decent lines, and after collecting ourselves continued on. The second drop ended up being relatively straightforward. After a little lead in the river made a sharp left over a drop. We all boofed right and had good lines.
At the third and biggest drop we took the standard right side line. I did not have a good line, almost immediately transitioning to penciling in when running it. Everyone else had good lines. The fourth drop was an interesting slot move with vertical. As you dropped into it you had to hold your paddle above your head to not catch it on the walls. After a little boogie, we took out river left immediately above the waterfall that marks the start of the middle section. We hiked out to the car to drive down to the put in for the lower.
Once at the lower put in we hung out at the little beach and had lunch. After refueling and a little rest we put on. This section almost immediately had a different character than the upper. Where the upper was big drops, this was creeking. I much preferred this section and enjoyed its rapids. There were plenty of good creeky rapids before we got to the Three Dummies. We pulled off on the right to walk around the first two. When looking at them, the line looked nice and simple. But right below after a short moving pool was the third dummy, a ~10ft waterfall. Jon told us that many walk the first two, because if anything happens, all your gear is going over the third. After a seal launch in we set up and ran the third. Everyone had a good run and we continued downstream. After a little this brought us to our final portage around a big drop that had a dangerous cave.
Once back on the water we had a bit more to go before coming to our take out after a bridge where the river made a U shaped right turn. According to Jon, you can pay the guy who owns this land to use this access point. Its a nice spot with a good little beach and picnic tables. After relaxing and a few beers it was back to base. We had chicken and couscous out on the patio. With dinner we had a chilean drink, red wine with a bit of coke.
Day 6: Rio Maichin
There was a longer drive today, back in the same direction as the Puesco. We headed down the main road away from Pucon to Curarrehue. Once there we turned left and took a bridge to start heading up the valley with the Maichin. The dirt road kept winding up the steep valley, and there were plenty of good views along the way. It became obvious that the valley had become a deep canyon, especially once we took the bridge over it. After a bit, the road came back to the same level as the river and once it was near we put on.
The character of the Maichin was different than the other rivers that we had paddled. This was distinctly a creek. While it had a bit of a pool drop characteristic, there were rapids between the pools not drops. As we made our way in, I found that it reminded me a lot of southeast boating, but with some more water. In the canyon, the rapids were formed by large boulders strewn about.
As we made our way down into the gorge we came to the first rapid we would portage. The river constricted in a channel cut through bedrock. The line itself didn’t look bad, but it ended in boily water and an undercut wall. We portaged on river left and it was a sketchy walk as the rocks were worn smooth. We put back on and made our way further down. The gorge was beautiful with lush steep walls on both sides. The rapids would initially appear as a horizon line, but once you got to the horizon the view would open up and you could see most of the way down.
After we passed the very sketchy, non-functional, swinging bridge and a couple more rapids we came to our second portage. This portage was a bit longer than the first, but was an easier walk. While going around the rapid we were able to get a good look at it. The rock jumble that formed the rapid had a nice line through it, and formed three stages. Unfortunately, in the last stage there was a big log occupying the entire window for the line and blocking the boof out of the rapid. We put in on a small sliding channel far river left. I messed it up, ended up flipping, carping some rolls, and swam. I struggled to get out of the eddy I found myself in and needed Jon to rope me into the current. Eventually I made my way to a shallow point in the middle of the river and took a break before reuniting with my boat.
After a bit more we came to the final big rapid. Hannah and I took a look at it while Alex and Jon ran the line. It was a melt-down type move down the left side of the rapid. I didn’t care for it, as the water appeared to be heading towards what looked like an undercut. Hannah flipped over and all her gear washed right where I expected it to go. I started rushing over and couldn’t tell if Hannah was ok. I didn’t know that the spot wasn’t undercut and you wash past it. Hannah had popped up in the flow below it where I couldn’t see. Once that had been communicated to me, I got the gear out of the eddy it was in and then launched below the rapid.
From that point on the river calms down and eventually becomes more flat. But the scenery continues to impress. You eventually come to the road bridge you took on the drive in, now very far below it. The canyon continues for a while until opening up and you take out at a beach next to a cow field. At the beach we had some refreshments before heading out. There were Melvins, a wine based drink served out of a hollowed out melon and completos, which were salmon hot dogs with a bunch of accoutrements. For the evening we went into town to a restaurant and had the Chilean version of poutine.
Day 7: Rio Liucura [upper]
I woke up feeling like the cold may have been finally starting to clear up. While having breakfast we decided what to do for my last full day of paddling. Hannah was feeling like a rest day. Jon suggested the upper section of the Liucura as something that we haven’t done and could count as rest. Once ready we made the drive up the valley of the Liucura, seeing new scenery as most of the drives we had taken all followed the same route.
We headed down a dirt road and came to a wood plank car bridge that would be our put in. At this spot the river was flat but moving. While there wasn’t really whitewater in this area, the super clear water and pretty meandering stream were worth the trip out. Slowly we started getting some little class 2 rapids to break up the flat spots. The frequency and difficulty slowly increased and we eventually made it to the long rapid. This is a long continuous class 3 boulder garden. You could choose to just take the simple route and follow the most channelized area, or you could try to make it as interesting as you wanted. Throughout the rapid there were plenty of eddy catch, boof, or ferry moves. You could tell that with some extra water the rapids would become real interesting and the difficulty would increase.
After the long rapid, the flatwater breaks between rapids returned and the rapids slowly mellowed out. After around eight miles we came to a road bridge with a gauge that was our takeout. We had some empanadas and beer as a snack. What a great way to finish up a run. Even though the run was long, we still finished with a good amount of the afternoon left. It was back to base to lounge around until dinner.
For dinner Jon was preparing us another Asado, this time preparing some of the meat on a metal cooking sword. We started off with homemade Pisco Sours and a charcuterie board while Jon was getting the fire going. After an hour or two, the first course of sausages were ready. We sat in the pavilion and chatted while we waited for the main course. I managed to catch the cat, Curry, and he settled in for an extended stay. Because I wasn’t allowed to move I needed people to get me the thing that was being baked over the fire, I didn’t catch the name. After a while it was time for me to get up to stretch my legs and get another beer. Curry had been sitting in my lap at least an hour. I transplanted him to Hannah’s lap and he nestled in as if nothing had happened. Eventually the beef was ready. It was worth the wait. Jon had done a great job preparing it.
Day 8 & 9: Rio Trancura [lower] and Travel
I awoke a little earlier to pack up all my gear as today was the sad day I had to fly home. It didn’t take nearly as long as I had budgeted to collect all my stuff, but that gave me more time to hang out and chat. My flight was in the evening, which gave me the opportunity to get in a run before heading to the airport. The Lower Trancura was chosen as I needed a shorter run, but we put in further upstream so we could get a couple of the rapids of the Upper.
Today was the first day all trip that it had been anything other than sunny and warm. The sky was cloudy and there was intermittent rain. It had rained on and off through the night and you could tell on the river. The level was a little higher and rapids had more water to them and the mountains forming the valley were all shrouded in clouds. There were plenty of good boofs to be had and all needed to be sent as this was the last day. If Jon was taking an interesting line, it had to be followed. I once again moved left too soon on Pescador on the lower and got spun around. We finished up the run in about 45 minutes, so plenty of time to spare.
The relaxed schedule gave me time to take a shower before traveling home. More importantly, I could have one final meal down in Chile. Lunch was more empanadas. But the trip had to come to an end, and eventually it was time for Jon and Marta to drive me into town to get the shuttle to the airport. Both were coming as today was election day and they were voting after getting me to the shuttle. You are required to vote in Chile, or you get a fine. This was the second election day they had this year as no candidate for their governor got above 40% in the first round. This triggers a run-off between the top tow candidates. In a interesting twist, two of them had the same last name. Both got into the run-off. In Chile it’s illegal to tell someone who you voted for. So in the political shows when asked, people would give platitudes about voting for the guy who will make Chile better, or change it. However, it this election they would say they voted for LAST NAME, since you still can’t tell how they voted.
The shuttle to the airport was uneventful, but again at the airport Latam was doing something weird with check in. The bag drop desk didn’t open til 5:47 pm, so I had to sit around for an hour until I could give them my bag. That took longer than I thought, and once at the gate area I decided to get some wine to pass the 30-40 minutes before my flight boarded. But it felt like a mistake as somehow the plane seemed to board faster and the people at the cafe seemed to work slower. Not understanding the language added additional confusion.
I got on my flight from Temuco to Santiago to start the long plane trip home. At first it seemed like everything would be fine as the ticket had listed an hour and 50 minutes of layover time. But that seemed to not factor in customs at all. I got to customs with 20 minutes til boarding (9:45) and a massive line. I tried speaking to the customs dude at the entrance and his response was that there is one line. Time passed as I slowly snaked my way through. Soon my boarding time came and went. I was getting worried as it was now 10:15, and the plane takes off at 10:55, but the ticket doesn’t tell you when they close the door. I heard the people behind me getting worried that their flight starts boarding in 15 minutes. I commented to them that mine had started boarding a while ago. They suggested I ask people if I could go ahead of them as my plane was boarding. I found someone who would let me in. I wish I could send my thanks to the couple, I’m pretty sure its the only reason I made my plane. I sprinted to the plane and managed to get to the gate before it had closed, around 10:25. Another lady saw me running and decided it was a good idea too. We were both very relieved that we were on the plane.
The flight from Santiago to JFK was uneventful and I felt like I slept better on this one than the one out. Though I was starving the whole time, even with the meals, as I had no chance to grab a snack. Once I landed in JFK and collected my bags, I took the AirTrain and LIRR back to NYP for my Acela trip home. I had plenty of down time in Moynahan train hall. I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get my bags and make the trip over, so I have myself plenty of buffer. In the future I could get an earlier train out of Penn. The Acela back to Boston was mostly uneventful. Other than the people who kept talking in the quiet car. Sadly it didn’t get in to Back Bay quick enough and I missed the express outbound on the commuter line by a few minutes. Luckily, It was only about 10 minutes before the next came.