Johnny, thank you for the wonderful descriptions. Not every blog features the word "sere." Thanks for the photos, too. Spectacular landscapes! Looks and sounds like some rough riding. All kinds of gravel and elevation gain going on, going on.
Ray, are you better? How come you didn't ride in the sag wag when you were sick? Pride goeth. Love from Seattle. P.S. The dog wants to know whether you'll be bringing her steak. She says chorizo is okay, too.
Day 14 – Thursday March 10: Exchanging Pedals for Paddles for a day
Greg and Joe scouted the town of Futaleufu late yesterday and made the acquaintance of an American kayak and rafting guide, Chris Spelius, who owns Expediciones Chile (http://exchile.com). Extremely personable and knowledgeable about kayaking (an Olympic kayaker in 1984; designed kayaks; pioneered river kayaking in Patagonia for over 25 years), Chris suggested that we do some serious whitewater rafting. Recent rain had just increased the flow of the Futaleufu River and it was challenging, but not impossible. In an eyeblink a tentative deal was made to raft down the class five rapids of the Futaleufu, and at dinner we decided for sure to go for it. By happy coincidence the river runs south along the route of the Carretera Austral that we were following, so we could raft for the whole day and then be close enough to our route be delivered to our next biking destination, a fishing lodge at Lake Yelcho. Within the group, because Bram’s back would not lend itself to this kind of effort, we made it a party of eight by including David (our main guide and owner of Dittmar Travel Adventures). Everyone wins!
In the morning, then, as our biking guides put our gear and bikes on the trailer to transport them to our next resting place, we headed over to Expediciones Chile to make final arrangements and meet our rafting guides. The arrangement was that eight of us would be in one raft while another rafter, Danny, who had just drifted in that morning, would go in a backup catamaran raft. Two kayaks would accompany us and scout out possible ways through the rapids. Soon we were all in a bus rattling downriver on pitted roads to the headquarters of Chris’s operation. We were given a snack, attended to wetsuit fittings, had our group picture taken, and got into the raft(s).
To describe the experience of running class V rapids is in some ways pointless, since everyone can remember a time when they were scared and excited at the same time, and this was it. No fooling around with this swift and violent water that runs 26k (16 miles). Chris’s photographer, Anna, recorded part of the trip with over 85 photographs from beside the only two bridges that spanned this section of the river, and I’m sending along a bunch of those to give some idea of what it looked like from afar. From inside the raft, tension rose a high pitch every time we approached a set of rapids. In all there must have been 35 to 40 rapids that we negotiated, with names like “Terminator,” “Kyber Pass,” “Last Wave is a Rock,” or “Condor.” Through all of it our pilot Josh barked directions for us to paddle. Simple directions like “Forward,” “Stop,” “Back,” “Left Back,” and such took on huge consequences in the crashing roar of the water. Also, it was outrageous fun and every one of us would do it again in a heartbeat.
We arrived at the final stretch of slack water completely spent and soaked; we helped carry the boats up the bank to a waiting trailer, got back into some dry clothes, and were driven for two hours in driving rain to Lake Yelcho Lodge arriving in time for dinner. We have two days of rest before us, and everyone is ready for that.
Days 15 & 16 – Friday and Saturday March 11 & 12: R & R at Yelcho Fishing Lodge Slow days both, resting from the whitewater rafting and preparing for the next days of riding. On Friday we did little but get our gear sorted and dry ourselves out. It was windy and rainy, but still a few in our party tried fishing – with some success: a bunch of small rainbows that they tossed right back into the lake. Others went for a hike but couldn’t find the proper trailhead. Our guides started work on the bikes, getting rid of grit and lubing the drivetrains. Lake Yelcho Lodge (LakeYelcho.com) has a large main lodge and perhaps seven or eight self-catering cabins. We divided the group into four people apiece in two cabins and our three guides in a third. Each place has splendid views out over the lake, wood stoves for heating the large living space, kitchens and decks for lounging in good weather. We all eat breakfast and dinner in the main lodge, with its high beamed ceilings and lovely space with couches and a bar. Luxury compared with what we’ve grown accustomed to. The evening of our first day here brought us to the main lodge bar, waiting for dinner to start. We met two fishermen from Colorado, one of whom was a fishing guide and has been coming here for about 15 years. This day they both had caught rainbow trout as big as large salmon: the biggest weighed 22kg (over 45 lbs.). Of course there were photos. In the picture the guide holds the fish sideways towards the camera, and it stretched nearly three feet long. They released both fish. Maybe they have a date for next year? The eyes of our guide Tikka, also an avid fisherman, were out on stalks. Our second day at Lake Yelcho involved an afternoon trip to the Parque Pumelin, some twenty-five miles north of the lake. We hiked a beautiful trail through the forests and gawked at hanging glaciers we could see far up on a volcano. The vegetation is dense and lush, and the most outstanding plants are the gunnera with their gigantic leaves, some easily six feet across. And there are vined fuchsias that cover the trunks of trees like English Ivy. As it turns out, crossing the Andes from Bariloche brought us to a really different microclimate.
At the end of the hike we traveled up a long side road that led to a huge hot spring, where we jumped in for a true spa finish. Tomorrow it’s off on a fairly serious day of riding – between 80 and 95k on gravel, so we’ll need to be rested.