The Outside Life: Futaleufu and Andes to Ocean!

After a lengthy reroute around the protests occurring in the the Aisén region, I was able to make it north into the town of Futaleufu, home of some of the best whitewater on the planet. As fortune has it, my friend Betsy Moyer from the Teton Science School also happens to be living there, teaching English for the winter. The house she lives at is right across the street from Expediciones Chile (www.exchile.com) so I stopped in to say hi. Olympic Kayaker Chris Spelius pioneered the Futaleufu in 1985, founding ExChile. The turquoise blue waters of this river, and its powerful IV/V/V+ rapids make it a remarkable place, and I was fortunate to get on one of his raft trips and a 5 day Andes to Ocean sea kayak trip.

The one and only Betsy Moyer demonstrating proper planking technique along the Rio Espolon.

Whitewater and greenhouses for local food production!? I can get behind that idea! - at ExChile Headquarters in Futaleufu

About to run some class V on the Futa

The Futaleufu River comes out of Argentina where it flows through the infamous Infierno canyon and on to the south west before terminating into Lago Yelcho. The Rio Yelcho then picks up at the opposite end of the lake and travels out to the Pacific ocean from there. We followed this path for 5 days, starting just past the last rapids on the Futaleufu.

The clear blue-green waters of lago Yelcho are situated below massive glaciers and steep tree covered mountains. The lake is over 200 meters deep, with its clean, clear waters disappearing into the oblivion. As we paddled along its shores we passed numerous cascades, tumbling down the steep mountainsides straight into the lake. There are few places to land here, and where land meets water, it is quickly consumed by impenetrable forest. Water is life and here in the temperate rainforest it feeds lush vegetation that occupies every possible piece of real estate.

Fantastic weather with absent wind allowed us to make quick progress across the lake. As I paddled I needed only to dip my bottle beneath its surface for a drink of pure water, as of yet untarnished by pathogens and pollution. On the third afternoon we passed underneath a suspension bridge, carrying traffic along the Careterra Austral and entered the Rio Yelcho. Its current quickly carried us past fishermen presenting giant flies to the massive trout lurking below submerged logs along its banks. We made camp below another glacier. Sitting around the fire that evening a loud crash of ice falling high above us provided a reminder of how small we all really are. A short fourth day on the river paddling around large snags led us to our final sun kissed campsite. The starry skies of the night were replaced by an eerie fog blown in from the coast in the morning, and we set out through the mist. Our trip ended a short ways from Chaiten, the thick ocean fog preventing our passage in the ocean.

The land down here is in good condition simply due to the absence of people, it can handle the present amount of pollution and exploitation. I'm reminded of an Aldo Leopold quote; "Man destroys everything he loves, and so has the pioneer done to wilderness." How will Patagonian Chile fare as its population grows and pressure on its natural resources increases?