Like all good plans our plan to escape Pucon and head south was formulated in the early hours of the morning after a few drinks, not only this it was also the early hours of new years morning. Much to the surprise of everyone and with a little help from a highly motivated Jakub we somehow managed to rally by 10am and set a beeline for the Florin river. Hopes for the river were high however expectations low as it had been 8 days since rain and typically water is gone after 4. We crossed our fingers regardless and after 3 hours of driving and an hour of navigation issues we found ourselves at the put in with more than enough water. The sun was shining and we were not in a rush so decided to chill and swim for the day then camp out at the put in ready to fire in the morning. Putting on in the blazing sun next morning we quickly realised the flow was on the high side of good and portaged the first major rapid, immediately below was a fun 20 foot slide a pool then a perfect 50-60.
 |
| Nick rolls off the lip |
 |
| Jakub fires clean as always |
 |
| Snapshot of myself about to begin the freefall! |
We all fired with clean lines, nick gave himself a punch in the face however nothing serious enough to dampen the mood. Our limited beta on the river said either take out and walk up a steep hill immediately following the waterfall or continue downstream for super burly class 5 and roadside takeout. The choice was obvious so we continued onwards quickly to find the river canyon in to a must run 30 which flows round the and corner out of sight. Feeling fired up we nearly committed however decided to take the safe option and walk back up to the previous take out. With the limited paddling at high flow Rio Florin is still the goods and a highlight of my trip.
Over the next few days we found ourselves paddling a bunch of classic grade 3-4 due to uncooperative water levels and freedom camping on some stunning lakesides. Our next stop was to be the Rio Gol Gol! We were all fired up for this run after hearing so many good stories from everyone else who had visited. Upon arrival we saw immediately that it like most other things was running on the high side of good at exactly the same flow as on Grand Prix race day. Only myself and Jakub decided to put on and we had an epic run, another absolute favorite of the trip with 5 big volume pushy waterfalls all of which are good to go!
Next morning we rallied another quick lap then were joined by the others to run the "lower Gol Gol" which we expected to be G3-4, this was the case to start with but it quickly steepened into big class 5 then huge 6+! Needless to say we walked a bunch but also paddled an amazing gorge and plenty of solid 4-5 it is a well worth while extension to the short standard Gol Gol run.
 |
| Myself flying of the first waterfall |
 |
| Jakub disappearing over the lip of Princessa! |
 |
| Princessa! This waterfall is all class |
 |
| Jakub punching through a burly weir on the lower section |
The Gol Gol was the last of the solid paddling i managed on my trip, from here we ventured south towards the Cochamo however it was a big brown monster so we turned around and began back to pucon. Managing some relaxed trips down the San pedro, Fuy, Palguin and Trancura was not a bad way to finish such an epic adventure, not to mention the life styling and amazing freedom camping!
 |
| Freedom Camping at the magnificent Lago Ranco |
 |
| Another stunning place to spend the night! |
 |
| Especially when this is the view from my tent! |
 |
| Five star tree house on the Fuy river |
 |
| Salto the kayak hostel guard dog happy as ever regardless of his wounds! |
Well that about raps up my trip, im back in NZ now working 8 hours a day behind a computer just dreaming of my next journy wherever it may take me. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way it would not have been possible without you!
No comments:
Post a Comment