29/09/2013 - 03/10/2013 - 134 km kayak/raft
EN: I'm just back from a 1 week trip rafting and river kayaking down the upper part of the Marañon river. The trip if the first ever guided trip on the river, done by SierraRios led by Rocky Contos. Seeing the beauty of the "Grand Canyon of the Andes" was amazing. I also found myself between a rock and a hard place after a wrong decision I took and was saved from drowning in the rapids. The expedition also focus on telling the local people about the project to dam the river with up to 20 dams. This would bring a lot of electrical power to Peru to be sold to Chile and Brasil mainly but according to specialists, the study didn't involve the local population and study much of the negative ecological impacts. More info can be found about the trip here and how to learn and save rio Marañon here (+ video and petition). For the moment I'm in Lima and sick but getting well.
FR: Je suis revenu d'une semaine de rafting et de kayak de rivière sur le fleuve Marañon. C'est la première descente guidée de cette rivière réalisée par SierraRios menée par Rocky Contos. Voir la beauté du "Grand Canyon des Andes" était superbe. J'ai appris beaucoup et surtour lorsque j'ai commis une erreur et j'ai été sauvé de la noyade dans les rapides. L'expédition vise aussi à expliquer à la population locale le projet de construction de barrages (jusqu'à 20), ce qui donnerait beaucoup d'éléecticité au Pérou à revendre au Chili et au Brésil. Mais selon les ONG, l'étude du projet n'a pas tenu compte des populations et de tous les impacts environnementaux négatifs.Plus sur l'expédition est ici et pour en apprendre plus et comment sauver le Rio Marañon ici. Pour le moment je suis à Lima, malade mais je vais mieux.
Rocky Contos' account - source: https://www.sierrarios.org/GuidedTrips/TripDetailsSep28.html
Sep26: Everyone is in Lima; rendezvous in Miraflores at Friend's House and Chris Meyer's house.
Sep27: Depart Lima; large bus for everyone plus smaller combi "Sprinter" for the gear. We get out by 9 am and are in Chavin after dusk (7 pm). We had to get an additional pickup to lighten the load on the dirt roads near Chavin. Hotel paid for in Chavin for everyone.
Sep28 (Day1) 0 km. Leave Chavin at 7:30 am; ruins not open until 9am, so we miss them. We arrive to river a little after noon - gated access to put-in now so I pay the owners for it now and will do so in the future. Rigging most of afternoon. River is low - about 50 cms/1600 cfs. About 6 kayakers go up and run the 6 km class III-IV section from P.Copuma to put-in point. We camp at put-in. Pasta dinner.
Sep29 (Day2) 25 km; class III-IV. Finish rigging. Leave a few items at casa nearby. Enga and others give safety talk. At first class III Neil gets heavy cataraft stuck on a rock, but soon wiggles off. All seems to go well otherwise here and in Jata (first IV) which several folks elect not to row (Julio and I row several rafts through). Yesojirca Narrows are easily passed with kayaks off the rafts. We camp a little ways down on RL. Camp km 25 RL. Steak/salmon dinner.
Sep30 (Day3) 33 km; class III-IV. Some III in morning. Hike Q. Huanapampa to nice narrows and little falls/climbs. Bruce got ahead and misses lunch there. Pass Rio Yanamayo - two channels a bit of branches to avoid. Pauca is more like a IV according to some. We scout Pachachin (III-IV) high on RL which reveals easier raft route in RR channel. Camp km 58 RR. Kebab dinner.
Oct1 (Day4) 29 km; class III-IV. Several folks feeling GI problems (Suzy, Steve, Bruce are bad - two take cipro; John, Glenn, Joe not good). Q. Sachachin hike in morning across river - very nice milky white water and walk under boulders to falls. Good class III section to start - some II-III after. Meet guy on side who gives us bananas just upstream of our lunch spot. Lou-Phi kayaks but flips in a III and gets banged up on swim. Late in day we all go into Shapalmonte (IV) without side scouting - rafts get thrown to center & RR. Lou-Phi jumps off cataraft and hit wall by raft. Camp is smaller than I thought but folks frazzled and it's late. A bit of rain at night - river gets some silt that clears later. Camp km 87 RR (small). Pasta dinner (Lacey).
Oct2 (Day5) 29 km; class III. Lots of IIIs today. Pass Huacrachuco and stop briefly. See USA/Peruvian dam survey crew at Puente Jitaraxan - flow is 68 cms. Peter is not there so I arrange a message to get to him to meet us at the hot springs downstream. Enter beautiful canyon section and camp at ideal big beach before Cañas. Camp km 116 RL. Tamale dinner.
Oct3 (Day6) 18 km; class III. Day starts with stop at Q.Cañas - awesome short side hike like GCC. Stop late morning at fallen bridge and go up to Huchus since invited by villagers. Lunch here or snacks only. Spend 2+ hrs here. Downstream, great surf wave below R.Actuy. Make it to Aguas Termales and camp. Folks generally against layover here but it rains later and several change their mind. Camp km 134 RL. Panang curry dinner.
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