wentrichterin thedeepestandsteepestpartofthecanyon.Weconsiderouroptionsand
realizethereis onlyone.So,wecontinueon. 430 pm:Lessthana half-miledownstream,
anothertributarypoursin,buttheriveris sohecticnooneelseseesit. 530 pm:Silvio
blowshiswhistle.Whistlesarehelpfulasa lastresortbutannoyingAFwhenusedasa
principlemeansof communication.I knowexactlywhereI wouldliketo shovethatwhistle.
535 pm:SilvioandNourialeadusthroughpowerfulrapidsthatareasmuchsediment
astheyarewater.Augustinis justaheadofmeandsignalsfranticallytowardsshore.I see
onlya bitofa swampwithverticalrocksoaringoverhead.It’sa brilliantplace,butnotfor
a camp.AnotherwhistleblastfromSilviosomewheredownstream,andAugustin,whois
haulinghisheavyboatupthebank,letsit go.
Chasinga loadedkayakdownthisriveris a WorstCaseScenario. I don’tknowexactly
whereweare,butI knowthattherearerapidsandanentirecanyondownstreamthat
I portagedin2005.It isluckwhenAugustin’swater-loggedkayakandthethickbrown
currentconspiretohelpmespeartheboatoutoftheboilingbrownriver.I screamlikeI
justsurvivedsomemonsterrapidorfalls:“OhF*ckYeah!!”
630 pm:At a lastchanceeddyabovea monsterriver-wideholeandverticalwallswecallit
a day.Upa steepscree-filledslopeis a perfectflatspotnextto a clearwaterstream.Augustin
is justifiablyshaken,butherewearesafe,sound,andwatchingthesunsetonthesnowy
canyonrima verticalmileanda halfoverhead.7 pm:I amremindedthatone’sShangri-la
is another’spurgatoryasSilvioaskshimselfa singlequestion;“Why am I back here?”Day6 - Nou’sMagicBinoculars- Elevation:6950’->6350’9 am:“It’sgoingtobea stoutday,soI mightaswellrunit.”Nouriaexecutesa perfect
linethroughthemonsterhole.I wanttomatchherenthusiasmbutchoosetowalkwith
theboysinstead.Aftera fewbig,beautifulnon-stopmiles,wescrambleforaneddy.In
2005 wenamedthisone"ElGrandePortage”inpartbecauseit didn’tseemrunnable.
1145 am:Theheatis alreadyonwhenwebegintoportage.SilvioandRobertprepare
twoloads,whileNouria,AugustinandI makea singlepush.Weareinfora longday.
1215 pm:Atthetopofthegorge,Nouriaimediatelyproceedstotakea betterlookwith
herseeminglymagicbinoculars.Whatsheseesisa vertical-walledboxcanyoninthe
absolutedepthsofthismassiveAndeanCanyonthatis,“Goodtogo.”WhenI takethe
binoculars,themagicfades,andI say,"Portage."Still,wecomeupwitha plan.Thatplan
drasticallychangeswhenwereturn and find the guys gone. I would be her lone safety,
camera, and moral support.Day4 - GuanacoMuerto- Elevation:9380’->7939’
10 am:NouriachastisesAugustinforthesieveandSilvioforbringinga buddywithinap-
propriategear,butmostlyforbeing,“Shitontheriver.”Silvioremindsusthat,“Gearis hard
tocomebyin Argentina,andwearenotrichlikeyou!”I counter,“Wehavebeenplanning
forovera month,and..!"Thisarguingdoesn'thelp.Butweallwanttogokayaking,which
is good,consideringit is ouronlyrealoption.
2 pm:My100-lbkayakfeelsoppressiveintheheataswehikedowntothelightbrown
braidsof currentheadinginconspicuouslyeast.4 pm:I rememberthefirstrapid,“Asmatic,”
asmostlyinconsequentialbutaerobic.It’simpossibletoverify,butI guesstheriverhas
doubletheflowfromMarchof2005.Sweatcreepsintomydrysuit,andI seea rapidthat
I wouldnotdescribeas“inconsequential.”Weallgetthroughwithoutincident,whichis
goodbecausetherapid,orrapids,donotstop.NouriaandI startreadingandrunning
downstreamatspeed.6 pm:Augustinblowshiswhistletoremindusthathehasnoneck
gasket.It is timetofinda camp.
9 pm:Nightfallsbeautifully,withmuchYerbaMate,manylaughs,andcongratulationson
ourriversideparadise.Silviocallsnoneckgasket,“Noproblem,ChangaStyle.”I keepmy
mouthshutandwanderdownstream.Thesun-bleachedskeletonofa Guanacopicked
cleanbyAndeanCondorsnearbyreminds me that nothing is guaranteed. In the wilderness,
lifeanddeathlivesidebyside.
Day5 - SilvioBlowsHisWhistle- Elevation7939'->6950'
9 am:Weleavecampexpectingtosee“BridgeRapid”andgeta “Son-of-a-BridgeRapid”
thatis powerfulandwalled-in.I tellRobertthattheriveris somuchmoreexcitingand
powerfulthanthefirsttime,whichonlyseemstoworryhim.Thereal“BridgeRapid”is
anotherstepup,andeveryoneexceptforAugustin,whosendsa perfectboof,hasto tangle
withanoverhungverticalwall.
4 pm:AttheconfluencewiththeRioSalinillas,dirt-blackwaterdoublestheTunuyan’s
flow. Robert’s earlier look of concern spreads across my mind. Our high water descent just
With20,000-footCeroTupungatoin thebackground,theteamspendstheirfirst
day in the Upper Tunuyan hiking into and paddling the tributary Rio Palomares.Arrierosandkayaksmightseemlikeanoddcombination,buttheyarethe
key to unlocking the otherwise inaccessible canyons of the rio Tunuyan.Thearrierosleadkayak-ladenhorsesthrougha treacherousterrainladenwithsoft,bottomless
soft snow. These horses were born and bred in this big, wild place to carry gear.NouriaandRobertseekshelterfromtorrentialwinds
and incoming weather on day 1 at Refugio Scarabelli.