abouthikingout?""Yes,Silvio!Everydayofmylife.Butthereis nowayI amleavingmy
boathere!"exitsmymouthbeforeI havetimetoconsidertheidea.“Thereis nowayto
hikeoutwitha boat.I triedbefore,”Silvioremindsme.In 2003,SilvioandanAmericanhe
calls“CrazyDave”hikedoutofthissamespotand,accordingto Silvio,evenwithoutboats
thetwo-dayhikewas,“Muyloco,muydificile.”AugustinandRobertwinceattheideaofa
two-dayhikewhileleavingthousands of dollars in plastic behind. Silvio asks me, “... is a
boatreallyworthdyingover?”
Day8 - HikeOut,HikeBackIn - Elelevation:6350’->?
551 am:I stashmyboat,paddle,drysuit,andcamerabatterieswithnointentionof leaving
thembehind. 625 am:I startthewalkintheback.Myvisionsucksinlowlight.8 am:
Afterourfirstbreak,I hiketothefrontandpushthepace,goingovereverythingthathas
beenbotheringmein a disgruntledfeedbackloop.Silviowantstobeoutfrontcontrolling
thepace,soI passhimandgetatleasta half-mileahead.I knowwhatI amdoing,and
I amnotproudofit.
1125 am:“I haveseenenough!”I stopandlookfora placetostashgear.I tellSilvioI’m
hikingbacktogetmyboat.Hetellsmeit’sirresponsible.I amnotbudging.WhenNouria
arrives,sheagrees,asif thiswastheplanallalong.Silviopullsmeaside,demandingin
hushedtones,“Whowillto takecareof Robert?”Thisstopsme.WhenRobertarrives,I don't
knowwhatto sayotherthanto tellhimwearegoingto back.Hesmilesat me."Don'tworry
Ben,Silvio'sbeingcrazy.I can'tgoback,though.Youtwowillbefine.I willbefine."It'san
emotionalmomentthatI don'tfeelgreatabout.Roberthugsandkissesusbothlikethe
gentlemanheis andwishesusluck."MuchoSuerteRobert,nosvemos!”weshoutafterhim.
1145 am:Wehikebackinpurposefulsilence,speakingonlytonamea rapidandrefine
ourplantopaddleandinsomecasesportagetheriverbelow.I don’tknowwhattosay,
otherthantotrytoanswerSilvio’sfinalquestion:“Isa pieceofplasticworthriskingyour
lifefor?”Didwereallyrefusetohikeoutsimplytonotabandonourkayaks?Maybe.The
dangerofthisriveraretooapparent,toovisceralfora kayaktobeworththerisk.Whatis,
however,is theexperienceofridingoneofmotherearth’smostpowerfulnaturalpheno-
menonswitha kindredspirit.It'sa rarethingtobeabletopushlimitswithoutbreaking
themtruly,andin thissavagebrowniterationof the Tunuyan, the circumstances are ideal
to see where our comfort zone actually is.
3 pm:Aftera shortbreak,wemakea movedownstream.Whileourfirstmoveis a portage,
thenextis a paradeofmassiverapidswhosenamesI rememberormakeupaswego.
4 pm:ClassV "Heydiddlediddle,rightdowntheleft”isnothinglikeit appearedfrom
above.ThenI portageclassV “GearStash.”5 pm:Webothportage“laPequeña.” 530
pm:Nouriaruns“UpperBridgeRapid,”a classV+;wetandeminto“LowerBridgeRapid,”
alsoV+,to “SubstantialBoogie”toanotherV+forNouria.Thecanyonis sotightanddeep
I can'tgeta GPSfix.
8 pm:Makingdinner,wedelightinblowingoffa bitofsteam,butit’snotfairtoblame
Silvio.Wedecidethatweshouldbethankinghimandthenimmediately scratch that idea.
Who we should be thanking is Robert. We wish he were here.It doesn'tfeelmuchlikethefirstdayofsummer,butthesearrieros
are used to hard Andean weather at 13,000 feet above sea level.Whilethefirsteightkilometersof
theTunuyanis incrediblyscenicbut
mostlyflat,thenext 90 kilometers
aresomeofthemostcontinuous
whitewater on the planet.