Chile Update

Here we are a month deep into Chile and it’s been a sick trip to say the least. We started the trip with on the Maipo. It was great week of river running and small play. Off the river I was fortunate enough to take part in a scenic adventure along the banks of the Yeso River, via horseback. The Maipo valley is a beautiful area that I plan on returning to someday.

Me getting ready to go take a ride Photo by ben kinsella

Josh, Olin, and myself taking in the beautiful Chilean scenery

Photo by Ben Kinsella

Next, after a five hour drive in a broken down seventeen passenger van, we arrived at The Rio Claro. The Siete Tazas was every thing I hoped for, a beautiful river with a fun set of waterfalls. For three days we shuffled and hucked ourselves off the seven teacups. At the Claro we were hoping for a possible decent of the Viente Dos section but we were shut down due to the low water levels.

The last drop of Siete Tazas Photo by Conner Jackson

Me boofing the first drop Photo by Ben Kinsella

The Rio Claro made for some great times, but after three days it was time to make our way to Pucon! I can safely say that Pucon is one of my favorite places on this planet. The women, the views, and the rivers share a foreign beauty of which I have never before experienced. Our bread and butter run was the Palguin. The Palguin consists of three super clean small waterfalls, a 65 footer, a hand full of manky rapids, and a fare share of quality class 3-4 rapids. The Palguin stands out as one of the funnest rivers I have ever paddled. Aside from the upper and lower sections of the Palgiun, our group ran the upper and lower Trancura, the Liacura, and the Machine. Off the river we tromped around town and occasionally made our way to the discos. Pucon is a beautiful place that I cannot wait to come back to…

Olin Going Big on the upper

Risto sending it

Capo showing us how it is done in the Nomad

Me Boofing on the lower

Taking out from a great day on the lower

So the past few days we have been rallying down the upper Fuy. It is a classic run with a few quality waterfalls.

Seth running the drop below the falls Photo by Evan Garcia

Me setting up to take a boof on the falls Photo by Candace Sanders

I am loving chile and ready for some more rivers. From the fuy we are going to make the three day journey down to the Futa. It's going to be a long drive...

-Parker

Teton Creek

The local Newspaper was stoked to hear about our recent decent of Teton Creek.

TACO MADNESS!!!

Taco is finally in! It’s about damn time for some good Jackson play boating. The high water year has been sick for river runs but there has been little play. The hole showed some big loops from Ben, Fraz, and a few from myself.

Me diggin in to taco

surfin the counter

The brown, gushing, high water creeks of Jackson have slowly dropped to low flows once again. Aside from the recent adventure down Teton creek, the past few weeks in Jackson have been pretty uneventful... except for the massive blunts thrown at the Lunch Counter wave!

Frazer gettin' ready to huck

Ben surfin' at sun rise

black gear night surf!

All day Friday on the Murtaugh... Word.

Thursday night... Frazer, Ben, and I chow down on some chicken fajitas after a chill day on the upper Snake River. I get a call from fellow Jackson paddler Risto Beatty. This is how the conversation went…

“ Dude wanna run the Murtaugh tomorrow?” Risto asks.

“ What! With who?” I say.

“Kayak club!”

“Hell yea! Sounds sick!!!”

“Be at the shop at seven.”

“ Alright! This is awesome! I can't believe the Murtaugh is gonna run twice in one year! That’s insane!”

“I know, we might not be able to run it again for another four years”

“Ahh! I'm so stoked!!!”

That stoke session continued for another ten minutes or so. Ever since I heard about the mighty Murtaugh I had full intentions of running it one day and that day had come! I spread the word to Frazer and Ben. They are both stoked with the news so we pack down our dinner and go to bed
early.

early morning gas run

I wake to an old car horn. It is my cell phone alarm, which reads 6:00 AM. I grab my keys and head off to Albertsons where I get some food and prepare myself for the hefty drive that awaits. Five hours and one gas tank later, seven fired up kayakers and myself sit at the heart of Star Falls, the last rapid of the Milner Mile and put in for the Murtaugh.

checking out Star Falls on a sunny afternoon

We had strong hopes of running the 25 foot Star Falls but due to the water levels we were shut down like Pedro’s 127 foot world record. So, we quickly run shuttle and put on the river.

The rapids were huge! The big water allowed for some steezy kick flips and huge macho moves. In south western china I have boated the great bend of the Yangtze, the Mekong, and multiple sections of the Salween, all big water class fun runs. But this river was no more than a several hour drive from Jackson and the 13 mile run offered all the big waves, monstrous holes, and giant swirlies one could hope for.

Kayak Club scouting paradise

Jackson Hole Kayak Club Director Dan Abraham is first to fire it off

Risto Beatty dropping

Chillin' on the docks

The day ended on the boat docks directly above Twin Falls Dam. Soon to follow was the late night drive back to Jackson. All in all, it was one SIC DAY!