Kayakers
conquer
remote
rapids
Believe it or not. parts of the upper
McKenzie River resemble the
quieter portions of a remote river
in Nepal, according to an organizer of a
recent river expedition
But there at the smooth-flowing river
sections, the resemblance stops, says
Bruce Mason, who initiated plans for an
expedition down the unexplored Karnali
River in Nepal two years ago
Mason, who has worked with the
University Outdoor Program for 10
years, left with nine other rafters Oct 12
and returned shortly before Christmas
The Outdoor Program plans a slide
show of the trip during the spring term
After a two-week delay waiting for
their air freight to arrive the troop
embarked from central Nepal — with 25
Tibetan refugees carrying the two tons
of supplies — over three mountain
passes 12,000 feet high to the source of
the Karnali River near the Tibetan
border
Arriving at the river, the group found it
looked very much like the upper
McKenzie. Mason said
But after an easy, first-day trek of four
miles, those initial impressions proved
misleading The group only traveled 25
miles in the next eight days
“It was eight days of continuous
rapids At the end of that time we were
considering packing up and hiking
down the river, Mason said
But they persevered, making the
300-mile trip in about 55 days
Numerous minor accidents, such as
overturned rafts, a sprained ankle, a
torn ligament and two near drowmngs
caused lay-overs and worries "I really
thought that one fellow was gone
Mason said of a rafter who flipped over
and remained under his kayak and the
water for more than a minute
Mason also suffered a small but deep
leg wound that almost cut his trip short
Mason said had he chosen to return to
Eugene, it could've taken up to three
weeks for a helicopter to airlift him out
of that extremely remote' part of
Nepal
Mason said he took antibiotics for 25
days before the infection came under
control And when he returned the
doctor said I came real close to losing
my leg " he said
Mason and the others all lost
something — weight
"I've got it all back now, " he said of
the 14 pounds he shed during the more
than two-months-long trip
The group brought along what they
figured was enough food for the 55-day
trip based on their Eugene eating
habits But the rafters worked so much
harder, they doubled their caloric needs
and resorted to bartering with the
natives for about 50 percent of their
food
Bartering was a "lengthy process, he
said, because the area is "not only
isolated but a very poor part of Nepal
"Money didn't mean much to them."
Mason said of the natives Containers,
"everything from tin cans to plastic
water bottles were successful trading
tools
Rice became the main staple of the
rafters' Nepalese diet, but freeze-dried
food supplemented that menu None of
us wanted to eat rice when we got
back "
Although Mason said their Nepalese
encounters were wonderful,"
they were "fatiguing as well As
many as 75 natives would descend on
the small party's camp each night
"Everything you did was witnessed by
75 people Brushing your teeth became
a real experience, and changing your
clothes was nearly impossible " he said
The natives were fascinated by the
rafters wet suits and helmets which
they tried on "100 s of times," he said
They scrutinized the four original
kayaks which resembled their dugout
logs used to ferry natives across the
river, but paid little attention to the three
larger rafts, he said
Mason said the natives could
understand where the rafters were from
and what they were doing but they
could never understand why we were
there
We were wondering there tor a while
ourselves, he added
This trip brings Mason's total Nepal
trip tally to three but he said the last
one is the most primitive I ve seen yet
The Nepalese they observed used
metal only tor harvest sickles and
cooking pots Piles of rocks against an
overhang serve as their huts he said
It was fascinating to see how little it
takes to stay alive " Especially when
you're packing professional expedition
gear, he said
Eventually, after encountering several
minor setbacks, the travelers came out
of the steep mountain into the jungles
and plains drawing them closer to
civilization
But getting home from the trip also
proved difficult
For instance the road that was
supposed to lead them to a small town
airport had since disppeared That
forced them to cross the border into
India illegally in order to double back
into Nepal Unluckily, the Indian army
caught them, and they had to pay them
$16 to for an escort back into Nepal
The trip did not end on a sour note In
fact the rafters took it easy They
traveled by horsecarts to the airport
There, they caught a plane to
Katmandu Mason said
"It was a great way to re-enter
civilization
According to the rafters, the area
they visited was among the
poorest and most isolated in the
country Mason found the natives
living a primitive existence, where
metal was used only for harvest
sickles and cooking pots, and
rocks piled against an overhang
served as a hut
* *
Story by Marian Green
Photos by Bruce Mason