The Hood River news., January 21, 2015, Image 13

Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Travelogue
B1
Part one:
he
A week on t
Rio Maranon Nepal
in
he two Jims
Next week: T
‘Living vicariously through the adventures of our friends’
“With a nod of her head, Christie indicated it was time to go, so we began paddling into the largest class V rapid that
both of us had ever attempted in our paddling careers, both of which span well over a decade. At that moment we had
no idea that neither one of us would make it to the bottom of that rapid safely until the next day.”
Drew and
Christie Eastman
take on Peru’s
‘Grand Canyon
of the Amazon
By DREW EASTMAN
For the News
Standing at the bottom of
canyon walls that tower hun-
dreds of feet above the river,
staring at a maelstrom of
whitewater knowing that it
would be the biggest rapid
we had ever run, and having
been told that there was no
way to walk around the ex-
ploding chaos named Shapal-
monte, we studied the rapid
intently while walking back
to our kayaks.
Once at our kayaks, we
tightened our life jackets and
slid into the flooded river
above a rapid larger than
anything on the Grand
Canyon of the Colorado.
After splashing my face with
water and energizing myself,
I looked at my wife Christie
and said, “We have the skills
to do this, we know our line,
stay on my tail, fight for vi-
sion, and paddle hard. You
ready?”
With a nod of her head
Christie indicated it was
time to go, so we began pad-
dling into the largest class V
rapid that both of us had
ever attempted in our pad-
dling careers, each of which
span well over a decade. At
that moment, we had no idea
that neither one of us would
make it to the bottom of that
rapid safely until the next
day.
Spending a week on the
Rio Maranon in Peru, also
known as the Grand Canyon
of the Amazon, with just my
wife was an experience
chalked full of hardships,
lasting memories and end-
less smiles.
When Christie and I first
became friends in 2008, I re-
call her sharing a desire to
visit Peru on a whitewater
adventure. Having heard sto-
ries from friends that had
visited the South American
country, it seemed as though
any adventurous whitewater
kayaker should include Peru
in their travel plans. Due to
other commitments as well
as financial and time re-
straints, it wasn’t until the
fall of 2014 that we were able
to fulfill our dream of kayak-
ing in Peru.
■
Knowing that we would be
in Peru during a time that
the majority of the country
experiences a rainy season,
we knew that the typical
kayaking destinations of the
Colca Canyon, the Apurimac
and Cotahuasi Rivers would
be out of the question due to
dangerously high water lev-
els. After doing some re-
search, we decided that our
adventure would lead us to a
six-day, five-night expedition
on the Rio Maranon, which
is the mainstream source of
the mighty Amazon River.
The Rio Maranon receives
water from glaciers on the
highest tropical mountains
in the world, with elevations
over 20,000 feet; our trip
About
the author
Drew and Christie
Eastman are Hood River
residents and longtime
kayaking enthusiasts.
Drew works as the exec-
utive director of the Co-
lumbia Gorge Ecology In-
stitute and Christie is an
occupational health
nurse and pro kayaker.
began at an elevation of
about 7,000 feet. The arid
canyon that squeezes the Rio
Maranon into its valley is
more than twice as deep as
the Grand Canyon of the Col-
orado, and contains rapids
that rival anything on that
iconic rafting trip of the U.S.
■
Beginning our trip in the
mountaineering town of
Huaraz, located at the base of
the second highest mountain
range in the world, we were
about an eight hour drive
from the river. After the first
ride we had arranged decid-
ed the roads weren’t good
enough and it was too far, we
managed to find a different
ride to the river, at an agreed
upon a price. The drive was
incredible, taking us over a
13,000 foot mountain pass
and near sites of Inca ruins.
We were in awe of the beauty
of the country.
Our driver was pleasant,
even showing us points of in-
terest along the way. But the
mood chanted quickly when
he suddenly stopped in the
middle of nowhere and de-
manded a couple hundred
dollars more if we wanted to
continue and threatened us
if we did not pay. After near-
ly thirty minutes of arguing
on the side of the dirt road,
we foiled his attempted ex-
tortion scheme and contin-
ued the drive. Although it
was an awkward ride, lucki-
ly we weren’t far from our
destination, and when we ar-
rived our driver wished us
luck by exclaiming “Buena
suerte!” before speeding away.
■
After paddling the first
Class III rapid on the river,
we immediately felt the
power of the water; the sheer
volume of the river took
some getting used to. Living
in the Columbia Gorge and
regularly paddling the Hood
River, along with other local
stretches of rivers in the
Gorge, we are used to flows of
about 2,500 cubic feet per sec-
ond. The Rio Maranon boasts
flows of over 10,000 cfs in De-
cember. The second day,
Christmas Eve, was littered
with many class IV rapids,
sunshine and surf waves.
There was even one section
where the river boiled its
way through a nar row
canyon no more than eight
feet wide.
Having an amazing day on
the water, we arrived early
that afternoon to our camp-
site, which was on a huge
sandy beach. The sun was
hot and the water was cool so
we went swimming and
worked on our tans while en-
joying the serenity of our
See TRAVEL, Page B2
DREW AND CHRISTIE Eastman recently spent a week on the
Rio Maranon in Peru, also known as the Grand Canyon of the
Amazon. The two Hood River residents packed all the gear they
needed in their hard-shell kayaks and floated the river for six
days and five nights. Although they experienced hardships along
the way, like rising waters, unpredictable rapids, a precarious
portage and sudden illness, the two returned home safely earli-
er this month with an amazing story to tell and memories that
will last them a lifetime.
Photos courtesy Drew Eastman