I’m not going to lie to you: It wasn’t my idea to spend a week at the BioBio camp on the Futaleufu River in northern Patagonia. Now don’t get me wrong. I love being outdoors in nature, but my activity of choice is hiking, not river rafting, and the prospect of traveling across the continent to spend a week doing the latter wasn’t all that appealing.
But my partner Diane is a long-time river guide and a lover of running wild rivers and “The Fu”—renowned for its turquoise water and dramatic Class 4 and 5 rapids—has been high on her bucket list and she was determined to go. Dutifully, I read the description of the week-long river adventure several times over, and it was clearly aimed at folks who want to up their river-running game. Maybe I could help her find another river-loving friend to accompany her on the trip, and thereby get myself off the hook? But no luck there.
Would I put my doubts aside, be a good and loyal partner, and go along? I’ll admit, there was something intriguing about the idea of spending a week along a beautiful wild river in the Chilean Andes (where I’d never been). And this wasn’t just any week on the river: It was the week that singer/songwriter (and former river guide) Jenner Fox was going to be on hand with his long-time musical partner Jeremy Elliott, providing musical entertainment throughout the trip. Diane and I have been Jenner Fox fans for a while (he had even played a couple of house concerts in our backyard in the Bay Area), so there was the added incentive of a daily fix of great music.
I put in a call to Lorenzo, the owner/director of BioBio Patagonia, to see if there might be other activities available for not-so-river-inclined folks like me. Lorenzo, ever the great salesman, explained that there were several guided hikes in the area they could send me on. And, he said, there was always the option of just hanging out by the river in camp. Because this isn’t a typical river trip where you have to pack it all up every morning, run the next section of the river, set up a new camp, and if you don’t feel like rafting that day … too bad! On the Fu with BioBio, you come back to the same camp and your rustic but cozy riverside tent cabin every night. Meaning you can opt in or opt out of any day’s river activity, your choice.
Secure in the knowledge, then, that I wasn’t committing to a full dose of river running, I signed on the dotted line. But my expectations were low.
If you’ve read this far, you can probably guess that my expectations were exceeded.
The River
Any way you slice it, the Fu itself is the main attraction here. And seriously, running it was way more fun than I expected. Yes, I was nervous the first day, because this is big water. Big drops; big waves; big rocks. But the BioBio river guides are really good at what they do. They know the river and they know their boats. They communicate. They look out for each other. They look out for us, the six paddling guests in their boats. Most important: they instill confidence. Which is the key to allowing someone like me to let go and enjoy the power of the river while leaning into the serious (but fun) business of getting down the river. I couldn’t tell if my emphatic paddling in response to our guide’s commands actually made a difference, because my strokes felt so puny compared to the force of the river. But at least it feels like you’re doing something, engaging with the power of the river by throwing your own power into the mix.
On that first day, I went into the big rapids (Entrada, Mas o Menos, Pillow Rock, Casa de Piedras, etc.) on the “Bridge to Bridge” section of the river below the camp just praying to get through them safely and focusing tensely on my paddle strokes. But the next day, when we rafted that stretch for a second time, my mental frame had flipped, leaning into the power of the water and the sheer physical joy of riding on, over, and through it. And the setting of the river itself, carving through granite and surrounded by mountains, is spectacular.
Three days later, we had the opportunity to run this lower “Bridge to Bridge” section one more time. But it didn’t feel like the same run. Two days earlier, the Argentine authorities who control the dam upstream at the headwaters of the Futaleufu, had opened up the floodgates, causing the river to run a lot higher, faster, and stronger. At that volume, it was no longer safe to run the Class 5+ Inferno Canyon stretch above the camp (which I would have opted out of anyway). And the river below was now a frothing torrent, with the most impressive standing waves I’ve ever seen on a river. The run through those rapids on that day was epic. And wild. And thoroughly enjoyable. An exhilarating way to cap off a week on the mighty Futaleufu.
In the end, I spent four of our six days at the camp running rivers, with three days on the Fu itself and one day running a section of the Rio Azul, a nearby tributary of the Fu. (Another day was the horseback ride up to a seriously stunning mountain viewpoint; the sixth day featured a mellow hike along the river.) This proved to be a completely different river experience, because the Azul is a smaller river and it was running pretty low, with lots of exposed (or not-quite-exposed) rocks, creating many shallow and narrow passages. The Azul run is done in rubber “ducky” kayaks, not rafts; you have the choice of taking a single, or going with a guide in a double. I certainly would not have been able to navigate the run on my own, given the technical nature of the river in those conditions. But with Wayne, a wonderful young guide from California, piloting from the rear and calling out paddle commands, it proved to be a bumpy but safe and thoroughly enjoyable ride, challenging enough to be exciting but not scary. And I only “swam” once!
So much for the low expectations. The lesson: keep your options open and, you know, go with the flow!
The Camp
So yes, the mighty Futaleufu is the highlight and the centerpiece of the trip. But spending a week in a beautiful place in the mountains with a bunch of like-minded outdoor adventure seekers is clearly part of the attraction. And being able to return to base camp every afternoon – take a shower, change into dry clothes, rest, read, sit on a rock by the river, down a mug of top-notch Fu-Brew beer (yes, brewed right at camp!) or a glass of Chilean wine at the open bar – was certainly another great feature of the BioBio experience. And the absolute top highlight might just be getting a freshly-brewed espresso coffee drink (I’ll have an Americano, please) delivered to your tent cabin as the daily wake-up call. A perfect way to start any day.
I’d like to add a huge shout out for the camp’s kitchen crew and the hearty, healthy, delicious, and varied meals they cooked up for breakfast and dinner. Fresh-baked breads at every meal. Fresh vegetables from the camp’s gardens. Innovative salads, grilled meats from local ranchers, many kinds of fish prepared in different ways, numerous vegetarian options; etc. Always plenty to choose from to keep you going strong (and full!) for the next adventure.
And last, but definitely not least, there’s the stellar staff that Lorenzo and Terry have assembled. These folks combine a serious focus on skill and safety with an equally serious focus on fun. There’s a fine line there, but navigating that line is what makes for successful outdoor adventures. From the old-timers who’ve been with BioBio for more than two decades to the young interns in their first season, there’s a clear commitment to creating a safe, supportive, and fun environment for engaging in physically challenging adventures. Well done, all! You proved to me that even someone who doesn’t love river rafting could actually, in the right place, with the right people, thoroughly enjoy a week of river rafting. As the old man said, “Keep your options open and go with the flow.”