Of all the places WCKA has visited down here in Chile Pucon stands out as having the best whitewater, most beautiful women, and some of the most amazing scenery. In Pucon we spent the majority of our time paddling the upper section of the Rio Palguin, and as many paddlers can attest to this short segment of whitewater is one of the best class IV runs in the area. Of all the drops on this section we decided that the third drop, a smooth 20ft. waterfall, was the most fun. After getting used to the sweet boofs this drop dished out some of us decided to step it up and started throwing freewheels, pan-ams, pistol flips, and hail maries off the falls. A lot of us were throwing down some sick moves off this drop, but Seth Stoenner’s airborne hail mary stands out as the best downriver move I’ve ever witnessed.
Volcan Villarrica
Capo boofing the first drop with steeze
Risto Beatty flying high off the second drop
Myself throwing a Pan-Am off the third drop
When our crew wasn’t paddling the Upper Palguin we spent time on the Trancura, Maichin and Liucura. These rivers didn’t quite compare to the whitewater of the Palguin, but they had some fun surf waves and offered us occasional views of the smoking Volcan Villarrica.
During one day towards the end of our stay in Pucon I took the day off from school and headed up to the Middle Palguin for a huckfest with some quality Pucon kayakers. Opting not to run the stout 10 footer that lead into the 70ft. waterfall, I seal launched in above the drop and freefell down to the deep pool below. Unfortunately my skirt imploded in the turbulent boils and I had to swim to shore. Keen on cleaning the drop I hiked to the top for a redemption attempt. On round two I cautiously repositioned my implosion bar toward the front of my deck before the drop and at the bottom rolled up with everything intact.
Dropping in above the 70 footer
Falling off the lip of Middle Palguin (Round 1)
Round 2...
From its world class creeks and crystal clear lakes to its beautiful beaches and happening discotecs Pucon is one of the coolest cities I’ve ever visited and I look forward to coming back in the next couple of years.
I'd like to throw out a big thanks to Rush Sturges for letting me use his Agent in Pucon... It provided for some sick downriver freestyle
All Photos by Candace Sanders and Eric Parker
Here's a short video Risto Beatty put together in cinematography class
3 comments:
So jealous bro. Keep huckin' and there will be plenty waiting for ya when you come home.
Such a pleasant post. At the time of browsing through it, I was feeling that I am really visiting that place. Thanks a lot for providing these information about Hoteles Pucon.
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