How To Kayak The Palguin, Chile (Upper)

The Palguin is one of the kayaking world's most desired and enjoyed rivers. It had been on my bucket list ever since I first saw video of the perfect pool-drop waterfalls with brilliant blue water. This section is the perfect training ground for intermediate kayakers looking to progress their steep creeking skills and for advanced kayakers to work on lean boofs, ear dips and waterfall freestyle. Here is a quick breakdown of the river:
Park by Ben's house. There is plenty of space on the road and just opposite his lawn without going through it, but if you want to introduce yourself then he likes kayakers and beer. The trail to the put-in is just to the left of his front gate. It takes 5-10 minutes to walk down the trail which is steep in places but well maintained. You will see a very steep trail going down the banking about 3 minutes in with 'peligro' signs. This trail leads to the first drop where you can scout the double drop and the lead in rapid, but I don't recommend trying to get a boat down this way. Carry on with the main trail until you get to a land bridge and seal launch off the right side of the gorge wall. This is a spectacular start with black volcanic rock covered in green moss reflecting light from the blue water. If you work upstream a little you can glimpse the impressive 80 foot Salto Palguin.
The first rapid has a grade 3 lead in. This can be intimidating in your first few laps but I would say that grade 3 read and run skills are a minimum requirement for kayaking this river. It is pretty straight forward finding a line down the right side and then picking a gap between a line of rocks just above the main drop. From there you have a moment to line yourself up on the left side of the top drop which is narrow and hard to miss. Get up to the left wall and get a strong right boof stroke into the cauldron. Keep your speed with a couple of strokes over the boils and then up to the left wall again for another right boof. This second drop is a great spot for lean boofs and ear dips and even freewheels with minimal impact and no hole to worry about. You can easily lap this drop without the lead in rapid with a ladder up the rock on river right.
The second drop has another grade 3 lead in. Two short parts with a short gap in the middle. The first half is a center-left-center move and then the second half has a few options. I tend to start on the right and move towards the left wall. You can either hug the left wall and move to the right of the waterfall for a less clean but less risk line or point your nose to the left wall and drop the waterfall on the left with a late right boof. This line is much more satisfying when styled but can lead to a slightly rough time. Swimming is probably not a major issue but there is a small cave opposite the drop that is good to be aware of.
The third drop is the tallest but probably the most straight forward. On the far right is the famous 20 footer that Aniol Serrasolses landed the first ever cobra flip. It is a clean drop that is perfect for boof-to-stomping, back freewheels and cobra flips, depending on exactly where your level is. If you're looking to step up your steep creeking then you can plug this drop or aim for a nice soft 45 degree landing. Over to river left there is a drop of the same height but with a more rolling lip. This is a great option for a softer impact or to test out tucking techniques that you might want for bigger drops. Be careful with this left option though as the water goes quickly into the next gorge and swimming would be a major problem here.
The fourth drop is the smallest big the highest consequence on the section. A grade 2 gorge for 50 meters leads to a single drop of about 2 feet. This drop is walled in on both sides and is a body retentive hole. If you can boof, you can do it. Go straight down the middle with a bit of speed and boof, getting ready to keep moving forwards as soon as you're through. Don't build this up as a terrifying move, but do take it seriously as the most significant drop of the section. Safety can be done by getting out on the left side above or below the drop but it is not an easy rescue and is a last resort. Getting out above the drop is possible but not easy so not an obvious plan for extra-nervous paddlers. If you don't feel confident to boof a straight forward 2 foot ledge then this section is not right for you, yet! Luckily Chile is full of boof practice spots and there is no reason why this drop and river can't be a target for anyone who wants to improve their creeking.
The last rapid has a tree down on the right side. The line is obvious from right to left and easy to achieve after the rest of this section.
The Take-out has moved from previous years. Look out for colourful flags and ribbons on river right and the trail goes up from there. If you continue to the old takeout you will find yourself fenced into the land of a man who doesn't want you there!
This is world class kayaking.

[@puconkayakretreat9992]

Thanks for sharing the video.

[@alexpage3413]

really nice informative vid man. cheers

[@TraveltoPaddle]

Thank you! 🙂