Rock Jumping, Futaleufu River, Chile

Sometimes we’d run a full river trip down the Futaleufu instead of the more common “Bridge to Bridge” section, which is the standard day-trip, about 12km of solid whitewater.

On the full river section, we’d usually make it an overnighter, and enjoy the flatwater runs between the various sections of whitewater. Halfway along the trip is this killer place to go rock jumping. A nice sunny day, a deep, flat pool of water and a high ledge made for great fun for everyone.

You’ll notice Gabby in the orange Jackson kayak just downstream, in position in case anyone got hurt jumping and needed some assistance. As always, safety first.

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This image is of a rock form called “Cara del Indio”, which translates to english as “Face of the Indian” – because the rock form resembles the profile of face of a wizened old Indian; the native people of this area were the Mapuche, who were mostly wiped out by the Spanish Conquistadors. The word “Futaleufu” by the way, is a Mapuche word that translates as “Big Water”, and yes indeed, the Futaleufu River is Big Water. Chile.

Oh, I should’ve added: this feature is just before Mundaca. Generally rafting trips will pull over on to a small beach below Cara del Indio, have a quick rest, and the guides will go over the plan for running Mundaca – it also allows the safety boats, like the cataraft and a kayaker or 2, to get ahead and set up for safety, if needed.

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