Rio Negro

little van heading south

Stacked, eddy-less basalt rapids sound fun, that is unless they culminate in large drops with either a reconnect or a rock in the landing zone. The Rio Negro will never be a classic. Mainly due to the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere (Hornopiren).

Rio Negro from Chris Baer on Vimeo.

Hornopiren is either a full day of dirt road driving or a ferry ride away from anywhere. The perks: a small town atmosphere, fresh seafood, and beautiful camping next to the crystal clear river.

Bayside Hornopiren

Aeon Russo, no rocks in the landing zone, just a tree

The sloped basalt rock structure creates leaky eddies, (eddies where a large portion of the water, and potentially eddy-scouting kayakers, escapes out the downstream end of the eddy rather than recycling back up). This meant that eddy scouting was not a feasible option. At every major rapid we were forced out of our kayaks to scout. Our descent took four and a half hours to navigate the dense three kilometers of river back to camp. Thankfully, the basalt does stack into a handful of spectacular drops… that aren’t too problematic.

Aeon Russo, Rio Negro

Hamish Tills, U-turn Rapid

Aeon Russo, no rocks in the landing zone, just a tree

While this river has plenty of issues, its complications add to its intrigue, and the next time I find myself in Hornopiren I will make time to get another lap.

adventure by Chris Baer