A raging torrent of water rushed passed us as we tromped through the arid desert of Chile. The thrill of the hunt was in the air as we neared our destination, a seemingly ancient irrigation pipe that crossed the tiny creek we were planning on running. A first descent! The idea was passed around, building on our excitement. We all knew that, logically, this run had been paddled before, but there was no evidence, so we staked our claim. After crossing the rusted iron culvert, we plunged into the icy melt water. Oh! the feeling of freshly melted water after trudging through the desert is euphoric! We rejoiced to our full extent as we climbed into our boats. Off we charged down the boney little creek, dodging as many rocks as possible and boofing any pour over that stood in our way. Finally! We were in Chile!
All right, so the creek we ran has probably been run before, but it was a first descent for New River Academy, just as this whole trip is a first descent for our group. The unique mountain scape surrounding our camp site is a blissful backdrop to the dazzling rivers teeming past. Every where you look there is another creek, another drop, just waiting for the colorful lumps of plastic to float down its surface. There are not enough words in our language to describe how marvelous this place is, so, and I believe I speak for all of the students here when I say, thank you parents for sending us to such an enchanting land! We could have never done this without you!
