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* 2020-Jan-22 / Shaun / Regular Packrafting route
I combined this section with GPT28P. These two sections are spectacular, varied, fun and challenging. I barely saw another person the entire time, and there’s something very satisfying about following a single river all the way out to the ocean. Very enjoyable, very and memorable.
I found the wiki comments of Kara Davis (below) and the Facebook comments of Jen Ni (Jan 5 2019) and Gerald Klamer (March 27, 2018) to be very helpful. Jen’s categorization of 27P and 28P into five sub-sections is very good. My impressions were similar to all of theirs and I don’t have much to add.
Not having much whitewater experience, I started 27P around km24km23, just west of the cable ferryand a series of early rapids. However, I was fine with the many rapids after that, so with hindsight I would have started from Palena. Each section 27P and 28P each took me about a day and a half for a total of just over three daysfor the two combined. Apparently, the river was at a normal level for this time of year. It ran around 5-8kph for most of 27P and until about km40 of 28P, then maybe at 2-3kph thereafter. There were countless tree and rock hazards throughout, plus a number of whirlpools (often at sharp turns) - but I avoided all these without much troublewere all avoidable. As the river widenedin 28P, I encountered fierce headwinds in several places, and a noticeable incoming tide toward the end.
At Raúl Marin Balmaceda, I took the 11 hour ferry to Puerto Cisnes (departs Thursdays and Sundays) which technically completed the section, in it’s its current form. The views were stunning.
==Summary Table==
==Section Planning Status==
==Recommended Travel Period==
The section is best paddled between January and May. The primary danger would be a high and fast river, typically most common early in the season, or after heavy rain.
==Benefits of Hiking and Packrafting==
==Recommended Travel Direction==
The river can only be paddled westwards.
==Section Length and Travel Duration==
Section 27P is 103.5km and takes 2-2.5 days to complete. Together with Section 28P, the two sections are a total of 180km and take around 4 days.
==Suitable Section Combinations==
==Section Attractiveness==
The section is stunning, interesting, unpopulated and fun. Although, in reality, much of 27P is not too far from a road or occasional buildings, these are rarely visible and the river feels remote. Even more so for the continuation onto Section 28P. Alto Río Palena passes through farmland with a mountainous backdrop. It is very scenic. The many rapids and constantly changing features of the river make it stimulating. Combined with 28P, paddling on one river from the mountains to the Pacific is a wonderful experience. A very attractive section.
==Section Difficulty==
Río Palena may not be suitable for beginners. There are many rapids, countless tree and rock obstacles, and occasional strong currents and whirlpools. At times of high river levels, the river will not only be faster, but there will be fewer places to get out or scout. There are many more rapids than indicated in the track file. That said, the rapids are generally not above Class 2, and some of the earliest and most challenging ones, can be portered around. Plus, the many obstacles in the river are avoidable.
==Resupply==
===Resupply Town===
====Services: ATM and Money Exchange====
====Accommodation: Hostals and Hotels====
Franco, the owner of Los Rosadita hotel in Palena, can share expert knowledge of Rio Palena. The hotel is also a nice play to stay and makes good pizzas.
====Accommodation: Cabañas====
====Accommodation: Camping====
==Access to Route and Return==
===Access to Start===
===Return from Finish===
===Escape Options===
===Regular Hiking Route===
===Regular Packrafting Route===
Comments posted on Facebook by Jen Ni January 5 2019
GPT27P and 28P (Alto and Bajo Rio Palena)
Packrafting Westbound (😉): Palena to Raul Marin Balmaceda
2019-Jan-01 to 2019-Jan-04
Our impression was that the river can be separated into 5 subsections, each with different character. All parts are attractive and felt quite remote. For camping you generally have the choice between sandy/rocky river banks and farm land.
1. (0-25km) Small river, many rapids:
In this subsection the river is still relatively small and often shallow, ground contact can be a serious issue. At least every kilometer there's a small rapid (usually WW-1, sometimes class 2). There are many more rapids than mapped and those are not necessarily the most difficult. Usually the rapids are only deep enough to be run in a narrow part where the main current is. We only had problems with one rapid at Lat -43.62009 Lon -71.86343 where a tree blocked the main current making it impossible to run safely.
The most difficult two rapids (class 2+) are at 22km (2km after the ferry) where many large rocks in the middle of the river make scouting and very precise maneuvering necessary. Depending on water levels they may not be runnable at all. Both rapids can be viewed and portaged (individually or together) by taking out on the beach on the left side.
The river flowed with ~5kph.
2. (25-65km) Small river, few rapids, many trees:
By now the river has grown a bit and ground contact becomes less of an issue. There are noticably fewer rapids and the largest challenge becomes maneuvering between the many trees lying in the water. The average velocity of the current was actually a bit higher than before.
3. (65-105km) Fast and medium-sized river with few obstacles:
After Río Frío has joined the river at the 180° turn the river grows significantly and ground contact is almost no more issue. In this subsection, the river flows fastest (8kph) and we had a lot of fun with the relatively easy and broad rapids here. There are fewer trees in the water that can be easily avoided in the broad river. We found a lovely campsite on grass that did not seem to be used for grazing at Lat -43.89160 Lon -72.37914.
4. (105-155km) Big river, fast current:
Close to La Junta, the river is joined by Río Rosselot and becomes huge and mostly calm. We were surprised to see that it still flows with high velocity (5-8kph) and still has a noticable gradient that makes progress fast. The few trees can be easily avoided but may be difficult to spot sometimes. The main challenge that may arise here are strong head winds that make maneuvering quite difficult.
5. (155km-sea) Big and slow river, tidal effects:
Starting at the large 270° loop, the massive river becomes noticably slower (2-3kph) and wind and tidal effects determine the speed of your progress. We found that the tides are approx. 30min after the times shown for Pto. Montt by the Android app (by 7th gear). Paddling here feels more like being on a lake and waves build up due to the wind.
*Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:
The river continues winding through farmland all the way to the La Junta take-out. There is a small beach here with a trail that leads up to Highway 7. La Junta is located about 2 km south of the take-out.
==Optional Routes==
==Investigations and Explorations==
