Reminiscent of the wet, windswept coastal valleys of British Columbia and southeast Alaska, the Río Yelcho drains Lago Yelcho, a big lake containing the mighty waters of the Futaleufú. At high water, this scenic cruise is over before you know it. There are few rapids, just a swift, unrelenting current that moves along at 10+ km per hour.

Overnight camping opportunites abound on the river's cutbank terraces. Views of Monte Hornos (1410 m), Cordón Segundo (1330 m), Cordón de Los Tabiques (1390 m), and Volcán Corcovado (1827 m) often vanish in whirling blankets of damp mist during the river's march to Golfo Corcovado. This sublime scenery, coupled with the sight and sound of lobos marinos lolling in the river's estuary on east side Isla Puduguapi, make for amemorable float trip.

In Chile's Native Forests-A Conservation Legacy, Ken Wilcox dedicated his book to the Chonos people, "...a nomadic canoe culture of the northern fiords of Patagonia who greeted with compassion the plunderers of the New World. Their culture of dalcas, sealskins, fire, mussels, mushrooms, huts, harpoons, and the telling of tales around remote hot springs is lost forever. Yet the rich world that sustained them for thousands of years is still with us. May it never slip away."

From Chaitén, drive 46 km south towards Puerto Cárdenas, a town located along the shore of Lago Yelcho. Put in at Puente Yelcho. After reaching the sea, continue 4 km along the coast and take out in Chaitén. Check the tide schedule in Chaitén prior to departure so you don't end your trip dragging boats across the sand flats at low tide. BettEr yet, contact Nicholas La Penna at Chaitur in the Chaitén bus terminal (Tel: 731-429) for logistic support in motorizedlanchas from Isla Puduguapi.