{"id":2431,"date":"2013-07-01T19:53:50","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T19:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dmidgley.wpengine.com\/?p=2431"},"modified":"2013-07-01T19:53:50","modified_gmt":"2013-07-01T19:53:50","slug":"a-word-from-darcy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kayaktheamazon.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/01\/a-word-from-darcy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Word From Darcy"},"content":{"rendered":"

For more than a decade, I’ve been guiding people down numerous tributaries of the Amazon; but I never imagined that I’d someday have the fortune (or misfortune depending on your perspective)\u00a0 of kayaking the ENTIRE length of the mighty river.<\/p>\n

\"darcy
Darcy doing a little cross training<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After 11 years (Darcy) and 17 years (Don) of kayak guiding in Ecuador for Small World Adventures, we are leaving \u201creality\u201d behind and setting off on a new adventure.<\/p>\n

Having recently sold SWA and freed ourselves up for an undetermined amount of time, Don and I decided to join Midge on his long-time dream of paddling the Amazon River from its source in Peru to the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil.<\/p>\n

We met Midge in 2007 as an SWA client.\u00a0 He was preparing (physically) to be able to paddle the whitewater portion of the Amazon and found Ecuador to be the perfect training ground and Don to be the perfect trainer.\u00a0 Six years and a few hundred gin and tonics later, Don and Darcy are committed to suffering with Midge through 4,200 miles (6,759 Km) of some of the planet\u2019s least understood areas.\u00a0\u00a0 To be sure, it will be the adventure of a lifetime for all of us, and we are excited that Midge is letting us on in his dream!<\/p>\n

A little background on Darcy:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\"dg
Darcy doing a little kayaking in California–“training” for Amazon. But then again, it’s all training isn’t it?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My somewhat unconventional life had an implausible beginning.\u00a0 I grew up in Aspen, Colorado and throughout my high school years I was certain that the Roaring Fork Valley had all I needed.\u00a0 Nothing beyond the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs had any appeal to me.\u00a0 I was content to never leave.\u00a0 I had life all planned out.\u00a0 I would graduate high school, become a ski patroller at Aspen Highlands like my Dad and call it good.\u00a0 I only wanted to live to the age of 30 as I figured life just wouldn\u2019t be worth it after that (I take it back, I take it back)!<\/p>\n

But then my \u201ccruel and intolerant\u201d parents impressed upon me that I had<\/i><\/b> to go to college.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure why I finally gave in to their arguments, but I eventually did<\/p>\n

So off I went to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY to play volleyball.\u00a0 Yes I\u2019m really short and yes I was an outside hitter\u2014a pretty good one too, setting a few records here and there.\u00a0 But I quickly got tired of the \u201cSkidmore Grind,\u201d which meant studying until midnight every night and then partying after that.\u00a0 This schedule left little time for the things I really enjoyed doing.<\/p>\n

At that point in my life, I wanted to ski!\u00a0\u00a0 After the volleyball season of my sophomore year, I transferred to Montana State University so that I could be a mere 16 miles from Bridger Bowl Ski area.\u00a0 It was a good move, I got to ski 5 days a week!<\/p>\n

\"don
Don engaging in his favorite type of cross-training<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was during these years that I was slowly learning that there was life beyond Aspen.\u00a0 Although I returned each summer to my job as a raft guide at Colorado Riff Raft and later Aspen Whitewater Rafting, I was gaining appreciation for the larger United States.<\/p>\n

Then my friend Adam asked me if I wanted to skip fall semester and go to Nepal to go kayaking.\u00a0 This was 1998 and I had only recently begun kayaking, but for some reason this struck me as an opportunity that I shouldn\u2019t pass up.\u00a0 Although I had very few kayaking skills, I did have a bomber combat roll, so I figured I\u2019d be fine.<\/p>\n

I remember getting out of the taxi from the airport in front of my $1.50 per night hotel in the middle of Katmandu and watching 3 guys slaughter a goat on the dirty streets.\u00a0 I thought to myself\u2014\u201cgeeze, I sure am glad I\u2019m a vegetarian!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

It was my first time out of North America.\u00a0 I was 20 years old, and that trip definitely helped shape and direct my life up to this point of departure for the Amazon River.\u00a0
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Fast forward to 2013 and I still haven\u2019t become a ski patroller at Aspen Highlands\u2014there is still time for that I reckon.\u00a0 But I have kayaked over 250 rivers in 11 different countries, had a wonderful career at Small World Adventures, and now am setting off on a rather long kayaking journey down the Amazon.<\/p>\n

About the Trip:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\"don
Don doing what he does best<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don, Midge and I plan to paddle from the Mantaro River in Peru (recently discovered by Rocky Contos to be the new source of the Amazon) all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.\u00a0 The source is defined as the longest<\/em> tributary of the Amazon River.\u00a0 In 2012, Rocky determined that the Mantaro River was, indeed, 50 miles longer than the Apurimac which was long accepted as the source of the Amazon.\u00a0 The trip should take 5 months, give or take a month, and will include all sorts of imagined and unimagined adventures!<\/p>\n

We fly to Lima, Peru on July 21st<\/sup> and will spend a few days making sure all the \u201clast minute details\u201d are in order\u2014Jetboil fuel purchasing, visa arranging, transportation fixing, and probably eating a few last descent meals before our tenure of dehydrated food starts.\u00a0 Then we will put on the river!\u00a0 Hopefully this will happen about 1 week after we arrive in Peru.\u00a0 It will take a bit of time to locate the actual \u201csource\u201d which is reported to be a small puddle up in the highlands.\u00a0 For the next month or so we\u2019ll be enjoying the whitewater of the Mantaro River.\u00a0\u00a0 Once we hit the confluence of the Mantaro and Apurimac (old source of the Amazon) we\u2019ll switch to sea kayaks and make ourselves comfortable because we\u2019ll be in these boats for the next 3-4 months.<\/p>\n

\"midge
The Master Mind behind it all!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trip details confirmed so far:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

–Plane tickets purchased\u2014fly to Lima on the 21st<\/sup> of July<\/p>\n

–Perolita booked\u2014this will be our support boat from Pucallpa, Peru to the Atlantic Ocean!\u00a0 Matt at Rainforest Cruises <\/a>set up the Perolita for us and we are grateful for all of his help and patience!<\/p>\n

–Snap Dragon spray skirts arrived<\/p>\n

–Sea kayaks are more or less en route to Peru<\/p>\n

–Sea kayak paddles arrived<\/p>\n

–Whitewater boats (well most of them) are in hand and ready to load on our United Airlines flight\u2014thanks United for\u00a0accepting kayaks as luggage<\/p>\n

\"midge
Midgley practicing on a “lessor” Amazon tributary, the Rio Jondachi in Ecuador<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

–Spots are up and running, you can follow Darcy<\/a>, Don<\/a>, and Midge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We are all busy trying to pull together the rest of the logistics for the trip.\u00a0 There is a lot of planning that goes into a trip this long!\u00a0 But things are all coming together quickly now!<\/p>\n

We plan to take photos and video along the way and will post them whenever we get the opportunity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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