LUNA TIERNA

Ben digs into the Chalupas experience of high water, dangerous gold miners, and the new moon for the keys to the river of his dreams and solutions to the nightmare that threatens it.

Ben Stookesberry

Before my first paddle strokes in Ecuador, my mind was locked on the biggest exploratory river mission of my kayaking career: a 3,000-vertical-meter, 60-kilometer descent of the Rio Chalupas, the central headstream of the mighty Rio Napo in the Western Amazon basin. To have a chance of completing the mission, we needed perfect conditions. When I finally took my first strokes in Ecuador, I experienced the opposite of “perfect conditions, ” chasing Boof Sessions around deep, frowning holes on a normally Class IV section of the Rio Quijos. It was January 12th, 2021, on the luna tierna, or new moon. Earlier that day, we had checked the river and weather forecasts over a late breakfast at Gina’s when Abe said, “Cheese House will be f*cking BUENO today!” But by 1…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2025

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