We began Day 8 by running Hot Springs Rapid, followed by Cajas Rapid.

Hot Springs Rapid

Hot Springs Rapid

Hot Springs Rapid, view back upstream to the beach we camped on, with Karl in his packraft, Barba and Britt

Hot springs downstream of the rapid

And another hot springs further on

Portal, in steeply-inclined limestone strata

Karl, at yet another hot springs

Nate and Barba at the lower part of the hot springs

A steep prow on Cerro Jatun Jirca

Tilted limestone layers

Tilted limestone layers

The Rio Cajas enters from river right

Cajas Rapid (Class III-IV)

The multiple prows of Cerro Jatun Jirca, seen from further downstream, over 5,000′ above the river

Sculpted igneous rock

Barba side-surfs

We approach a former bridge site in a gorge of igneous rock

Pedro takes video with his GoPro at the former bridge site

An orchard on river left, with vibrant green mango trees, and papayas to the left

View downstream

Nate, drinking from a spring

I was given this water bottle by my contact person at the Philmont Boy Scout camp (Philmont Training Center). The parents of Boy Scout attendees take weekly trips with us.
We stopped at a small farm on river right, which was unattended at the time. Equipped with only a small lean-to, the farm was probably an outlier of a larger farm located in the area. What a fantastic spot!

A nicely laid-out mini-farm watered by a small creek. No one was there when we visited. Banana and papaya trees.

Ditch, with coca to the left

The waterfall at the top end of the farm

The waterfall, with ditches going off to either side and a banana tree

Lean-to and a papaya tree. This little farm is probably only occasionally visited by the owner.

Coca

Coca fruits
Next up was Mayas Rapid (Class IV). We saw a photo of the group scouting the rapid at the end of the prior post.

Barba goes left and gets swallowed up

Pedro goes down the middle

Pedro. Britt shoots from a boulder on river right.

Kathy and I enter on the left

Our raft is seen here a little downstream from the above photo (Britt Runyon photo)

Hey, how did we get over here? (Britt Runyon photo)

We spun off and got slung towards the river right shore. Kathy laughs. (Britt Runyon photo)

We finish going backwards – which is always better than going sideways! (Britt Runyon photo)

Waterfall located at the top of Ihuano Rapid (Class III-IV), river left. I’m standing in a basin that’s been sculpted-out at the foot of the falls. Kathy looks on. (Britt Runyon photo)

Ihuano Rapid – a good one!

Sculpted granite

A travertine spring

The river takes an 180° bend. At the lower end of the bend, we are looking up at Cerro Antibo, the summit of which is 8,070′ (!) overhead.

“Wasson’s Staging Camp”, Camp #8, is located just upstream from Class V-VI Wasson’s Landslide Rapid. Upstream view of the right side of the peak seen in the prior photo, Cerro Antibo, with cornfields seen on the lower angle slope.

Barba likes to build big fires, which we much enjoyed. After decades of dealing with the strict controls placed on when and how one can have fires in the Grand Canyon, the freedom we enjoyed to build fires such as the above was very welcome.

Campfire. I like big fires too!
The proximity of Camp #8 to Wasson’s Landslide made it possible to tackle it early the next day. The 800 meters of this rapid, parts of which would be lined, would require many hours – if everything went according to plan. If everything didn’t go according to plan, we might find ourselves bivouacking amongst the boulders tomorrow night.

Day 9. We left camp at 6:30 AM, and began our scout soon after. This is the Class IV entry to Wasson’s, with the sun about to illuminate the rapid.
How did we do in Wasson’s? See the following post to find out:
https://believesteve.org/2015/12/18/peru-the-rio-maranon-day-9-wassons-landslide-rapid/
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About Evensteven
I am a photographer and author, and live in Embudo, New Mexico, alongside the Rio Grande. I have published a book of photography and accompanying text on running the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The first (print) edition is out of print, but a second edition is available as an iBook (eBook) through the iTunes bookstore. All Grand Canyon, river and nature lovers will enjoy my book:
The Grand: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-grand/id672492447
I have also published six additional iBooks:
1. The Salt River: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-salt-river/id12449222822.
2. Coyote Buttes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/coyote-buttes/id1271773201
3. Four Cornered, the Land: https://books.apple.com/us/book/four-cornered/id1384038899
4. Four Cornered, The Rivers: https://books.apple.com/us/book/four-cornered-book-two-the-rivers/id1402287568
5. Rio Marañon: https://books.apple.com/us/book/four-cornered-book-two-the-rivers/id1402287568
6. Rio Grande: https://books.apple.com/us/book/rio-grande-new-mexico/id1469126321