The History Of Rafting On The Futaleufu
"The white-water outfitter Eric Hertz spent a lifetime searching for the perfect river. In 1990, he finally found it, in Patagonia. Intrepid kayakers who had ventured into southern Chile said…
How Earth River’s Founder Fell into Rafting
(Eric Hertz’s first river trip) (Click below for audio version.) When I was 16, on a cross-country bicycle trip, I rode into the tiny town of Stanley, Idaho, something between a…
The River Through The Window
(The Discovery of Patagonia’s Hidden Gem) Earth River's discovery and exploration of a future Patagonia Classic In 2015, we completed a first descent of a remote river in Patagonia with…
An Impossible River Discovery in 2025
(Earth River’s latest rafting discovery) I was approached by a client, a man of few words, who had traveled with us in Patagonia multiple times before. “Looking for a first…
River Dogs
(The Patagonia rescue that became part of Earth River’s Futaleufú team) There’s something about the first dog that finds you... that lives in your heart forever. “Wanna dog?”…
How Rapids Get Named
(The naming of the Magpie’s iconic 13-foot falls) (Click below for audio version.) The first two paddle rafts, followed by a baggage boat, dropped over the falls. A few hundred…
The Invention of the safety cataraft
(The innovation that changed safety on the Futaleufú) Two of the most significant developments that have made rafting the Futaleufu River safe and accessible to almost everyone are the establishment…
Big Brains Come in Small Packages
(10-year-old Cade Hertz helps protect the Magpie) Like many kids, my son Cade was infatuated with fire. At the end of a Magpie trip, a client approached me about giving…