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Three Rivers of the Tim Biggs 9780620398169 Books

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In 2004, Tim Biggs became the first person to kayak the three main tributaries of the River. Join him in his amazing quest, beginning on the Urubamba River (1981), continuing on the Apurimac River (1985), and concluding 23 years later (2004) on the Maranon River. A cast of diverse, heroic, and eccentric characters ensures that the action on the riverbanks matches the action-packed thrills and spills on the river. This promises an unforgettable read. During these adventures, Tim somehow manages to fall off a cliff, is shot at, eats 'delicacies' that'll make anyone's stomach turn, becomes the enemy of man's best friend, and survives the Incas' revenge! And that is only life on the shore! Then there are the rivers, each with its distinct qualities and traits. The Urubamba is fierce, unpredictable and yet stunningly beautiful, sporting both the ruins of Machu Picchu and the treacherous Torontei Gorge. Secondly, there's the Apurimac, walled in and inhospitable, where infighting among members threatens to sink the highly-charged, adrenaline-filled expedition. To add to the tension, politics rears its ugly head... The final river in this trilogy is the Maranon. Tim is now in his fifties and leads the expedition. Will he be able to keep up with the young, hotshot swashbucklers who make up the team? This true-life story is told with absolute honesty, and exposes all aspects of river life on the remote rivers of South America (and a few other places). Journal sketches and illustrations by Tim add authenticity to this wonderful, positive tale. However, as Tim explores the rivers and wonders of the world, he is brave enough to face and admit to the shortcomings in his own life. This results in the exploration of another river - one that ultimately changes the course of Tim's own life.

Three Rivers of the Tim Biggs 9780620398169 Books

Tim Biggs has the notable distinction of having paddled nearly all of Ríos Urubamba, Apurimac, and Marañon. He also has the first descents of part of Río Urubamba (Machu Picchu gorge section), part of Rio Apurimac (Uppermost ~50 km and Q'ueswachaca sections), and all of Río Nupe. His book provides an interesting perspective on these descents as well as on the source-to-sea Apurimac-Amazon expedition of 1985-1986. It is great to hear directly from one of the few in the world to have paddled several of the Amazon's headwaters. Kudos to him for writing down so much. He has my respect.

Overall, Bigg's writing style is almost entirely geared toward his personal experience. I was hoping to have a bit clearer description of where/what/when of events in order to place where described rapids are located, and also why he made certain decisions such as starting his Marañon descent on Rio Nupe. Yet in most of his descriptions, he is vague in this regard - focusing much more on his personal state and experience. As it is often difficult to localize the rapids he describes, it makes it difficult to extract much geographical information from the book. For someone like me - who has paddled all the same sections of river - and who is writing guides - it makes it hard to properly credit Biggs due to the vague descriptions. This is the worst for Río Marañon - which I imagined he would have had the freshest memory and notes - as he did it in 2004. He essentially describes most of the main Marañon simply as "Suddenly, the rapids ended" and how three close contour lines actually did not prove to be a heinous section of river. [Yet in actuality, this is the finest section of the entire Marañon - for more info on this amazing section of river, search for "Grand Canyon of the Amazon" or see [...]

A few other things in Bigg's book are annoying. The cover photo is nowhere on the Amazon or any of the South American rivers he describes in the book (I know this because I paddled all these rivers too). Other photos in the book are not specified or are misplaced - for example, he shows a photo of Rio Cotahuasi's Sipia Falls at the start of a Río Marañon chapter. Why show a photo from a different river on the other side of the country at the start of a chapter devoted to Rio Marañon? Another photo labeled "Tantamayo" in the same chapter is not at the Tantamayo confluence with the Marañon (I hiked down the Tantamayo) - but may be an honest mistake as I believe it is another quebrada nearby. Although many of the photos in the book are appropriately placed, those that aren't seem misleading - and folks not familiar with the rivers would never know. I can only surmise that this was done to add extra pizzazz/intrigue to the book to garner attention.

I also don't understand why in his Marañon chapter, Biggs fails to acknowledge the 1977 pioneering first descent of John Wasson and crew, even though this information was clearly available on Kurt Casey's website before Bigg's crew did their descent. He obviously reviewed Casey's website, as he mentions Casey's descent and naming of the "Big Mama" portage. Yet Biggs still claims a first descent of parts of the upper Marañon when in fact, all was a second (or third) descent. Why do this? Biggs obviously was a bit distraught that Casey had done much of the Upper Marañon before him. Like many in the research world, to do something first is to garner much of the praise for it. While Biggs possibly wanted to impart more respect for himself as having done more first descent than he actually did, it's also possible he simply made a mistake in his ommission. As far as I know, Biggg' crew does have a first descent of Rio Nupe. Good for them, and they deserve respect for that.

Biggs does provide a plethora of his sketches, which are nice to see. However, I did note that some apparently were post-dated (incorrectly) as the dates cannot correspond to when he was at the location (mainly for the Apurimac, which is verifiable from other sources such as Joe Kane's/Piotr Chmielinski's book and Francoise Odendaal's writings).

Overall, I think Three Rivers of the Amazon is a fine read, especially if you're interested in more personal experience descriptions of Tim Biggs on the rivers, but it's not very useful if you want to know more geographical facts about what the rivers might be like if you're deciding to visit them. Best to use other sources - like SierraRios.

Product details Paperback 310 pages Publisher Tim Biggs (December 14, 2009) Language English ISBN-10 0620398167

Tags : Three Rivers of the Amazon [Tim Biggs] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In 2004, Tim Biggs became the first person to kayak the three main tributaries of the Amazon River. Join him in his amazing quest,Tim Biggs,Three Rivers of the Amazon,Tim Biggs,0620398167,Expeditions & Discoveries,Geographical discovery & exploration,History - General History,History Expeditions & Discoveries
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Three Rivers of the Tim Biggs 9780620398169 Books Reviews

Tim Biggs has the notable distinction of having paddled nearly all of Ríos Urubamba, Apurimac, and Marañon. He also has the first descents of part of Río Urubamba (Machu Picchu gorge section), part of Rio Apurimac (Uppermost ~50 km and Q'ueswachaca sections), and all of Río Nupe. His book provides an interesting perspective on these descents as well as on the source-to-sea Apurimac- expedition of 1985-1986. It is great to hear directly from one of the few in the world to have paddled several of the 's headwaters. Kudos to him for writing down so much. He has my respect.

Overall, Bigg's writing style is almost entirely geared toward his personal experience. I was hoping to have a bit clearer description of where/what/when of events in order to place where described rapids are located, and also why he made certain decisions such as starting his Marañon descent on Rio Nupe. Yet in most of his descriptions, he is vague in this regard - focusing much more on his personal state and experience. As it is often difficult to localize the rapids he describes, it makes it difficult to extract much geographical information from the book. For someone like me - who has paddled all the same sections of river - and who is writing guides - it makes it hard to properly credit Biggs due to the vague descriptions. This is the worst for Río Marañon - which I imagined he would have had the freshest memory and notes - as he did it in 2004. He essentially describes most of the main Marañon simply as "Suddenly, the rapids ended" and how three close contour lines actually did not prove to be a heinous section of river. [Yet in actuality, this is the finest section of the entire Marañon - for more info on this amazing section of river, search for "Grand Canyon of the " or see [...]

A few other things in Bigg's book are annoying. The cover photo is nowhere on the or any of the South American rivers he describes in the book (I know this because I paddled all these rivers too). Other photos in the book are not specified or are misplaced - for example, he shows a photo of Rio Cotahuasi's Sipia Falls at the start of a Río Marañon chapter. Why show a photo from a different river on the other side of the country at the start of a chapter devoted to Rio Marañon? Another photo labeled "Tantamayo" in the same chapter is not at the Tantamayo confluence with the Marañon (I hiked down the Tantamayo) - but may be an honest mistake as I believe it is another quebrada nearby. Although many of the photos in the book are appropriately placed, those that aren't seem misleading - and folks not familiar with the rivers would never know. I can only surmise that this was done to add extra pizzazz/intrigue to the book to garner attention.

I also don't understand why in his Marañon chapter, Biggs fails to acknowledge the 1977 pioneering first descent of John Wasson and crew, even though this information was clearly available on Kurt Casey's website before Bigg's crew did their descent. He obviously reviewed Casey's website, as he mentions Casey's descent and naming of the "Big Mama" portage. Yet Biggs still claims a first descent of parts of the upper Marañon when in fact, all was a second (or third) descent. Why do this? Biggs obviously was a bit distraught that Casey had done much of the Upper Marañon before him. Like many in the research world, to do something first is to garner much of the praise for it. While Biggs possibly wanted to impart more respect for himself as having done more first descent than he actually did, it's also possible he simply made a mistake in his ommission. As far as I know, Biggg' crew does have a first descent of Rio Nupe. Good for them, and they deserve respect for that.

Biggs does provide a plethora of his sketches, which are nice to see. However, I did note that some apparently were post-dated (incorrectly) as the dates cannot correspond to when he was at the location (mainly for the Apurimac, which is verifiable from other sources such as Joe Kane's/Piotr Chmielinski's book and Francoise Odendaal's writings).

Overall, I think Three Rivers of the is a fine read, especially if you're interested in more personal experience descriptions of Tim Biggs on the rivers, but it's not very useful if you want to know more geographical facts about what the rivers might be like if you're deciding to visit them. Best to use other sources - like SierraRios.