Into the Dawn Lit Mountains: Kristof
I had never heard of the easternmost of the seven sister states that belong to India since the British Empire retreated until a conversation with Chris Korbulic, who said, “Arunachal has some of the best whitewater I have ever paddled.” It is a big statement, especially from someone known for some of the most daring river trips
that our sport has seen. His words stuck to me like dust on the sensor of my mirrorless camera, and I knew I had to go.
I got my first glimpse of what Chris spoke of when I had one of the best river days of my life on the upper Lohit River with Daniel Egger and Adrian Keirnan a year later. But our trip to Arunachal ended as abruptly and intensely as it had started when our driver refused to travel further with us. As angry and frustrated as I was, I’ve since spent years reflecting on how poorly we had handled things, but the thought of unfinished business and dreams of those remote rivers never left me.
An opportunity for redemption arose when I met Manu Wackernagel at King of the Alps, and he mentioned plans to go to Meghalaya in October. As with countless other people, I told him about this place even further east, with fewer pool drop rivers than Meghalaya but even more opportunities for remote adventures.
Into the Dawn Lit Mountains: Manu
For me, it all began years ago. I first discovered satellite imagery when I was 16 years old. I had just started kayaking with my brother Gabe. From maps, we knew that the Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra was the deepest valley on the planet. We dreamed of visiting but knew paddling there was pretty much impossible. The next best option was the rivers of Arunachal Pradesh, the
