We wake in a field, where we have all fallen asleep under a starry sky, encrusted in ice and set off again. Our aim now is to reach Zacatecas, as quickly as possible, while travelling on as few paved roads as we can manage. Our maps are all but useless for this endeavour and so [...]
Also tagged camping, dirt roads, dirtbag gang, fish, mexico, snow and iceWe set out from Guachochi towards Sinforosa Canyon on foot. We cover the 20 odd kilometres in a few hours with the help of a couple of lifts from locals in the back of pickup trucks.
We hike down to a suspension bridge that marks the end of vehicle roads and camp for the night in [...]
After a day’s rest at Entre Amigos we set off to tackle the ascent out of the deepest canyon in North America, taking a new road east towards Samachique.
We need to ford the river before starting the ascent out of the canyon, which passes over the walking trail we followed on the return from Batopilas. [...]
Leaving Recowata, Jeff and Jason and I head in opposite directions. The boys make their way back to Creel while I set off towards Urique, 160 kilometres away. I camp alone, for the first time in over a month, near the highway and, in the morning, set off into a cold grey day. The weather [...]
Also tagged mexico, snow and ice, winterThe trouble with mountains in winter, even in Mexico, is that they are cold. We are heading for Creel, which sits at an elevation of around 7500 feet and it has been a very long time since any of us have been below about 5000 feet.
The nights are pretty chilly and it is very hard [...]
We leave Ejido el Largo and have more climbing to do on slick icy roads to reach Quarenta Casas, another archaeological site, which we plan to investigate. The site is, apparently, closed to the public for reasons which are not entirely clear but Jeff, the Spanish speaker of our group, manages to persuade the two [...]
Also tagged dirtbag gang, mexicoLeaving Nueves Casas Grandes we ride towards the mountains again – trying to flee the traffic on the busy highways linking the major towns. We pass Paquime, the site of the ruins of an ancient settlement and spend an hour wandering around before setting off again in the dusk to find a camp site.
Our next [...]
The idea of the Gila Hot Springs has seen us through a few cold difficult moments over the past few days so a fourteen mile side trip with a thousand foot climb over a mountain to get there doesn’t deter us at all. We are also motivated by the thought of a ‘hiker box’, a [...]
Also tagged friends, hot springs, magic, new mexico, snow and ice, winterWe leave Pie Town and head for the mountains with snow and storms predicted for the next three days.
The road seems innocuous, certainly no rougher than many of the gravel tracks I have followed since I left the coast, but within an hour of leaving I find myself sprawled on the ground, tangled up with [...]
I arrive in Pie Town the day before Thanksgiving with no idea what to expect.
Cycling up the last hill, mid-afternoon, I see three figures with bikes silhouetted at the top. I pull up and the guys check out my bike thoroughly before bothering with any social pleasantries but I presume it passes muster because before [...]