Copper Canyon, Mexico - To Cusarara
Day 3 – The trail to Cusarara
Here is a map of
the Copper Canyon Area
Today was billed as a big day and we would not
have the support of the sag van as we would take a traditional trail route from Creel to Cusarara.
Once again the day started off with a very punctual and vocally robust rooster
announcing the day. After a yummy breakfast we packed up a lunch before hitting a vigorous but short
singletrack climb out of town where we rolled on undulating singletrack over
both rocks and
firm soil as we weaved between pines trees. We worked our way up to and
then along a scenic ridgeline heading southeast.
After traveling along the ridgeline for some time we descended into the valley of
the of old church and school from yesterday and retraced our route up to the
ridgeline saddle before veering off across a farmland pasture on a different
route to Lake Arareko.
After a short break at the lake we crossed the only pavement we
would see for the day and commenced a steep technical climb that generally alternated
between loose rocks and sections of griprock.
After regrouping at the top of the climb we rolled along a forested mesa before we made a quick and technical descent into another narrow valley where we promptly came to an extremely tough hike-a-bike. In some portions it required us to hand our bikes up to the next person and then use a bit of rock scrambling skills. My MTB shoe selection was not the best for this terrain and I puckered on at least one occasion.
For our reward we were treated with an awesome viewpoint in
which to enjoy our packed lunches. I believe I had the best ham, cheese,
and humus sandwich of my life on that ridgeline. After lunch we hiked-a-bike some
more to what we believe was a little over 8,000 feet.
From here we rolled
through pine forests before tackling a somewhat
technical descent into a Tarahumara ranch. The trail took us right through the
“Bull Pen” of the ranch so we were thinking of drawing straws to see who would go first. It
turned out to be no big deal, but it was fun to speculate if someone was going
to get the bull by the horns. Shortly after the ranch we enjoyed some mild
descending along a creek before we had to negotiate technical climb that eventually
had us all hiking.
After more fun along a faint singletrack we came to an extremely technical trail. This was not a huckers trail, rather it was a hellishly steep trail with hyper tight switchbacks and sizeable drops often in combinations. Interspersed amongst this technical goodness were some griprock steeps and loose stones. I was pretty stoked that I made it down this descent while only dabbing in the spots that our guide dabbed in. I was jazzed at the bottom and felt like a million bucks. The view of the little meadow that I came out into was worth at least that much.
From here we followed a
nice flowing undulating bit of singletrack along Cusarara
Creek for a couple of miles to the Sierra Madre Hiking Lodge on the far outskirts of
Cusarara.
The lodge is
quite inviting with a rustic and traditional
look that just begs you to relax. It has no power so lighting is
provided by kerosene lanterns and you heat your room using a potbelly
wood-burning stove. However they did have hot water from either a fuel
burning or wood burning hot water heater. That night we enjoyed an
exceptionally good meal in the main room of the lodge. We were warmed by a
huge fire that burned in a colossal sized fireplace. The atmosphere was
festive as we took turns telling jokes and recounted the day’s journey as some locals played
some entertaining music. Within a hour or so after dinner I
was back into a coma for the night.
Other Pictures from the day
