OWA News

Guides from OWA and Umarike Expedicciones have successfully completed the mapping project of Copper Canyon's historic Silver Trail. What follows is a day by day accounting by group leader David Appleton about the experience.

Saturday, Nov 6- Left Hunt early am and arrived in Chihuahua mid afternoon. Evening press conference/visit with the Secretary of Tourism and local papers discussing the trip. Governor Reyes Baeza arrived later and we updated him and did some photos. He and everyone were quite interested in the trip and indicated the government was ready to sink some real money into a project to develop the trail into a trekking/horse/mt bike long distance trail/ecotourism project envisioning it providing income opps for local Tarahumara's as well as preserving the historic integrity of a very important part of Chihuahua's past. Ricky Creel was instrumental in putting everything together and treated us to hotel and supper in the city.

We kind of get organized, drink some beer and head to bed.

Sunday, Nov 7- We drove down to the main plaza and the Bank of Mines in the center of the city-- the historic destination of the silver trains. We were greeted by some 80 local cyclists who joined us for a 60K ride out of town and along the highway/old stage road which served the first part of the historic trail. Historically, goods and the silver traveled via wagon/coaches from Chihuahua to the village of Carichic. We rode the 60 k and then drove the other 60 to arrive at the trailhead near Carichic late in the afternoon. A distant relative of Arturo's actually owned some of the land surrounding the Station which has been reduced to a small adobe ruin. We set up camp, organized gear for the trail, cooked supper and slept under a frosty and star filled sky.

Monday, Nov 8- We woke early and got busy with final packing and reorginizing the two support vehicles. We got a late start on the trail, but were underway by 10 am or so. David Baeza and Ron Duke took off the long way for Creel and we set out meandering around trying to figure out what the trail would look like and where it was exactly. After some wandering we began following an existing road toward the small village of Baquiriachi. We quickly came to a smaller village (Las Juntas) and found an older guy who pointed us toward the trail and described some of how it went. His grandfather had worked with the "conductas" (mule trains) and he had some recollection of old stories. Jerry Brown had already mapped probable locations and waypoints on his two gps's and we pretty much stayed on track during the day eventually arriving at Baquiriachi where we had some snacks at the local store and garnered more info from a couple of locals. We were able to ride much of the route throughout the day with a mix of trail and logging road. About 4 pm we came to a point that we knew was on route-- El Ojito-- which had a ruin (old ranch) and a couple of wells. It was a great campsite so we opted to stop for the day even though we were only half way to the next station-- Huajochi. We had hoped to be able to make the 40K trip between stations each day just as the mule teams had done, but it just wasn't going to happen today.

Tuesday, Nov 9- Probably our hardest day. The day began with a hard ride/hike to the top of the mesa and we did have some good sections of trail........but it just kept going and going and going. We had several backtracks, but were able to keep coming back to the obvious main trail with it's grooved solid rock. Arturo had a bit of face plant crash on one decent. By mid afternoon we still seemed to be a long way from Huajochi and it was frustrating to feel like we were going nowhere. Late afternoon found us climbing/hiking one mesa after another. Just before dark we finally topped out and looked down below and the small remote valley of Huajochi and after some hard down hiking finally got to ride the last 1000 meters down to a small cluster of Tarahumara homes. We were well greeted and the older of the men offered us his small storage building/cornfield for our night's camp.......and his wife sent us some thick blue corn tortillas. It was another frosty night, but we slept well although we could have all eaten more......

Wednesday, Nov 10- Another early morning and we were greeted into our host's house for some talk and questions and he had a lot to offer about the history of the conductas and the route-- crucial info for us. His wife also made us some more tortillas and his daughter in law sold us some pinole-- a good thing since we were pretty much out of food. We vistited the station which turned out to be the best preserved of all. There was an etched rock on one corner that proclaimed it Casa 1, BMC 1 (Batopilas Mining Company). It had 3 rooms one of which was the kitchen, another accommodation probably and the third likely a storage area for the silver bars. There was a rock corral and at one time it obviously had a big porch. The climb out of the canyon was steep, but the remnants of the trail remarkable. Obviously at one time the trail had been 5-10 feet wide and virtually cobblestoned through the roughest areas. It was now quite rough but very obvious. Eventually we descended back into another drainage right at the home of Nacho Kino who greeted us with a big smile and greetings for everyone we were to see along the way. He directed us to two options saying that the route varied depending on water, etc. We also came to learn the route varied some to keep the banditos guessing. Most of the rest of the day took us along two different streams-- first through the Valley of the Churches with an array of spectacular pinnacles. In all we did 63 stream crossings during the day and saw a lot of Tarahumaras-- the valleys are well occupied and provide good farming. Most of the local kids ran from us, some of the ladies wouldn't look at or acknowledge us, and occasionally we found someone who could verify that we were on the right track. We found that the younger Tarahumaras have pretty much lost the oral history of the conductas, but that it's still fresh in the minds of the older folks. The flatness of the trail finally ended as the day began to end and right when we thought we were getting tired we missed a crucial turnoff and ended up doing an horrific bushwack up a steep canyon side.........but eventually we rejoined the trail and soon came to a road which would take us down to the next station at Pilares. We made contact with David/Ron and rode into camp at the station in full dark with headlamps and were greeted by a campfire, beer and burritos. Sleep came easy.

Thursday, Nov 11- A leisurely morning to repair bikes. I had lost my rear brakes during the day, Scott had a bolt missing out of one of his pivots, etc. The station was right near our campsite and was serving as a barn for the local Tarahumara family. A local told us the roof had burned off when the building was struck by lightning years ago. It was the same design as the station at Huajochi. We were joined today for the rest of the route by Joelle Cordero from Creel-- a hard riding local and current state champion. We left late morning not planning to make it to the next station at La Laja. The riding was pleasant first along a road, then along an old logging road and finally the old trail itself which took us to an overlook of the village of Siquerichi. We rode down to the village which rests on the Urique River and crossed the swinging bridge to what appeared to be the main part of town. There was a small store and 3 different schools which were all boarding schools for the locals. We missed the older man of the town who we were told would know about the route and have recollections since he was out gathering corn. We found a teacher at one of the schools who was from the area further along the route and he took us to another older guy at his farm and eventually he opend up to Arturo and gave us more details about the route. The teacher took us along the trail a ways more and left us at the edge of a canyon where the trails was 10 feet wide and very rough but led to a fantastic campsite between a stream and a hot spring. We washed off a bit in the stream and settled in for a good supper and the requisite nightly conversation-- precipitated by the fact that we were typically through eating and it was dark by 7 pm.

Friday, Nov 12- We awoke to some clouds and wind-- a definite shift in the weather. We pack and are out early to La Laja where we will meet up with our support again. We are unsure of the route, but just keep following the trail which is starting to make some sense to us. Quentin's seatpost rack snaps in half. Each station is almost exactly 40 k apart and they opted typically for the most direct route without doing any unnecessary climbing. The route is virtually all rideable and eventually takes us through a small village and an amazing narrow canyon with old growth oak and pine. We have a final climb and then a little single track that leads us to the highway (not far from the cut-off to Batopilas) and the small cluster of houses at La Laja (which means flat rock). David and Ron have already gotten to know the local families (and have been drinking coffee and eating fresh bread) and we are well received. We set up camp near one of the houses and are offered supper in one of the houses-- a mighty tasty mix of tortillas, beans and potato beef soup. The temp is chilly and the winds are howling, but we have a reasonable night's sleep.

Saturday, Nov 13- Breakfast in our host's house and some good stories about the conductas and were are on our way. Joelle has had to replace a rear wheel, Q has a bad front hub and I have a loose bottom bracket-- but we're confident it will all hold till Batopilas. The route is uncertain and the location of the station something of a mystery. We pick right up on the obvious route and Arturo/jerry spot the station off to one side of the trail. It's in pretty good shape-- same design and extensive corral area-- but no roof. The trail mixes in with the highway in areas and eventually takes off heading south. We have little sure information about the route, but there are 3 distinct possibilities. We follow one and it leads to a rough narrow canyon which is somewhat rideable, but likely not the main trail based on appearances. We continue on first along a good road and then a less and less maintained old logging road into ever deepening canyon country. The temps are falling and the wind continues to howl. Eventually the road ends and the trail resumes and we are without a doubt on the right trail eventually arriving at the station of Teboreachi just before sundown. The station sits off to one side of the valley and is inhabited by a Tarahumara family. The father is drying beans on the barn and is friendly, but not too conversive. His wife is terrified and locks herself in the station with the kids. We look around a bit and then leave em to a bit of peace setting up camp across the valley. We figure this is our last night on the trails. A final supper, another campfire, Scott begins feeling sick and we are asleep by 8:30. By 1 am it is beginning to rain a bit and we scramble to set up our megamids on sloping terrain. Luckily the rain doesn't amount to much.

Sunday, Nov 14- We are up early with cloudy damp skies and for whatever reason probably underestimate the time/distance to our destination at Batopilas. After some poking around we find the trail out of the canyon and carry our bikes to the top. The trail quickly becomes rideable and we're treated to a mile or two of some of the nicest trail any of us have ridden-- anytime/anywhere. We get more confident and start thinking about how it will be a perfect ending to ride on world class single track all the final day. Ultimately we find ourselves hiking more and riding less as the canyons deepend and the terrain becomes more extreme. By noon we can see out into the depths of Batopilas Canyon and begin to recognize landmarks in the distance. By mid afternoon we are pretty well out of food and continuing to climb and descend mesa after mesa. By 4 pm we top out and are overlooking the mountainside village of Coyachique which is connected by a kind of road to the "main" road to Batopilas. Our last ugly hiking descent eventually gets us to the road and we begin a 3000-4000 foot descent to the canyon below. The chilly air eventually turns tropical and by 5 we are at the swinging bridge which crosses the Batopilas River and takes us to the awaiting support crew now joined by Arturo's dad and uncle. We shovel down some food and in spite of Scott's sickness, and all of our fatigue we load back on the bikes and pedal hard all the way to the bridge in Batopilas arriving right at dark. Our final ride takes us through town and we arrive at our friend, Martin's hotel where we are treated to rooms and hot showers followed by supper, beer, etc. The day's route included 2900 feet of climbing and 7100 feet of descending.

Monday, Nov 15- It has rained all night and the Batopilas River is raging. The drive out will be slow and spooky along the one lane road. We visit the ruins of the Hacienda San Miguel for some photos. This was the center of activity and life for the Batopilas Mining Company which ultimately shipped over half a billion ounces of silver over the Silver Trail to Chihuahua during it's 30 year heyday between 1880 and 1910. The drive out to Creel and then Chihuahua is mostly in the rain which ultimately would follow us all the way to Hunt.

So..... In all we travelled 125 miles plus another 35 on the first day's ride. Probably 100 miles of the trail are rideable. We had between 2400- 2900 feet of climbing each day. We likely did about 85-90 stream crossings. Everyone we met was friendly although we likely have left some strange thoughts in the heads of more than a few since the last visitors to the area passed through a few generations ago. Scott Markewitz took about 50 or so rolls of pictures and Kevin Fedarko was relentless in his documentation and he'll be putting together the story for Mens Journal later on. Jerry Brown got a lot of data and will be putting together a concise route map that can be followed especially if you have a gps. He was very close to establishing the route before we ever left just from looking at the maps. We only had 5 flats and no serious injuries. No one cracked or even bitched. Quentin did all our cooking and figured out how to carry his bike on his backpack with no hands. Having a good support crew was invaluable. Arturo was our leader without a doubt-- both because of his knowledge of the area and riding skills and because it was probably just one thing too many to expect the locals to interact quickly with gringoes all dressed up in bike clothes carrying backpacks and bicycles in some of the most remote country in Mexico. We're already talking about going back to fine tune a couple of spots and physically begin marking the route. We're not sure where this will all lead, but it is a long distance trip worth experiencing whether on foot or bike and may some day rival all the world's great long distance routes.