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Crossing of the Rio Urique en route to Casa Colorado
Journey Two: Satevo Mission to Cerocahui
Date 10/11-12/2004
Trail Time 2 days from Satevo to Cerocahui
Location Batopilas and Urique Canyons. Batopilas, Fuerte and Urique Rivers
Mapping / GPS / Waypoint File

Please contact us for trip planning information to this wonderful area. This type of adventure should only undertaken by the well prepared and informed...

Trail Rating: 2 (1-5 scale)

2.5

This is the most challenging portion of the expedition, with several River crossings, navigation challenges and over 70 miles of remote tracks.

Attendees

Scott and Stephanie Brady- 2004 Toyota Tacoma
Strassman Family- 1999 UZJ100 Toyota Land Cruiser
Trip Planning Sierra Madre Planning Document and resource list: Coming Soon!

Expedition Summary: This expedition led us nearly 2000 miles from Arizona, through the Sierra Madre from East to West all the way to the coast of the Sea of Cortez. While in the canyon system, we spent six days and 270 miles on unimproved dirt tracks. We ranged in altitude from nearly 8,000 feet to below 1,000, crossing three of the major barrancas.
Day Four: Satevo Mission to Casa Colorado on the Rio Fuerte

 

In my limited spanish I discuss with Guadalupe our intended route across the barrancas. "vamos aqui" she says, pointing to a thread of trail, over a thousand feet above our current elevation... The switchbacks were plainly visible against the granite face of the mountains to my west, creating a divide between the Urique and Batopilas Canyons.

The next 70 miles would mean our total departure from the trampled grounds of the "turistas", navigating with minimal details, no GPS track and just a few key waypoint's. Navigation in these remote places is always the greatest challenge, and is the one thing that brings me the most concern. Getting Lost.

There are good topographical maps of this area, but none show the trails we need to take. I had a rough road log provided by our host in Cerocahui, but these things brought little relief to me, as I have become accustomed to navigating with digital maps on my GPS and 7.5 minute topo's just a few key strokes away on my laptop. Of course I welcomed the challenge ahead of me, navigating with limited resources, but that did little to ease the concerns of my travel mates as we left the Lost Cathedral. They just hoped the missions name would not be an omen for us.

The few miles from the mission to the pass were the most technically challenging of the trip. This route is not typically used by the locals, as they take the newly constructed bypass that leaves from Batopilas. As a result, our route was heavily eroded by the seasonal rains, leaving deep washouts and sections of trail impassible to a 2wd vehicle. One section was severely washed out, with an unstable surface at the roads edge, requiring the heavy Land Cruiser to hug the uphill side and traverse a severely crossed axle washout. The truck spun slightly as the front tire left the trail momentarily. These challenges are certainly mild compared to most recreational 4wd trails in the US, but the consequences of being stuck or damaged a thousand miles from the border certainly gives a driver pause.

The most challenging terrain encountered on the route

After the washout, the trail climbs sharply, cresting a ridge before joining the first switchback of the main trail. This route is much narrower than the road to Batopilas, with exposure along much of the climb.

We crested the pass, which gave us the first view of our coming journey to the west. The canyon and range beyond was massive, with little evidence of man, save for the narrow track ahead of us, weaving through the trees into the distance. This point gave me a true sense of exploration, driving into a relatively undocumented region, in a foreign country. After taking a few pictures, we climbed back into the trucks and crested the ridge, dropping into the valley below. Though remote, this area was certainly not devoid of settlement, with several small ranches and casa's dispersed along the route.

We pulled over to allow a Ford truck, filled with passengers to pass, only to find them with a flat tire around the next turn. It is common practice to provide aid to other vehicles while traveling in Mexico, especially on remote tracks, where help may be days away. We stopped and asked if they needed any assistant, which they certainly did. They had a flat tire and no jack to change it with. Fortunately my high-lift jack was readily accessible, and we were able to get them on the trail in short order.


Our first major milestone was reaching the remote El Peublo of Rodeo, over 20 kilometers from Satevo. It was a major relief to me reaching this first waypoint, which is nearly half the distance of the days journey to Casa Colorado. Rodeo has few services and a small school. When driving through the town we noticed a relatively new Dodge 4wd parked next to the escuela. I stopped and spoke with the driver, who indicated he was a remote education specialist, providing curriculum to students in remote villages, including the Tarahumaran. It is a new program sponsored by the governor. I confirmed my directions with him and we were on our way, passing through several arroyo's.

Parked along the Rio Fuerte
As we neared the bottom of the valley, the vegetation continued to thicken providing a canopy of growth above us. The canyon bottoms are sub-tropical, with broad leafed plants and trees encroaching the trail. When the trail reaches the canyon bottom it parallels the Rio Fuerte for several miles. At one point the trail crosses a major confluence to the Fuerte, which happened to be dry. We left the main trail and drove the wash several hundred yards to the shore of the largest of the canyon rivers. The canyon bottoms are warm, even in October and we couldn't resist the cool waters of the Fuerte. Several of us got out of the vehicle and walked right into the river, clothes and all. We probably spent 30 minutes playing in the river, walking up stream before floating in the strong current back to the trucks. It was the highlight of our day!
After leaving the rivers edge, we rejoined the trail and made for San Juan de Dios and the crossing at Agua Caliente. The trail began to climb again and the brush thickened, encroaching on the narrow track and giving the sense of traveling in a jungle. (Video of the trail leading to the RIo Urique 7.1mb ) Small footpaths left the trail and into the hills, off to remote villages and homes of the Tarahumaran. These last seven kilometers before the Urique crossing were some of the most remote, with little traffic in recent months due to the high waters of the Urique. At 60 kilometers from Satevo Mission we came to the Rio Urique, which was our last remaining obstacle before the Casa Colorado.

This crossing was critical to our continued journey, and I was relieved to see the water had receded from its predicted four foot depth. Stephanie and Doron walked across with the water estimated at 2.5-3 feet. The current was moving fast which would cause the water to build up against the side of the trucks. I was the first to cross in the Tacoma, and the crossing was easy. There was little force against the truck and the bow wake remained below the top of the bumper.

The Land Cruiser was next and it easily made the crossing, climbing the western shore without incident. We had planned for a much deeper crossing, as the rains in the weeks before had brought reports of water over the hood of the military's HUMVEE's. While I was looking forward to a deeper crossing, it is always better to travel safer in these remote locations and leave the big challenges to local trails and easy calls for help.

After the Urique ford there are a series of ranch gates to pass through and a final climb over a steep pass. The trail ends at the newly constructed Choix to Sauzal mine road. We turned south on the new road to the Rancho at Casa Colorado, where I met Petra Castillo and asked if camping was permited in her compound. We paid 100 pesos per vehicle and were led to a clean, flat area in front of their home to park and set up the tents. Petra swept the hardend dirt next to the vehicles and provided a great place to sit and set-up the tents.

The castillo's home was a series of covered rooms which were open to the air for cooling. There were only two fully enclosed areas, one of which was the kitchen. They slept under mosquito netting on leather stretched bed frames out under the stars. Not a bad way to sleep!

We made our dinner and went to sleep soon after dark. We had learned to go to bed early in the barrancas. The roosters call starts well before sunrise...


Special Thanks to Demello Off-road for their generous support of this expedition