Expert Copper Canyon guide Mike Huckaby (of coppercanyontrails.org) graciously offered to answer reader questions about the Copper Canyon. M writes: I live in Jalisco and will be driving most likely to El Fuerte and then taking the train thru Copper Canyon to Creel. Once we get our car back, we will head north to Mata Ortiz, visit friends and then back to Jalisco. How do people who do this get back to their car? Also, once we have the car […]
What’s up Down There The paved highway from the junction at Samachique to Batopilas is progressing relentlessly. It has reached the roadside capilla where the 5am bus used to stop to allow folks to give thanks coming up, or where you could climb on top of the school bus for fabulous views of siete pisos going down. That popular capilla is now in the bottom of a ravine. Rubble from the road widening project is being pushed downhill, creating talus […]
Spitting and Sputtering Our Way Across the Dusty Sierra Madre Carl Lumholtz’s description of crossing the Sierra Madre Occidental in 1890 leaves one quaking with fear of the unknown. Not much has changed in 120 years, but the opportunity to try to retrace his route left us shaking with anticipation. Near the beginning of his journey in Sonora, he describes leaving Granados for Bacadehuachi, and Nacori Chico. This extant route is for four-legged foot traffic and vaqueros only. We checked […]
editor’s note: We interrupt the ongoing coverage of The Frank Holton Memorial Road Trip for a much desired update from our favorite Copper Canyon correspondent. The camino real we had been following up and down, and in and out of arroyos and up and over ridges finally ended at a rancho with a corral, a cattle chute and a couple of buildings. The metal cattle chute and trash from store-bought snacks were an indication that a road wasn’t far away. […]