Sunday we took advantage of the perfect weather to do a 10 km (6 mile) hike into the canyon. But we also had to walk to the trail head, and back from the return gondola to the motorhomes. I think in total we probably did 15 kms (9.5 miles).
Sue, Roy, and Garth thought the hike might be too much for them, so they stayed back and looked after Scarlett the dog. But the other 11 of us carried on to the guide's house. We had met Roy 5 years ago when we were here. He's a bilingual Copper Canyon guide. We didn't really need a guide for this hike, but we wanted to contribute to the local economy and so he got his son to lead us on the hike. We negotiated a price of about 75 pesos ($5.10 CAD, $3.85 USD) per person. Reasonable for us, and very good money for the son.
Our first viewpoint.
Scenery along the way.
On the trail.
We chose to do the Panoramic Trail. Roy was telling us that it was originally built as a mountain biking trail, but it hasn't had much maintenance and is now mostly used by hikers. Still, two of our group chose to ride it... Roger and Aron were glad they did! The trail runs from the village of Areponapuchi to to the lower gondola platform. A distance of 10.2 kms (6.3 miles), but mostly downhill.
Larry, going to check out an old log cabin.
Looking back at the 5 star hotel overlooking the canyon in Areponapuchi.
To the right and below the 5 star hotel are some Tarahumara homes.
Quite a contrast.
On the trail.
Ruth and Martha.
This sweet dog followed us on the entire hike.
A local house in the canyon.
They have electricity!
On the trail.
Here comes Aron on the mountain bike.
On the trail.
Enjoying the views.
Hole in a rock.
Wow.
There go our mountain bikers.
Homes in the bottom of the canyon.
Scenery along the way.
A zip liner goes by.
More views.
Here comes Jim, Larry, Owenita, and Ruth.
We arrived at the lower gondola platform and found out that we had to pay 125 pesos $8.50 CAD, $6.40 USD) per person for the ride back up. I had been under the impression that if you hiked down, the ride back up was free, but I'm not sure where I got that idea! Not a big deal.
We arrived back at the RV's to find Sue, Roy and Garth playing a game of Qwirkle... with a view!
We made plans for a 3:00pm start. Not often that we start driving that late in the day. But we knew that it was only an hour drive back to Creel so we would still get there in time for happy hour!
Only one photo on the way back.
A stray burro crossing the road.
Back in Creel, we had a chilly happy hour as the temperature dropped like a rock as soon as the sun started going down. It went down to -5C (22F) Sunday night!
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And in Canada...
Lovely.
ReplyDeleteYes is was lovely, it was such a beautiful hike and the scenery was fantastic. :-)
DeleteNot quite sure what one would do to make a living at the bottom of a canyon? Didn't see any animals around. Just cacti.
ReplyDeleteI don't think many make much of a living, as they are more subsistence farmers. Also they make crafts such as weaving baskets, making necklaces and bracelets, knitting hats, as well as carving wood and such to sell to the tourists on the train that comes through Divisadero.
DeleteYes, there were animals down in the canyon, such as goats and some cattle. There was actually very little in the way of catci in the canyon.
A wonderful hike/bike ride! Beautiful scenery.
ReplyDeleteYes, everyone that hiked or biked the trail loved it and we all wished that we could have spent more time at the canyon. Maybe next time! :-)
DeleteHow beautiful! My meager mountain biking skills would definitely not be up for that challenge (eeek - downhill is scary!), but the hike looked perfect. Can't believe the scenery, and you had perfect weather!
ReplyDeleteWe would not have been up to that challenge either. That was definitely too much mountain for me to be biking but we sure did love hiking it.
DeleteWe are so glad that our route and trip has lots of flexibility, and because of that we were able to stay put in Creel a couple of extra days to wait out that bad weather before heading to the canyon where we were able to have perfect weather for a two days that we were there. :-)
I'd forgotten to click the pictures for a larger view, glad it came back to me for the canyon views..
ReplyDeleteWe are glad that you remembered to click the picture to make it bigger because you don't want to miss any of the beautiful scenery and amazing views that we saw that day. The photos still don't do the area justice, seeing it in person is by far the best way to enjoy the views.
DeleteYes for sure...The 1st time I visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon,I walked into the lodge and walked to the windows, just took my breath away...
ReplyDeleteIf you can't be there great pictures are better than nothing...By there I mean all the fantastic places here on our planet...
Too bad so many don't get out and experience these treasures themselves...
Oh Well, less traffic for the rest of us......eh?...
Yep, the views were totally amazing. I remember our first view of the Grand Canyon as well, it just takes your breath away, just like here.
DeleteYou are right there are just so many beautiful places on this planet, and there is just no way of getting to all those places in one's lifetime.