the mountain
Hello everyone - I think I have a name for these updates, thanks to inspiration from one Gwen Keech, none by some of you as Curts girlfriend (and others not known at all). The name is derived from a nickname from high school, when a large, loud, obnoxious kid used to call me brother and I Muller (instead of Miller). The rest is fairly simple I would think. There it is, if you dont like it, bummer.
So I got to Todos Santos around lunch a couple days ago (since I dont even know what day today is I dont know when I got there). Ok, so i just checked the computer, and it says its Friday, so I got there on Tuesday at lunch. I asked around about the location of the small town of La Burrera, which is supposedly where the National Park begins. My guide book says to take a taxi, but I always go thr cheap route, so I got some food and water, and got a ride out to the spot where the road to La Burrera began.
Ther trucker dropped me off at a spot where the sign indicated the road headed to La Burrera, but when I got closer, it was fenced except for an opening for cars and said private property. So I walked over a couple hills where I had seen construction workers, and they assured me that was the road. I walked back and started heading down the dirt road into the mountains. After a solid 30 minutes in the desert, a truck picked me up and took me another 20 minutes. From there, he said it would be another 2 hours. Since it seems Mexicans have absolutely no concept of time or distance, I wasnt sure what to expect. Every time I ask if I can walk somewhere, the locals usually say No! thats at least half a kilometer...so its a 10 minute walk at most. I guess they think most Americans are riding around on Segways everywhere. So anyway I walked until dark, which was about 2 hours, and threw the hammock in a tree to sleep.
Upon waking, I assembled my belongings and headed into the mountains further. After another 30 or 40 minutes I got to a ranger station, and was greeted by a happy toothless ranger and his skinny dog. And also more flies than I have ever seen in my life. After talking with the ranger, it was arranged that I could leave my large pack in his shack, and I would take my smaller day pack to the mountain. I figured I would return about lunch time the next day but told him early afternoon to be safe. He said he would come back to unlock the door. He also told me there was water at the top of the mountain, which made me feel better, since it was HOT, although I was carrying about 2 gallons.
I departed from my toothless, friendly amigo and headed down the trail. At first it was pleasant, a small dirt road that was relatively flat. Then it turned vertical. Literally 99% of the trail was basically straight up. There were lots of places on the trail that were cut into the desert, giving two walls on either side, sometimes 6 feet high. The trail was so vertical that on the way down I could put my hands on either wall and swing down, not using my legs. So, of course, going up was fun. It was virtually desert the entire way, and I began to wonder about the accuracy of my guide book, which described grassy meadows, pine trees, and deciduous forests at the top. They said it was unlike anything in the Baja. I started to think that it was unlike anything in the Baja only because physical exertion was required, whereas everything else in the Baja (snorkeling, beah lunging, riding ATVs) is basically relaxing and requires almost no effort. At one point I laid down near the top and took a short nap. Then I headed on and got my surprise. There was literally no transition period, just an abrupt beginning of green. It was seriously awesome, and cooled down a lot at the top. It was like hiking in pa in the spring. I was running very low on water, and decided to head on to find the water my friend told me about. The only sign of water I saw was a small stream, and I figured this was it, since stranger things have happened to me here. Not wanting Giardia, I opted out of the stream drinking, and headed back down a bit until dark.
I slept on the mountainside which I was informed later is full of mountain lions, and had multiple dreams of various friends offering me things to driunk. Some showed me where there was water nearby on the mountain, others showed me where I could find it in their houses, and others offered me boxes of Jumex (the tropicana of mexico). I woke up before the sun rose to head down. There was no Jumex in sight. I ran half the way, wanting to get water, and wanting to get out of my shoes. My heel was already cut from the day before at the beach, and it sucked. I made it down by 10, and I sat at the hut for about 20 minutes thinking of how I was going to get my pack out of the locked building. 2 guides showed up and we talked about my problem after they fed me and gave me water. They were really cool guys, and honestly put as much effort as possible into breaking into the hut that was made of sticks. We couldnt get in, and after a bit, their students showed up for the trip they were guiding. The guides met with some friends, who were cousins of my buddy, and said he wouldnt be back today since he was in another small ranch. I spoke to some of the students, who gave me food as well, which was awesome since I only had honey and tortillas left. They all left and I was alone again wih the flies, thinking nobody would be around to get my pack out.
I sat down to read for a while, and it must have been about 2pm when I realized how I could get in. The walls of the hut were made of sticks bent around vertical supports with other small sticks stuck in between. I couldnt take apart the main wall, but between the roof and the top horizontal support was a small area I could take apart. I took out all the sticks, and slid my way through the tiny hole. Once inside, I was still a good 8 feet off the ground with my ass hanging outside the building. I posted up against the horizontal supports and made my way in and celebrated. I threw my pack out the hole and squirmed back out. I was halfway through rebuilding the wall section when my toothless friend showed up and informed me that it was still fairly early afternoon. I explained the situation, that I thought he wasnt coming back, and I was sorry for the hole in his wall. He was totally fine with it, and I fixed the wall. He was actually almost happy about the whole thing and had no problem with me whatsoever. We shook hands and I left to walk out of the park with little water once again.
This time I got lucky, and I got a ride after only about 30 minutes all the way into town. I got my jumex and water and fruit and loaded up. I went to the bus station, not wanting to wait for a ride, and paid my 5 bucks for the trip to La Paz. This part may qualify as too much information, but its funny, so here it is. On the bus, stuffing myself caught up with me, and I ran to the bathroom. Everything went as planned until I headed for the paper. there was none. In fact, there was nothing at all in the bathroom even close to toilet paper. Plus the bus exhaust seemed to be located under my ass in the toilet, so I had to get out. I remembered I had my little pocket dictionary for Spanish, and the pronunciation guide pages and the prologue served me well (who needs those anyway?).
And here I am in La Paz about to head to Mazatlan. I will catch the boat out at 3 and arrive tomorrow morning. Talk to you soon.
So I got to Todos Santos around lunch a couple days ago (since I dont even know what day today is I dont know when I got there). Ok, so i just checked the computer, and it says its Friday, so I got there on Tuesday at lunch. I asked around about the location of the small town of La Burrera, which is supposedly where the National Park begins. My guide book says to take a taxi, but I always go thr cheap route, so I got some food and water, and got a ride out to the spot where the road to La Burrera began.
Ther trucker dropped me off at a spot where the sign indicated the road headed to La Burrera, but when I got closer, it was fenced except for an opening for cars and said private property. So I walked over a couple hills where I had seen construction workers, and they assured me that was the road. I walked back and started heading down the dirt road into the mountains. After a solid 30 minutes in the desert, a truck picked me up and took me another 20 minutes. From there, he said it would be another 2 hours. Since it seems Mexicans have absolutely no concept of time or distance, I wasnt sure what to expect. Every time I ask if I can walk somewhere, the locals usually say No! thats at least half a kilometer...so its a 10 minute walk at most. I guess they think most Americans are riding around on Segways everywhere. So anyway I walked until dark, which was about 2 hours, and threw the hammock in a tree to sleep.
Upon waking, I assembled my belongings and headed into the mountains further. After another 30 or 40 minutes I got to a ranger station, and was greeted by a happy toothless ranger and his skinny dog. And also more flies than I have ever seen in my life. After talking with the ranger, it was arranged that I could leave my large pack in his shack, and I would take my smaller day pack to the mountain. I figured I would return about lunch time the next day but told him early afternoon to be safe. He said he would come back to unlock the door. He also told me there was water at the top of the mountain, which made me feel better, since it was HOT, although I was carrying about 2 gallons.
I departed from my toothless, friendly amigo and headed down the trail. At first it was pleasant, a small dirt road that was relatively flat. Then it turned vertical. Literally 99% of the trail was basically straight up. There were lots of places on the trail that were cut into the desert, giving two walls on either side, sometimes 6 feet high. The trail was so vertical that on the way down I could put my hands on either wall and swing down, not using my legs. So, of course, going up was fun. It was virtually desert the entire way, and I began to wonder about the accuracy of my guide book, which described grassy meadows, pine trees, and deciduous forests at the top. They said it was unlike anything in the Baja. I started to think that it was unlike anything in the Baja only because physical exertion was required, whereas everything else in the Baja (snorkeling, beah lunging, riding ATVs) is basically relaxing and requires almost no effort. At one point I laid down near the top and took a short nap. Then I headed on and got my surprise. There was literally no transition period, just an abrupt beginning of green. It was seriously awesome, and cooled down a lot at the top. It was like hiking in pa in the spring. I was running very low on water, and decided to head on to find the water my friend told me about. The only sign of water I saw was a small stream, and I figured this was it, since stranger things have happened to me here. Not wanting Giardia, I opted out of the stream drinking, and headed back down a bit until dark.
I slept on the mountainside which I was informed later is full of mountain lions, and had multiple dreams of various friends offering me things to driunk. Some showed me where there was water nearby on the mountain, others showed me where I could find it in their houses, and others offered me boxes of Jumex (the tropicana of mexico). I woke up before the sun rose to head down. There was no Jumex in sight. I ran half the way, wanting to get water, and wanting to get out of my shoes. My heel was already cut from the day before at the beach, and it sucked. I made it down by 10, and I sat at the hut for about 20 minutes thinking of how I was going to get my pack out of the locked building. 2 guides showed up and we talked about my problem after they fed me and gave me water. They were really cool guys, and honestly put as much effort as possible into breaking into the hut that was made of sticks. We couldnt get in, and after a bit, their students showed up for the trip they were guiding. The guides met with some friends, who were cousins of my buddy, and said he wouldnt be back today since he was in another small ranch. I spoke to some of the students, who gave me food as well, which was awesome since I only had honey and tortillas left. They all left and I was alone again wih the flies, thinking nobody would be around to get my pack out.
I sat down to read for a while, and it must have been about 2pm when I realized how I could get in. The walls of the hut were made of sticks bent around vertical supports with other small sticks stuck in between. I couldnt take apart the main wall, but between the roof and the top horizontal support was a small area I could take apart. I took out all the sticks, and slid my way through the tiny hole. Once inside, I was still a good 8 feet off the ground with my ass hanging outside the building. I posted up against the horizontal supports and made my way in and celebrated. I threw my pack out the hole and squirmed back out. I was halfway through rebuilding the wall section when my toothless friend showed up and informed me that it was still fairly early afternoon. I explained the situation, that I thought he wasnt coming back, and I was sorry for the hole in his wall. He was totally fine with it, and I fixed the wall. He was actually almost happy about the whole thing and had no problem with me whatsoever. We shook hands and I left to walk out of the park with little water once again.
This time I got lucky, and I got a ride after only about 30 minutes all the way into town. I got my jumex and water and fruit and loaded up. I went to the bus station, not wanting to wait for a ride, and paid my 5 bucks for the trip to La Paz. This part may qualify as too much information, but its funny, so here it is. On the bus, stuffing myself caught up with me, and I ran to the bathroom. Everything went as planned until I headed for the paper. there was none. In fact, there was nothing at all in the bathroom even close to toilet paper. Plus the bus exhaust seemed to be located under my ass in the toilet, so I had to get out. I remembered I had my little pocket dictionary for Spanish, and the pronunciation guide pages and the prologue served me well (who needs those anyway?).
And here I am in La Paz about to head to Mazatlan. I will catch the boat out at 3 and arrive tomorrow morning. Talk to you soon.
posted by b-$moov at 10:25 AM
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