DeeDee and I hop in the Jeep, pick up Ed and Mabel and head north. Mabel is a young Californian down in Loreto, apprenticing to become a kayak guide.
25 clicks (kilometers) from Loreto we stop at the Military Checkpoint, one of many along the Baja peninsular. A young soldier asks us to step out of the car for the routine search. I have a conversation with his Sargent. We talk about the weather and how little traffic there is. I try as best I can using my barely adequate Spanish. He seems to enjoy the conversation as much as I do. Some folks get annoyed with the checkpoints, but it's just part of Baja. My guess is that, the more annoyed you appear, the longer they will search. I would if I was them!
At Km marker 74 we meet Butch sunning himself by the roadside. We pile into his Cherokee and head out on a good dirt road into the unknown. The desert is still green from the early winter rains. Giant Cardon cactus loom high above us, Palo Adãns are just starting to show their fiery red blossoms, cactus wrens flit about as buzzards stand guard. Soon we are along the western shore of Bahia Concepciõn. We pass several fish camps, the aroma is unmistakable. A pair of Chihuahuas attack our tires viciously as we pass. After several miles we turn onto a less traveled dirt track. We weave in and out of Mesquite trees and cactus, slowly maneuvering around sharp rocks and boulders. Eventually we arrive at the flat and sandy mouth of the canyon where we park. Not surprisingly, there are no other vehicles.
The canyon is about 50 feet wide with walls on either side reaching up a hundred feet or more. We don our packs and are immediately greeted with faint pictographs of fish, turtles and one of an upside down person apparently diving into the water. Throughout the canyon there are many more, some quite faded, others in remarkably good condition. Most are reddish with a few in black. We continue to wander up the canyon for nearly 3 miles. At several points the canyon narrows to 10 feet or so, the ground is moist and green plants thrive. We are startled by a beautiful horse grazing alone, maybe he is more startled than us. He snorts his displeasure and gallops by, towards the safety of the open desert. All around us are signs of life, holes dug in the sand, fox scat, coyote tracks and many birds.
After a quiet lunch we meander back to the car, relax in the shade with a few cervezas.
The sun is beginning it's evening descent. We bid adios to Butch, thanking him for a great day and make a plan to hike again soon. We head south, back to Loreto. We pass through the checkpoint with just a friendly wave...
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