Santoro

One lofty goal we have on our agenda is to climb Cerro La Giganta, a massive 5,500 peak just north of Loreto. There are no trails and no good maps. Our friend Harry Morgan has had this on his "Bucket List" for a while, as has our friend Ed. We have all slowly collected bits of information from various locals, but now with the help of our good friend and local guide Said Orozco, we at least have a good interpreter. Harry's information has us starting the ascent at Rancho San Vicente, somewhere near the base of the mountain. So Wednesday morning, Harry, DeeDee, Said and I hop in Harry's 16 year old Nisson and head north.  We stop at the obligatory Military checkpoint, step out of the car for inspection. We make small talk with several of the young soldiers, they seem to enjoy the conversation. The two somewhat older officers try to act tough, but after a few jokes, they break as well. Not a fun job in 90 degree heat.

Just past the checkpoint we turn west into a large arroyo and follow a fairly good dirt track for several miles. After a wrong turn or two we pass several large water wells, these wells supply most of the water for Loreto. After about an hour, the road ends at Rancho San Vicente. We are greeted by a herd of healthy looking goats, a couple of small dogs and a german shepard. In the yard are peacocks, chickens, a few mules and cages of parakeets, which they raise and sell in town. At the casa we are welcomed by Ramona. Ramona and her husband Guillermo  have been living here, happily married  for 52 years.

Guillermo, she calls him Willy, is out pruning grape vines, but joins us shortly. He tells us of an old road that circles around some smaller hills and eventually leads to a large mesa, where it would be possible to camp. From there a days journey up to the summit and back to camp.

We agree to check out the road, we have no intention of climbing to the summit this day, but hopefully can find the route. As we pack up for our hike, the German Shepard, Santoro knows what we are up to and gets excited. He will be our guide today!

We follow the old track for about a mile, then turn left onto another road. This road has seen some use recently. We eventually drop down into a small arroyo with water, Santoro takes advantage and drinks up and plays in the cool stream. Soon the shallow stream deepens and our new friend pounces in and out of the pools. His favorite pastime, apparently, is diving down head first and bringing up rocks. We are amazed at the size of the rocks he can bring up from 3 or 4 feet of water.

A few miles later, we reach a clearing with an abandoned old rancho. There is gear neatly stashed under some Mesquite trees, possibly used for seasonal goat herding. The arroyo now turns into a steep walled canyon. The going from here on would be very difficult. We have lunch and conclude that this may not be the best approach, especially carrying large packs.

Back at Rancho San Vicente we tell Guillermo of our findings, he is pretty sure we were on the right track. We have a nice conversation and bid :Hasta Luego" to our hosts. Santoro is sound asleep on the cool shaded floor.

While we didn't exactly accomplish what we had hoped, it was still a great day in an awesome place, with fantastic people.