This one will be short and sweet, as there’s waaaaay too much going on in my cerebellum right now! In fact, I’ve now arrived in the US with a few writing projects on the go, as well as Sage’s Spring Break Extravaganza – a medley of mountain biking and bikepacking in Fruita, Colorado, and camping with his Scout’s group in Goblin Canyon, Utah. But still, I really want to keep this blog going, so…
Last weekend, Adam and I loaded his trusty Dodge Minivan with bikes and camping paraphernalia, and drove up into the Sierra Norte for a couple of night’s mellow exploratouring. Laurita curled up on his lap for the drive there while Huesos – aka World’s Most Awkward Dog in a Car – plonked himself on me, a hot, furry and heavy mass, shifting around in various awkward positions. Ah, dear Huesos!
After negotiating the city gauntlet, we ascended into the mountains via Cuajimoloyas, parking up shortly beyond at Llano Grande’s Centro Ecoturístico – a gorgeous, fresh, and verdant spot that lies at over 3000m in elevation, a marked contrast to the hot, polluted and sweaty city that lies 1500m below.
Initially, a ride that became a hike led us to an open air church on a nearby ridgetop, marked only by a roof, some wooden benches, and a simple alter. Then, we retraced our steps and followed a paved road to one of three Piedra Grandes, a series of protruding rocks that poke out from over the pine and oak forest, camping for the night in a clearing nearby. Jumping back on the bikes the following morning, Huesos in his trailer and Laurita in her bar bag, we dropped down to the small settlement of El Carrizal, a spot that’s famed for its summertime wheat festival, where we enjoyed a fine enchilada breakfast in a beautiful spot at the top of the village.
From El Carrizal, the four of us delved into one of my very favourite areas in the Sierra de Juaréz, a series of high pastures, pine forests, and rocky outcrops that belong to San Miguel del Valle community, which lies on the edge of the Valles Centrales, far below. Even a broken spoke on Adam’s venerable 90s Norco Sasquatch, and the ensuing, brake-rubbing wheel wobble, couldn’t damped our good moods!
I’ve ridden through this very zone on a number of occasions, as it forms the highlight of our Vuelta de los Pueblos Mancomundados bikepacking loop. This time, however, we’d be parking up our bicycles with the intention of exploring the area more deeply on foot. Leaving our gear in La Nevería – not to be confused with the village of the same name, over on the Benito Juárez side of the sierra – we rode out to Cueva Iglesia, a deep and dramatic fissure in the rockscape, that was supposedly both a hideway for bandits and a trading route into the mountains, splintering off from the Camino Real. There, we descended into its cave complex via the most delightful of hikes, even if wiggly dogs has to be carried under our arms up and down steep and uneven wooden stairs, before heading back to Llano Iglesia for the night. Highlights? Idyllic camping aside, it may well have been the leftover tasajo and king prawns that were donated to us by Oaxaceñan group who were camping nearby, ensuring that we all, dogs included, ate like, well, kings!
Interestingly, whilst the night had been relatively mild, our tent was encased with ice come morning. La Nevería – literal translation, The Ice Cream Parlour – is so named for its frigid temperatures. Apparently the ice that used to form on the waters of the reservoir there, back before global warming, was hurriedly transported to the valley below to be sold. Wandering over for a chat, our neighbour’s guide Juan told us about a short hike to Mono Rock, so named for its similarity to a sitting gorilla. Off we set once more, dogs in tow, along a narrow, pine-covered singletrack that led us to the viewpoint; truly, the potential here for hikes, or trail runs, or dog walks, feels almost endless. Back at the llano, bathed in warming sunlight by now, the four of us fine dined on a breakfast of tortillas and tasajo, or kibble and tasajo, number of legs depending. .
After a languid morning on the llano, in which the dogs defended our citadel with great zeal from even the merest hint of imagined intrusion, we packed up and picked our way along a faint forest two track, with the intention of unearthing a more direct connector back to Llano Grande. Short cut discovered, and duly recorded and documented, we returned to the minivan. Our Sunday was wrapped up by driving back to the city via a pulque stop in Latuví, sold in a recycled Coca Cola bottle, and a bottled apricot and honey stop in Las Animas for Adam to take home to Canada.
All in all, this was most enjoyable and relaxing of weekends, shared in the company of our beloved dogs, which elevated the high country experience no end. And, what a pleasure to escape the scalding heat of the valley at this time of year.
I’ve included our route below, with all its various out ‘n backs, and have marked the spots where we begun our hikes, which are fairly self evident for the most part.
Huesos, perhaps the world’s most awkward dog in a car…
Signage in Llano Grande is a cyclist’s delight.
Heading off to our first camping spot, one of the three Piedras Grandes.
Our arrival coincided with sunset, a serene sight that was appreciated by both dogs and humans.
Just a short drive and ride from Oaxaca… Here amongst the madrones and magueys, we’re a world away from the hubub of the city.
Our cosy sleeping arrangements in the (technically, at least) two person tent.
Come morning, Adam took charge of coffee, brewing up his own heady Huatla blend, pre-weighed and repackaged.
A happy dog in pyjamas, wrapped in my sleeping bag.
Another happy dog, wrapped in a warm embrace.
This is Adam and Laurita’s first bike tour together. Oh, the places they will go!
Enchiladas: A breakfast of champions in El Carrizal.
I’m glad to see my BXB bag is being put to good use for Laurita transportation.
Could Laurita ever have imagined that she’d rescued from a life of neglect and one day be bicycle touring with a doting human?
The same goes for this guy, back when he was a skinny street pup in Oaxaca eating beetles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
The hike to the deep fissure of Cueva Iglesia was new for me, and a highlight of the trip. Huesos might begto differ. Turns out he’s no fan of wobbly stairs.
According to the sign, and the wonders of Google Translate and some light editing on my part:
The Cave Church is also known as the Cave of the Bandits. It was a hiding place of bandits at the time of the carrancistas. Behind the cave passes a royal road that connected the northern mountain range with the valley of tlacolula, where merchants and people were assaulted or kidnapped by the bandits. After they did their wickedness, they disappeared without a trace, and a long time passed until later two girls were able to escape from them and told what had happened to them how and where. A massive search was set up to find the wicked, and they reached this point where you are standing, there were many men armed with a thirst for revenge, not much detail was given on how it was. But with the adrenaline to the maximum, the shooting was set up, they killed several bandits and grabbed others, including the head of the bad guys. It is said that the boss once they had already grabbed him said to his accomplices, who wants to stay taking care of the treasure several of the henchmen raised their hands and asked him are they safe? Everyone lowered their hands except one of them and the boss told him you take good care of him and killed him by cutting off his head and leaving him along with the treasure. They took them to the mountains, the road was long and several days, so they decided to stop to rest in the place known as the snow that belongs to San Miguel del Valle. It is said that they had already given several bullets to the chief of the bandits but he did not show signs of illness, so they finished him off, and in the place known as the snow they hung him from a tree known as strawberry tree. It is said that the energy he brought was so strong that the strawberry tree could not stand it and broke. These two fell to the ground, so they decided to end him with bullets which did not work until one of them said we are going to make a cross at the bullet, until then he died and to be more sure they opened his chest and in that a hummingbird comes out. The community of San Miguel del Valle and neighboring towns know that this quiet and peaceful place, a place sung and of many legends, is highly respected for the things it has seen and lived through.
Two tired pups.
Eating like a king (prawn).
Awaiting that first finger of light to tickle the Ice Cream Parlour with warmth.
I see the moon, the moon sees me.
On mornings like this, more doting hugs are called for.
Or a few extra minutes under the duvet after the morning patrol.
Laurita and Huesos, Defenders Of The Tent.
This region is my very favourite in the Sierra Norte. And it’s even signposted for cyclists!
Building up my knowledge datavase of the area… Porcini Junction, The Crystal Maze, and Free Wifi are especially important POIs.
1/Hiking up to Monkey Rock, 2/a sun worshipping Huesos, 3/a sample from the Crystal Highway, and 4/a giant blue agave.
The venerable Norco Sasquatch, once the champion of the Canadian Rockies, now exploreando-ing in the Mexican Sierra Norte.
Complete with OG ‘dad’s panniers’, circa 1995. See below for the deep dive!
A jicara’s worth of water is plenty for Laurita after a strenuous climb.
Figuring out our way back to Llano Grande. Not this way, it would seem…
A final jigsaw puzzle needed to be solved to complete the loop.
Llano Grande’s ‘au naturel’ graveyard. One burial mound harboured a rosemary bush, the others various succulents.
And finally, we’re back where our meander all began, in Llano Grande.
The Rigs!
And what mighty beasts they are.
Adam’s Norco Sasquatch.
The origin story: This Big Food was bought on Grand Forks Marketplace for $175CAD. The Supercycle panniers are Adam’s dad’s, purchased in the 90s, and have set in a Rubbermaid container for the last 30 odd years… The front panniers are a Mercado Libre special, as used by the Didi drivers, and there’s a rolltop bag that’s on stem bag duty. My old BXB bag, one of the earlier versions, serves as a receptacle for Laurita.
And, my trusty Spaceframe and Farfarer combo.
It’s seen here teamed with Tailfin’s voluminous 22L panniers on the truss fork for most of our belongings. The underbelly of the Farfarer serves as additional storage for Huesos’ food, PJs, and our shared foam mats. Look at the skinny and speedy 2.5in tyre at the back!
And a slug of Pulque, the après ride aperitif…
Field Notes
There are various fees to pay in this area. For instance, the 100 peso entrada in Llano Grande grants you access to the church and the hiking route to Piedra Grande. It’s possible that you’ll need to stump up some pesos for camping, as it’s on a different community’s land, but we didn’t see anyone. If you stay in El Carrizal, it’s 100 pesos to camp at the centro ecoturístico. But we rode towards the nearby Nevería, where we bumped into a guide and were able to pay our 100 peso entradas. Technically, you should really enter at the centro ecoturístico in San Miguel del Valle, so you don’t risk short changing the community.
The Route
To this route, we also incorporated a number of hikes. We arrived in the afternoon on day 1, and left around midday of day 3. Still, it would be easy to spend longer in this zone, as there are so many side hikes and areas of geological and historical intrigue to explore.
