BajaNomad

Canyon La Esperanza report

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 06:47 PM

This is a continuation of the same topic: General Baja discussion // Canyon La Esperanza report - where G.Jide described our first exploration. That topic is closed - so I am opening the new one in the hiking section – as it may be interesting for Baja hikers and climbers.
Esperanza Canyon is shorter than the Canyon del Diablo, but much more difficult and as far as I know it was never climbed from the bottom to the top. The approach from west, from Mike’s Sky Ranch is also difficult, but the only difficulty of the western side of the mountains is terrible bushwhacking in the lower parts, the last miles of the canyon are very nice . I suppose that the best approach could be from the Observatory along the main ridge of San Pedro Martir, and on the topo map I see a path near the pass 2410 m to another canyon – facing north to the road no 3 from San Felipe to Ensenada – but this trail is invisible in nature.
The ridge below the observatory may be burnt , as for three days of my staying on the pass above the Canyon Esperanza I observed a huge fire in that area. Fortunately winds did not blow in my direction. It was in the previous year 2007, March 28-30, when I volunteered for Antonio Rosquillas – the main organizer of the Baja Travesia Adventure Race. I camped at the highest checkpoint 2410 m, welcoming all the teams except one, which came too late, and passed me in the lower part of the canyon. After two nights I met the last team, and I could start my solo adventure, which lasted two more days and a half – twice longer than the best time of competitors, but I am not a racer and like to have time for enjoying solitude and good auto-belay. In the canyon there are seven (or more) huge steps, which must be rappelled - do not even try to go there without 60 m (180 feet) double rope, and some training on a wet rope without contact with the cliff. I used the ropes left by Baja Travesia, but now these ropes are taken – though you may find the bolts, which were fixed in the rock.
The highest "Free Style Rap" was 50 m long and mostly in air, or in a thin stream of water, moreover it was necessary to untangle all the rappel knots, when I swam in a freezing lake, and to move to the far bank of the fjord pushing the backpack - it was my first experience of this sort, and I thought terrified, what to do if it sank, and the sling connecting me with the pack were too short. I felt better when the backpack floated as a balloon on the surface – me on the backpack and all my belongings safe and dry inside it in a waterproof trash bag. Only the boots were so wet, that it made no sense to take them off.
Between those huge rappels there are miles of marshes, steep slabs, huge boulders and terrible bush – good news: no poison oak, bad news – plenty of manzanita, willows, corrizos (reeds) and cats claws in the lower parts. Sorry that I have only the pictures of that vegetation – as I was on myself. The only exception is the “Sand Bar Rap”, where the last and lost team passed me – and took a picture, which documented my presence. Following bajalou example I put all my pictures on the google earth page:
http://www.communitywalk.com/sierra_san_pedro_martir/san_fel...
and approach to the Esperanza Canyon from Laguna del Diablo is in his page:
http://www.communitywalk.com/location_info/50099/372834

[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

bajalou - 2-9-2008 at 06:57 PM

Great job tajo, and thanks for linking it to the Valle Chico map.

bajajudy - 2-9-2008 at 07:47 PM

WOW
I am off to read part two

Barry A. - 2-9-2008 at 08:24 PM

----back up to the top to join it's brother

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 09:29 PM

some pictures from the canyon: fire above the "observatorio" ridge

fire1small.jpg - 45kB

Canyon La Esperanza report

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 09:41 PM

Fire-once more

fire-small.jpg - 25kB

Canyon La Esperanza report

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 09:46 PM

my checkpoint of Baja |Travesia race - from the pass 2410 m visible the Esperanza canyon and Laguna del Diablo, and in the night - the lights of San Felipe

[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

checkpoint2410m-small.jpg - 25kB

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 09:56 PM

canyon Esperanza from 2410 m

[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

view-east-into-Esperanza-half.jpg - 21kB

Canyon La Esperanza report

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 09:59 PM

Big slab rap - interesting vegetation around with pinyon trees, manzanita, yucca and willows


[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

big-slab-rapsmall.jpg - 41kB

Canyon La Esperanza report

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 10:09 PM

Sand Bar Rap

my-rap-small.jpg - 45kB

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 10:12 PM

Laguna del Diablo only half a mile from the "fertilizer" rock

last-narrow-small.jpg - 42kB

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 10:14 PM

Bags of fertilizers in the Esperanza Canyon ???

fertilizers-small.jpg - 40kB

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 10:19 PM

The "Slide Rap" in waterfalls - 1 mile above the entrance to the canyon - from the lower part of the canyon.

[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

slide-from-below.jpg - 38kB

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 10:21 PM

The same "Slide Rap" from the upper part of the canyon.

[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

slide-from-above.jpg - 43kB

BAJACAT - 2-9-2008 at 10:26 PM

Tajo have you ever hike EL PALOMAR CANYON,30 miles south of Guadalupe canyon?

Palomar hot pool.JPG - 48kB

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 10:33 PM

View to El Picacho del D. from La Laguna del D.- just below the trailhead of the Esperanza Canyon

[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

picacho-from-esperanza-trailhead.jpg - 47kB

tajo - 2-9-2008 at 11:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BAJACAT
Tajo have you ever hike EL PALOMAR CANYON,30 miles south of Guadalupe canyon?

No , not yet :(
I would like very much to explore La Mora, El Palomar and Santa Isabel - but till now I know only the upper approach from the Rancho Santa Isabel Viejo and from Rancho Las Vegas Nevadas ( it is Las Vegas Negros in the Almanac , though everybody knows that Las Vegas is in Nevada :lol: ). It is interesting that the Santa Isabel was the first canyon which was explored down to its desert bottom by a non-Indian - lieutenant José Joaquín de Arrillaga in 1796 . I read about it in the book "Land of Chamise and Pines" by Richard A. Minnich, Ernesto Franco Vizcaíno. Very interesting book ! The authors say that vegetation described in 1796 is very similar to the present one. Does anybody knows the authors. I was told that E. F. Vizcaíno worked in CICESE Ensenada.


[Edited on 2008-2-10 by tajo]

Baja canyons

standingwave - 2-10-2008 at 12:14 AM

Great pics, Tajo.
Here's one of my favourite canyon, near Agua Caliente, BCS. That's my son, Alex, in mid air. Ah, sweet memories...

standingwave - 2-10-2008 at 12:15 AM

hmm... where's that picture

alexjump.jpg - 38kB

tajo - 2-10-2008 at 12:54 AM

Agua Caliente in Baja California Sur or in Valle Chico ? Is that pond really caliente ?
I described my first bath as freezing - in fact all my water bottles froze in the night at 2410 m , but the last ponds in the Esperanza were pretty warm - not because of hot springs, but because of altitude 600 m and late afternoon.

bajajudy - 2-10-2008 at 07:43 AM

Seeing that picture of Alex brings this to mind
Please check the depth of the water before jumping in. We have a friend in a neck brace who almost died at El Zorro from diving into a pond that he had dived into many times before but with all the rain last summer, the pond was full of sand and only a few feet deep. It seems like common sense but if you think that you know the pool, you might dive without checking.
Do I sound like a nagging mother?

David K - 2-10-2008 at 10:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by tajo
Agua Caliente in Baja California Sur or in Valle Chico ? Is that pond really caliente ?
I described my first bath as freezing - in fact all my water bottles froze in the night at 2410 m , but the last ponds in the Esperanza were pretty warm - not because of hot springs, but because of altitude 600 m and late afternoon.


That would be the one near Santiago in Baja Sur... no pools like that in Valle Chico's Agua Caliente Canyon!

Oh, and a fantastic report Tajo... love the photos, too! I got an email from 'jide' not long ago... and he's in Spain!

[Edited on 2-10-2008 by David K]

standingwave - 2-10-2008 at 12:20 PM

tajo - there is a small hot spring at the mouth of the canyon but this pool doesn't benefit from anything but solar heating. in other words its coold:o
and btw, i really enjoyed following your trek down the canyon on the communitymap.com link. i took it into google earth, adjusted the terrain to 3-D, and it was almost as good as being there. many thanks.

baja judy - i hear you about checking water depth, and not taking a place for granted one year to the next. isn't that every parent's worst nightmare? believe me - we did - swam around - dived down - checked it out thoroughly.
the water was very clear and the canyon scoured cleaner and higher than I had ever seen it - this pic was taken in the spring of '02

jide - 2-27-2008 at 06:04 AM

Hey tadzio!

Thanks for this great report. I remember when we went camping at the mouth of that canyon there were indian paintings and pottery chards on the upper mesa
Stay away from those canyons with fertilizer bags, people who grow stuff using fertilizer in these areas can be hazardous to your health.... remember the trip in upper guadalupe?

[Edited on 2-27-2008 by jide]

David K - 2-27-2008 at 10:15 AM

Hi Jide... are you still in Europe?

re: fertilizer

allanbartlett - 2-27-2008 at 03:38 PM

My guess is it was lugged in to provide nutrients for an illicit plantation of mota, LOL.

jide - 2-28-2008 at 06:08 AM

hey David,
I'm still in Barcelona, coming back to the US soon...

I just found this interesting story involving drip irrigation, I thought about you:
http://permaculture.org.au/2004/12/16/the-dead-sea-valley-pe...

Mexitron - 2-28-2008 at 06:56 AM

Great report Tajo!

David K - 2-28-2008 at 09:07 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by jide
hey David,
I'm still in Barcelona, coming back to the US soon...

I just found this interesting story involving drip irrigation, I thought about you:
http://permaculture.org.au/2004/12/16/the-dead-sea-valley-pe...


Sounds great Gerald! Call me when you return!