David K - 11-12-2004 at 06:36 PM
My Tacoma, for scale... try and be precise (but GPS not necessary!) 
Neal Johns Knows...
Mike Humfreville - 11-12-2004 at 07:25 PM
and so do I and everyone else that was on that one of our trips!!! Mum's the word!
David K - 11-12-2004 at 07:38 PM
Yup... that's the problem with sharing Baja... the more you know it, the more you love it. If you love it, you will protect it... make it last.
Seems to be
Frigatebird - 11-12-2004 at 10:01 PM
near the discontinuity of igneous and sedimentary strata. 
OK in all seriousness,
Frigatebird - 11-12-2004 at 10:24 PM
is it lower Matomi canyon?
WINNER!!!
David K - 11-12-2004 at 11:03 PM
Frigatebird is correct!
The lower or eastern Matomi canyon about 10 miles west of Hwy. 5 (10 mi. N of Puertecitos).
U2U me your address if you would like a "got baja?" sticker... because you 'got baja' right!
Where is it?
The squarecircle - 11-28-2004 at 10:20 PM
I was not on your trip, but I know that site as Matomi Canyon with walls on both sides. Gated,"about 8 miles from Matomi, on the road to La Huertita
('Cowcamp' in '69 climb article)." Did you go there? What was there then and now? Can't find on map. -----squarecircle-----
Mexitron - 11-28-2004 at 11:07 PM
Squarecircle --The Matomi Canyon in the photo is the east drainage(into the gulf) of the Matomi Plateau area. The cowcamp, La Huertita, is in the
western drainage from the plateau near Mesa Uribe and Arroyo Grande. It isn't technically known as Matomi Canyon in that area. DK should have the GPS
points.
David K - 11-28-2004 at 11:12 PM
Well, yes, if you are asking about that quote with a photo I posted at http://vivabaja.com/1102 That was taken SOUTHWEST of Matomi Mountain, not near Arroyo Matomi. Please feel free to ask more questions about where
pictures are taken. Please also enjoy Mexitron's GREAT Matomi Mountain Climb photos... now resized for quicker viewing and moved to http://vivabaja.com/mexitron
Satellite Man - 11-29-2004 at 09:46 AM
David,
If you are inclined to do so, send me the GPS coordinates for this location and I?ll place it on a Satellite Image and post it on the forum.
La Huertita
The squarecircle - 11-29-2004 at 06:45 PM
Thanx for the comeback,Mexitron/David K Has anybody been there, what's it like,is it drivable? I see,on the mapa, possibly doable from El Rosario or
El Arenoso off M 1. Who has been there? ----squarecircle--
Mexitron - 11-29-2004 at 07:08 PM
Generally 2WD roads back there. Best way in is to take road east off hwy 1 about 3 miles before El Arenoso(heading south), which may be signed as "R.
Los Martires". Nice country in there.
David K - 11-29-2004 at 09:18 PM
I was on that road three days ago. It leaves Hwy. 1 between Km. 103 and 104 going north, uphill, on the west side of the truck stop cafe (unsigned).
GPS will be in my forthcoming trip report.
If you have a map, this road goes first to the copper mines of Sauzalito, over the San Juan de Dios river, then there are two major forks. The first
is the road back to El Rosario via Cuesta la Vibora (I was on), then the next goes to Los Martires and San Antonio, and San Quintin the high way.
Keeping right at both will get you to the area of Sauce de Carter, La Huertita, San Juan de Dios, and El Metate (Mama Espinoza's home).
If I can find the trip report(s) of my two visits in this area, I will post them. Otherwise my web pages with the trip phots are at: http://vivabaja.com/davidlorenzo and http://vivabaja.com/1102
Here is the report from 2 years ago...
David K - 11-29-2004 at 09:26 PM
Found it...
posted on 11-14-2002 at 08:27 PM
Baja Weekend Part 4 - Beyond San Juan de Dios
Sunday afternoon going north on Highway One, I stopped in Catavina to
buy some gas from Alfonso ($3/gal for Magna). He also sells Premium. He
said in about a month, the Pemex pump in front of the hotel (across the
street) will once again be working. Alfonso was not disappointed by the
prospect of being no longer needed. He said he would go fishing and
enjoy life!
I stopped at many side roads to add GPS data and to map the relationship
of Highway One to the old main road. The Baja Almanac and Topos are all
wrong in the San Agustin to Catavina area. They just paved the old road
which is a mile or more east of the new.
Between Km.103 and 104 is a cafe on the north side of road. This is the
start of today's adventure... The road to San Juan de Dios and other
interior places, begins here.
The road first goes up the slope behind the cafe. This road has several
forks and no signs! Sonny Espinoza's tractor and some copper mines are
soon passed. The first fork is 2.5 miles from the highway, turn left.
The Sauzalito copper mine/ ghost town is another mile down the road at
N30?05.9' W115?21.8'. The road turns north and crosses the San Juan
de Dios river 1.3 miles from Sauzalito. In July of 2000 there was much
more water and a pond with ducks!
Just 0.2 mi. past the river is the next fork. Left is a rarely used
backroad to El Rosario, go right. A major fork is reached 0.5 mi. from
the river. Left goes to Los Martires and on to San Quintin on the Baja
2000 race course of two years ago. Stay right and pass through an
awesome boojum forest that rivals any in Baja! I stopped along here and
made myself a late lunch (2pm). A rancher and his son drove up in an
older Toyota 4WD truck and stopped to check on me. I told him I was
going to San Juan de Dios and that I knew Sonny Espinoza (who owns the
land). LdB and I met Sonny and his family two years ago when he was
using that tractor to build or repair roads. I asked about the road to
San Quintin over the mountains... muy malo? He said "si" but looked at
my truck (also a Toyota), and said "no problema"! Si, si... Toyota
numero uno. It was a 'special' moment!
11.6 miles from the highway (5.4 from the river) is the next fork. To
the left is a ranch, down in a valley, go right. A half mile later is an
open gate and another road left to the ranch. The road is now traveling
east and a third road comes in from that ranch at the bottom of a grade.
15.6 miles from the highway at 30?10.73'/ 115?15.55' is a cross
road. To the right goes to Cerro Blanco. Continue ahead. Now, the next
fork is a big one, and I took the wrong branch. It is 1.3 miles from the
last one, at 30?10.98'/ 115?14.27'. Right goes to San Juan de Dios,
I went left.
This would end up being an interesting mistake. I had read about El
Sauce de Carter in Peterson's Baja Adventure Book. This left fork goes
5.1 miles to the Arroyo Grande and El Sauce de Carter is in a stand of
tall trees, just to the left along the (now dry) river bed. 'Sauce' in
Spanish means willow tree.
Peterson tells of a 5 mile hike up the river bed to a beautiful gorge
with tall trees, blue palms, and huge pools. The road on the map ends
here... but a well traveled road crosses the river bed going north. I go
north! 1.3 miles from El Sauce de Carter is a major fork (30?15.45'/
115?12.98'). Both branches seem to go on forever. I take the right
branch as it is heading straight for Matomi mountain! Having been in
Matomi Canyon several times (on the other side of the mountain), this
interests me. I would love to find a short cut across Baja... would this
road take me to Puertecitos?
Nope! I arrive at a gate.... again! I am 2.8 miles from Arroyo Grande
(Sauce de Carter) and must turn around. In the (old) Baja Almanac go to page
N-16, Z-6, this new road's gate is almost at that bend in the trail
shown going north to 'La Huertita'. Mount Matomi looms just beyond. So
near, yet so far! I turn back, get back to 'right' road and arrive at
San Juan de Dios 4.9 miles from the Sauce de Carter road. I have time to
re-examine the ruins there and the other adobe ruins that Jack Swords
found, a mile beyond, just as the sun sets.
San Juan de Dios is about 22 miles from Highway One over a mostly good
road. The waypoint for the mission visita ruins and Jack's other adobe
ruins are on my Baja Missions web page, along with dozens of other new
and historic photographs at
http://vivabaja.com/bajamissions
Or, find the link on my Baja web site, http://VivaBaja.com
GPS waypoints on the Missions page are set to map datum WGS84. Waypoints
in this article are set to NAD27, so you can plot these spots on the
topo maps.
The final chapter is next...
[Edited on 11-30-2004 by David K]
Mexitron - 11-29-2004 at 09:49 PM
David K--what was the road condition Cuesta la Vibora like? We came down that way from Martires last year--quite a drop in elevation pretty
quickly.....decent road though except for the off-camber stretch after the hairpin turn.
La Huertita
The squarecircle - 11-30-2004 at 12:18 AM
Thanx for your great Post#2643. Looking fowward to your new post of La Huertita & Mama Espinoza's home site. Met the most gracious Mama in 1969 on a
motorcycle trip to Cabo before they applied that black stuff on the trail south. Would not trade the experience for any thing here on earth. The
mold was lost after her creation and she is still going strong. Did you know her brother Senor Grosso of Laguna Chapala? What a dynamo. Spent some
time with Arturo.
David K - 11-30-2004 at 12:44 AM
Square circle, I would say you have some stories to tell!!! I was just a little kid when my parents and I drove the old main road to the tip in 1966.
Last week I went up from El Castillo to La Vibora and to Sauzalito and Hwy. 1. I did not go to Huertita or the other places as I had in 2002 or 2000.
Mexitron, going up that grade was really easy, but I can see how going down would be scarier as it wasn't sloped (cambered) correctly. I was surprised
that it mostly was a bulldozed road.
When you drove close to Matomi on that Huertita road, was the gate there, closed, or locked? Any problems with the rancher at Huertita, if he was
there? It is the guy with the Toyota I met in '02 because I came up behind them just after they drove away from their closed gate.
Here is the view from the gate towards Matomi...
Mexitron - 11-30-2004 at 07:11 PM
David--There's no locked gate on the road to Huertita that we saw, but if you continued on the road northwest, without turning right on the road to
Huertita, you run into a locked gate going into the Santa Rosa Valley. If you went that way you should have driven past a little shack with a running
stream with cottonwoods and Blue Palms.
Never had any problems with the ranchers in the Huertita Valley, except they asked us a few years ago if we were hunting(we weren't). Maybe we can do
a spring trip into there...? Check out Arroyo Grande too, which never materialized this year.
David K - 11-30-2004 at 08:39 PM
Mexitron, in my previous reply, I attached a photo that shows a road and Matomi Peak in the distance. I took that photo at the closed gate... this is
the road to La Huertita and the GPS where the photo was taken/gate: 30-16.12', 115-11.82' (2.8 miles from Arroyo Grande crossing by Sauce de Carter).
I presumed this was the road you took to get to your Matomi climb and Mesa El Avion climb...???
Your photos now at http://vivabaja.com/mexitron and listed in my section of Links to Specific Baja Locations... in Links to Great Baja Web Sites... http://vivabaja.com/davidslinks.html
[Edited on 12-1-2004 by David K]
Mexitron - 11-30-2004 at 10:46 PM
That'd be the road in but we've never been stopped by a gate....maybe its been open when we've gone through and I just don't remember it--which with
my waning memory it is entirely possible!
David K - 11-30-2004 at 11:01 PM
Perhaps the fence and gate were added to reduce the number of people trying to climb Matomi Mountain?
Mexitron - 12-1-2004 at 07:45 AM
That may be true--there were so many oxygen bottles lying around at the peak, old tents, frozen climbing victims.....what a mess!!
David K - 12-1-2004 at 08:45 PM
Very FUNNY!!!