BajaNomad

Christian's battle with El Diablo

Graham - 5-15-2015 at 11:42 AM

I'm sure some of you might recall the story of Desert Rat's (Ronnie Christian's) adventures in Canyon Diablo and the San Pedro Martir last year...


It was an extraordinary coincidence. The kind that seems to happen rather a lot in Baja.
May 2014… I was heading into the San Pedro Martir National Park leading a group of tourists on a Baja Custom Tours trip. We were based at the Meling Ranch and looking forward to a quick tour of the observatory.
It was a crisp, blue-sky morning. Our white van had just crested a hill and with tall pines flashing by we were dropping down to the Vallecitos meadow area when we spotted a figure in the road ahead. He was urgently waving his arms and a hiking pole, motioning for us to stop.
He wasn’t young. His appearance spoke volumes. Unshaven, gaunt, haggard, outdoor gear abused and threadbare, he’d clearly been through a tough time. He addressed us in Spanish. We assumed he was Mexican. “Agua, agua,” he repeated in a weak but desperate voice.
We passed him a bottle of water and I quickly exited the van to better determine what we could do for him.
Suddenly, his eyes bulged from his surprised face. “Graham Mackintosh!” He said.
It was my turn to be surprised. Was he a park ranger, someone from the observatory, a backpacker that had recognized me from one of my books?
Then he said in English, “Graham, it’s me, Ronnie Christian.”
I was incredulous. Exactly a year before, May 2013, I’d been hiking and camping with him during an unsuccessful attempt to ascend Picacho Diablo from the Sierra San Pedro Martir.
Unbeknownst to me, Ron, at age 71, had been making another attempt to climb that magnificent mountain. For ten days he had been battling his way up Diablo Canyon, alone, from the desert 9,000 feet below.
And there he was, weak, thirsty, exhausted, looking like he was on the verge of collapse and lucky to be alive.
When Ron sent me the account of his trip gone awry and how we chanced to meet there on the park road, I thought it deserved a wider audience. I put in on my website.
Click below for the rest of Ronnie Christian’s remarkable struggle with El Diablo.

http://www.grahammackintosh.com/Pages/RonChristian.aspx

wilderone - 5-15-2015 at 12:58 PM

Fabulous story. Well written. Thank you for sharing.

Von - 5-15-2015 at 01:05 PM

WOW! what an Adventure! He should have gone with a friend instead of alone. Its like diving never alone. Im all over the mtns too and I understand being alone is awesome. But El Diablo almost won on this Trip.

BornFisher - 5-15-2015 at 02:56 PM

Graham-- thanks for the link.
Ron--- what an amazing story (ordeal). I remember the speculation on Nomads when you were in limbo after Graham saw you on the mountain. You are one strong desert rat for sure!!

BajaGeoff - 5-15-2015 at 03:01 PM

What an amazing adventure...thanks for sharing Graham!

mtgoat666 - 5-15-2015 at 03:24 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Graham  
I'm sure some of you might recall the story of Desert Rat's (Ronnie Christian's) adventures in Canyon Diablo and the San Pedro Martir last year...


quite a tale!
also a good reminder that solo climbing/hiking in rugged/remote terrain entails substantial risks and is best approached with skill and conditioning. several of his falls could have stranded him there permanently, he was lucky! and bushwhacking in thick vegetation is hard work, eh?

AKgringo - 5-15-2015 at 03:26 PM

I did not think I would read the whole trip log, but once I started, I just had to finish it! I would count myself blessed if I was able to make it back to the start point after day three.
I can visualize myself getting religious on that last ridge, almost out of water. Please Lord, if you just get me through this, I will follow your path the rest of my life. Whoa!!!.....Never mind Lord, I found some!

I am truly impressed with Ron Christian's ability to survive, truly life on the edge!

David K - 5-15-2015 at 03:53 PM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
I did not think I would read the whole trip log, but once I started, I just had to finish it! I would count myself blessed if I was able to make it back to the start point after day three.
I can visualize myself getting religious on that last ridge, almost out of water. Please Lord, if you just get me through this, I will follow your path the rest of my life. Whoa!!!.....Never mind Lord, I found some!

I am truly impressed with Ron Christian's ability to survive, truly life on the edge!


Ron is Baja Nomad member 'Desert Rat'...



Ron has been a follower of Graham Mackintosh for many years. See photos from 1994 as Ron walked from San Felipe to Gonzaga Bay after reading Graham's first book: http://www.vivabaja.com/desert_rat/

TMW - 5-16-2015 at 07:48 AM

It is a really good read with a lot of lessons to be learned. I'm glad he made it out OK. Lots to tell the grandkids.

Graham - 5-16-2015 at 12:40 PM

What really impressed me about Ronnie is the fact that at age 71 he had the courage to try this alone... and then when he got himself into a situation that could have cost him his life he pulled out all the stops and battled ferociously to get himself out of it. He deserved the good luck that came his way. As long as he could put one foot in front of another he never gave up.

There are certainly a lot of lessons in his story... but that to me was the greatest.

And as I found out on our attempt on Picacho the previous year, he's such a nice, humble guy.

Yet he's Army tough. Love this picture of him graduating from jumpschool in 1963



Desert Rat - 5-16-2015 at 06:45 PM

I thank each and everyone who has taken the time to read my journal of the Diablo canyon hike and I thank you for your comments. I wrote the journal intending it to be a tribute to all the good Baja nomads who had shown so much concern for me during the time I was considered missing. After seeing how long the journal was, I felt that it was too long to post on Bajanomad.com so Graham graciously suggested that he would put it on his site and refer nomads to a link to his site in order to read it. I asked him if he would help me do some editing of the journal before posting it, and he did an excellent job with it. Thank you, Graham.

I'm sure that we all can learn a few things from my experience by asking ourselves, "What were the mistakes Ron made, how could they have been prevented, what was he thinking, and what would I have done if I were in his shoes?"

If the good Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, there will be more hiking trips for me and believe me, I will be a little bit wiser.




[Edited on 5-17-2015 by Desert Rat]

LancairDriver - 5-16-2015 at 07:32 PM

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about the adventure. Amazing accomplishment. I bet the Army Spec 4 in the picture would have double timed it up that mountain.

Desert Rat - 5-16-2015 at 11:19 PM

Thanks, LancairDriver. After having eaten a meal of good old c-ration lima-beans and ham, that young Spec 4 could have conquered anything.;)

DENNIS - 5-17-2015 at 06:17 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Desert Rat  
Thanks, LancairDriver. After having eaten a meal of good old c-ration lima-beans and ham, that young Spec 4 could have conquered anything.;)


Whoda ever thought that "Weenies and Beans" could taste so good....especially after wiring a can to the exhaust manifold of a Jeep for twenty minutes. Fine dining at it's best.

Ateo - 5-17-2015 at 08:06 AM

Stayed up way past my bed time reading this last night. Thanks for posting this!

JohnMcfrog - 5-17-2015 at 02:04 PM

I've done Picacho Diablo, but that was twenty five years ago. Never experienced one tenth the adventure of this story on my climb. Now, I'm also 71 and my thanks for this motivational story of future possibilities.

Kgryfon - 5-17-2015 at 02:49 PM

Thanks for the details about what happened last year! Glad that he made it out. Interesting story!

Skipjack Joe - 5-18-2015 at 03:50 AM

What a great read. A riveting story that you just can't stop reading. To many nomads it must have looked maddening from the start, yet I felt that I completely understood the man. This was not about climbing Picacho Diablo. This was about setting unreachable goals and trying to reach them. About testing one's self. The fact that a man at 71 still has such an appetite speaks volumes.

... and then he gets into his car and drives 1100 miles back to Texas. Unbelievable.

Bob H - 5-18-2015 at 08:48 AM

I came across this story on the Talk Baja facebook page and, like others, once I started reading Ron's adventure, I couldn't stop. A true survivor story! Thanks for sharing this Ron!

4Cata - 5-18-2015 at 11:54 AM

That 1100 miles to Texas might have been the most dauntiing part, lol! Civilization is over-rated. Texans (and I graduated from Texas Tech) might have considered his crossing an invasion. :P

nandopedal - 5-18-2015 at 12:15 PM

I sure would like to meet Mr Ron Christian in person, nothing but my out most admiration and respect for somebody like him. I have had the fortune to summit Diablo twice from the West side, a truly unforgettable experience and yes I do know what he means when he talks about rough terrain to navigate and hike.
Graham, thank you for posting it, stop by sometime for a "Stella"

David K - 5-18-2015 at 02:18 PM

Quote: Originally posted by nandopedal  
I sure would like to meet Mr Ron Christian in person, nothing but my out most admiration and respect for somebody like him. I have had the fortune to summit Diablo twice from the West side, a truly unforgettable experience and yes I do know what he means when he talks about rough terrain to navigate and hike.
Graham, thank you for posting it, stop by sometime for a "Stella"


I had the pleasure of traveling for a week with Ron back in 2001. He was an awesome amigo to everyone he came in contact with on our tour, and I highly recommend any opportunity to travel with him. Some photos:



ELINVESTIG8R - 5-18-2015 at 02:58 PM

That was a great read Ron. My hat's off to you brother. You are one tough man. I'm glad you made it out to tell the Tale.

Mexitron - 5-18-2015 at 04:31 PM

Wow, what an adventure! Apollo 13-ish. You showed a lot of fortitude to make it through. I've been to Blue Bottle (but not Diablo) and other areas up there so I understand the difficulty of the terrain. Nice bits of luck along the way too. And the drive to Laredo, heh, I know that one--I'm in Fort Worth.