Ken, Mano Canyon is where I was leading your group from Guadalupe Canyon with a desire to reach the summit (2003?). You hiked up to the waterfall of
the Virgin that morning and with such a late start for the Jeep run, we only got to the lower end of the canyon. You Jeep guys found a boulder you all
could drive one tire up onto for photo opps. The fellow in the Isuzu (name?) and me in the Toyota just watched as had fun talking there.
Great photos Steve, thanks for sharing. I see that you made it to El Topo. Did "Calcia" (the brown dog) great you? Was Beto tending the ranch alone?
The ranch has been thin on help for several weeks. Your Honda 4x4 looks quite capable, a nice rig for exploring. Open-air always feels more
adventurous. Very cool.
Ken, Mano Canyon is where I was leading your group from Guadalupe Canyon with a desire to reach the summit (2003?). You hiked up to the waterfall of
the Virgin that morning and with such a late start for the Jeep run, we only got to the lower end of the canyon. You Jeep guys found a boulder you all
could drive one tire up onto for photo opps. The fellow in the Isuzu (name?) and me in the Toyota just watched as had fun talking there.
[Edited on 12-31-2019 by David K]
Based on past photographs (Nov. 2013) and information from local guides (Saturnino Valdez, for one) I believe you took us to a much closer canyon and
not Mano Canyon back in 2004.
It was Mano... I was following my GPS points from the drive down the year before. That is why you asked me to lead since I had the recent and GPS
knowledge of how to get there from Guadalupe.
When we took a left fork, I was thinking it was to the stone cabin but it was a bit too soon and it ended where that boulder was. About here is where
the big rock was:
Great photos Steve, thanks for sharing. I see that you made it to El Topo. Did "Calcia" (the brown dog) great you? Was Beto tending the ranch alone?
The ranch has been thin on help for several weeks. Your Honda 4x4 looks quite capable, a nice rig for exploring. Open-air always feels more
adventurous. Very cool.
El topo was busy with about 10 vehicles and a number of families wondering around so I didn't stop long. I asked for Ricardo and if I could pass and
then I was on my way. Id like to take my wife back there for some horse back riding. She likes to ride and it looks like some cool scenery.
It kind of seems like we should organize a trip to tackle Mano canyon! :-)
The other thing that was notable was the amount of Mexicans up at the Lake in all SORTS of vehicles. The road to/from Ojos had mud fields 10 inches
deep if you fell into a rut. 100-200ft long. Probably 20-30 of this sort on the way.
Literally I saws a couple of honda civics and a number of CRV type vehicles. They would get highsided/stuck in a mud bog; people would pitch in to
unstuck them and then they would keep going up! It was incredible.
The next morning as I traversed the lake - all of them gone. Like magic.
YES Ken! Right before Rancho El Mano
The AAA map is in this thread. [reposted here]
Locked Gate (I added "NOT" to it)...
The AAA map is irrelevant - actual landmarks are more useful in this varied region.
Not to me, as the AAA map actually correctly shows the road I traveled (highlighted in blue) and provides the name (Mano) which was what you were
looking for. I also gave links to satellite and topo maps that also named the canyon "Mano" the road climbs up from.
Between the Jamau Summit Road (1942 Pole Line Route) and La Rumorosa, the Mano Grade is the only road from the desert to the pine forest.
I heard El Topo mentioned. Here is a video released recently by Tijuana 4x4 Club. One of their members attended my 'El Imposible' run in February
2019. He drives a 2007 Rubicon 2dr JK on 38" BFG KM2s and Rubicon Express long arm suspension. Here is their video.
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
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