Pretty much a carbon copy in regards to weather. I had aspirations to attempt a hike to get as close to where my hike from Ballandra ended as possible. So after breakfast we headed to shore with our hiking shoes and water bottles. As we were putting on our shoes a dinghy from the only other boat in the anchorage was coming to shore. So after laced up we walked over to introduce ourselves. Donna and Grant (SV Vagabundo Dos) are from Alaska and sailed down last fall. This was their first trip north into the sea and they were enjoying beautiful of the Loreto area. We discussed the coming weather event on Wednesday (forecast 50 knot winds) but with daylight burning we headed off.
First was to skirt the salt ponds which went pretty well then hug the mountain edge in an attempt to find a road I had seen on the satellite images. It was a rough go twisting, turning, backtracking as brush and cactus blocked our path. I led the way and managed to avoid a bunch of spiderwebs and large spiders waiting for their breakfast. After a good stretch we came to a riverbed and we could see white painted rocks, which I hoped was the road. We worked our way up to the first one and found it was more for marking than for a road or trail. We attempted to go from white rock to white rock but soon lost sight of them and began traversing the mountainside. This took us to our first gully that require a bit of searching to find a place we could cross. Once across we gained a view of where we wanted to go, only to be disappointed to see that we had many more gullies to cross and difficult looking terrain. Ugh. At this point Vicki offered to relax on this overlook while I hustled as far as possible.
With that I pushed up the backbone of the mountain, which was teetering on the edge of being safe. Luckily once at the top I could follow a more mellow and wider area. It was pretty easy going and other than being on a time crunch was a snap. I pushed a bit longer than I had told Vicki I would go but the ridge ahead had promise to give me a glimpse of my trail on the other side. Oh I should add that I did see the road that I originally was searching for and it was a good mile north of the mountain where we attempted to cross. The ridge was what I had hoped for and I could see the approximate spot where I turned around a few days ago. I took some pictures and then jogged down the rocky terrain, in an attempt to get back on time. Easy part complete, it was a slow careful decent. I was no longer worrying about being late since Vicki could see me and I took my time. While challenging I was able to reach her without any close calls.
After taking some time to enjoy the view, we decided on a different route back to the beach. There was a river wash below us and that looked easier than the traverse on the way in. The first bit required concentration and careful foot placement but once in the wash it was again easy going. We weaved our way over the rocky bottom. Branches and sticks had been hammered against the tree trunks in the way and you could see how much power the rains have, not a spot to be in a flash flood… While taking in the path I spied something interesting. Picking it up, in my hand I held a shed Bighorn Sheep horn. Amazingly cool and unusual to find. It was pushed up against a rock with other brush surrounding it.
We continued on and as the wash. It became shallower and with the increase came trees. A few points required crab walking to sneak below branches. But soon enough we were back to the salt pans and able to enjoy the rest of the hike back to the beach, well except for a few muddy spots where our shoes caked up pretty good. Back aboard Strikhedonia it was lunch for the famished crew and then showers which felt oh so good.
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