Picacho del diablo

And it goes like this...

4/21/2017
It was around 5:30am. We arrived at parque nacional sierra san pedro martir. Upon arrival, we had to register our informaion int he main entrance with the park rangers stating where we were going, how many people where on our group, and when we were planning to come back. We also had to provide detailed information of the dates we pllaned to stay there, and our route thru a gps a map and a compass. They charged us 64 Mexican pesos per day we were planning on staying there.
At around 6:00am we drove up to where the trail begins, near a view called, "Mirador al altar". From there we hiked for about 3 hours around the woods, following a trail that would lead us to "Cerro Botella azul", keeping up with the trail is somewhat difficult because it is not a man made trail, nor thick or deep, but what you do is follow a trail made by deer, coyotes and other animals, also the trail divides in to different ways, so bringing a GPS is a must, it is very easy for one to get lost, since everything there looks the same. its about a 9 mile hike from Mirador el altar to Botella azul. When we arrived we were received by a short brake of 20 minutes for fueling up, and a gorgeous overlook from cerro botella azul, down to cañon del diablo where you can see from a distance Picacho del diablo, and the Mexicali desert very far. The view is astonishing, with different sorts of landscapes gathered in 1, like pine trees, spots of snow and deserts, and not to forget the canyon. At 9:30 in the morning, we started descending through cañon del diablo, all the way down to campo noche, the descent is about  four to five hours long, it is very steep, but no technical gear is necesary, except for helmet, but it is optional, the helmet is not for falls, but for falling rocks or branches that someone else my kick or drop by accident. We did not have to worry much about water, but bringing around 2 liters divided in a camelbak and a water bottle is a must, while you keep descending, you will find a river down below the canyon, just an hour before getting to campo noche. The water is clean and clear to drink, filter is not necesary since the river is countinously running, all year long, you may bring one for safety precautions. After we found the water fall, we kept walking for about another hour, and there we arrived to campo noche, which is basically the campground just below the base of the mountain. It was around 4:00pm when we got there, taking in consideration that we took a couple of brakes on the way there. There is a fallen tree that divides the campgrouns, and fire pits, and one of the trees has the title "Campo Noche" carved in. It is such a tiring trip that i was more than glad of arriving there, i literally kissed the fire pit. And it was only Day 1...







4/22/2017
5:30 in the Morning we took small break fast, consisiting of oatmeal, a hardboiled egg and some trail mix, and we prepared out day packs to reach summit, our day pack only consisted of some granola bars, trail mix and 2 Liters of water. The weather was perfectly nice, the ky was clear, no clouds around, no wind, no cold. it was just perfect for amountain climb. From our camp in Campo noche, located at the base of the mountain, there is an entrance, made by  a red tape tied on to two trees creating an ilusion of a door. It is also a four hour scrambling hike up to to the mountain. Going up thorugh the mountain there is no trail, but alot of wrong ways and 1 correct way, The clim is realively hard, it is a class 3 climb, so using hand and feet while going up the mountain is a must. As you keep going up the mountain, the view starts to become more and more beautifull, and hard. In our group only 3 out of 6 Reached summit, and 3 people from another group. I was amazed at how far i was able to see from the mountain. I was able to see, Mexicali, Ensenada, The pacific ocean, The sea of Cortez, Part of Sonora, and not to forget, the vast and beautifull desert, and the all of parque nacional Sierra sann pedro martir. 
We Reached Summit on 4/22/2017 @ 11:20am

We were only able to Stay at summit for about 40 minutes, enjoying the view, having a snack, chatting for a bit, and feeling happy and tired. On the way down it only took us 3:30 minutes, to scramble down, back to campo noche, Where we prepared ourselfs, a very delicious mountain house meal, boiled with water from the river. By that time We were exhausted.  But it was not the end of our trip...


It was really hard to say good bye to such a peacefull and beautifull place as Campo noche

4/23/2017

Personally, i found much harder going back to base camp, at Mirador el Altar, keeping in mind all the hike that we did down to campo noche, and to the top of picacho del diablo we were already tired and sore, now we had to go back the same way carrying all of our gear. Wich meant going up to cañon del diablo, to botella azul and moving through the forest. It was Exhausting. Alarm Buzzed at 5:30am we had the same thing for breakfast, granola bars, oatmeal. At 6:00 am We started to hike back, and we ended up arriving at around 1:00pm back to base camp. By that time, i am very sure, we lost around 6pounds in weight and we still felt our back pack heavy, and scrambling with soe muscles and a heavy backpack is not an easy thing to do, so it is very wise to go light or ultra light if possible, and do not take gear that you wont need. Other than that, it is a very challenging and awesome trip to do, although climbing the mountain it self may not be hard, but getting there is quite a challenge. 
And Thus, Is the story of my very fisrt Summit... The best is yet to come!

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