Copper Canyon 07 ride tale at last

[johnlt]

This was my third trip to Copper Canyon but won't be my last. It is really a wonderful area to ride, both paved and in the dirt. There were seven of this time including Mikko, Ted, Marty, Vic, Theunis, Marshall and myself. Here is a pic of our "departure dinner" the night before we departed.

 

Here is the collection of bikes in my garage in Tucson:

We crossed the border a Douglas AZ and proceeded down to Gomez Farias for the first night

The next morning we went to Basasiachi Falls. Here are a couple pic from the top of the falls:

This is the face of the falls from across the canyon

 

From Basasiachi we travel on a dirt road for ~60 miles coming out on the main paved road to Creel. The dirt road is generally "easy dirt" but this time there was major construction and mud. We had do dodge D9 cats as well as very lare back hoes. This cost us a couple extra hours so our ride into Creel on the paved road ended up being in the dark and in the rain. NOT FUN!! The center line on the roads was almost impossible to see and the average mexican vehicle has on one headlight. Anyway we survived and spend that night at the Best Western in Creel. The next day we made the descent into Batopilas. This is a pic of the main part of the descent. Keep in mind that this is the easiest of the two descents we made. The other down to Uriquie was more difficult and steeper.

Some of the group at a rest stop at La Bufa, near the bottom.

Crossing the bridge at the bottm of the switch-backs:

The town square in Batopilas:

Marty fixing his first of two flats:

This is the courtyard of the hotel we stayed. Very nice.

Mikko and I at the top after climbing out of the canyon:

We had to wait two hours!! Turns out Marty's first flat got fixed but the cause was still in the tire so he had a second flat. This cause us a delay and we had to change plans and stay another night in Creel rather than go down to Justin Lopez's place in Cerocaui. We stayed in a nice hotel in Creel, right down town at less than half the price of the BW.

This is a Taramahara indian girl on Mikko's bike.

 

Enroute to Cerocahui the next day, we stopped at a great lockout called Divisdaro:

 

Our descent down to Uriquie was spectacular:

Downtown Uriquie:

This is a landing strip in Uriquie. It is uphill and has a lot of animals wondering on it but we watched this plane take off (down hill of course).

This little "bunker" looking place is the only place to buy beer in Cerocahui. You buy it at the tiny window:

All in all, it was a very successful trip and all had fun. Only bike problem was Marty, just as we crossed to border at the start. His battery went Tango Uniform but as luch would have it, we were next door to a auto supply that carried a batter that would fit. After Marty discovered the difference between = and -, he finally got in installed correctly and with a new fuse all was well. Our bikes included; KLR 650, 2 F650 Dakars, DRZ with large tank, KTM 640 Adv, DR 650 and an F650 GS. Nearly all this pics were taken by Mikko because I didn't bring a camera. I believe all enjoyed the trip.

[Francois_Dumas]

Fascinating ! Thanks for sharing and some great shots !

[MachineJoe]

your shots bring back some great memories of the March'06 trip I went on with other board members.

 

You guys look a little too clean in your pics. Did the rain wash the 3-4 inchs of baby powder like dust off the roads?

 

Great shots and thanks for sharing!

[johnlt]

Joe, we were very fortunate to have nearly zero dust!! The fall Copper Canyon is much more beautiful because all is green and the rivers are really flowing but you do get some rain.

[StretchMark]

Nice Tale, John!

I usually don't like to repeat trips, but Copper Canyon would certianly be worthy of a 3rd visit!

[BruceWA]

One of the rides I hope to make. Know a fella from NM who makes his trips there real adventures! Including only 4 miles in a day and river crossings in a too small a boat, and the complementary being shot at by bandidos!!