A Dual Sport Ride Into The Copper Canyon - Cont.

The next morning it was not raining but was cold. We had a breakfast of Corn Flakes Ken had bought at a local store and we were ready to head back to Creel. Pete, Ken, and Charles (the fast guys!) got well ahead of the second two, John and I. The last three were well behind us. As we started back up the road the rain started again and as we gained altitude it turned to sleet! Wind blowing, sleet, and mud made this ride one to remember.
Actually, John and I made it to the top faster then we did coming down! Could have been the thought of the little wood shack (restaurant) at the junction of the dirt and hard surface road 80km ahead! We were both cold but dry (Due to wearing the best riding cloths available - Aerostich!) We were sipping coffee and eating Burritos at the wooden shack when in comes Mike (From Canada.) Mike was in the first stages of hypothermia - could hardly talk and could not get his riding gear off. One can only imagine what the two young Mexican girls thought when we began undressing Mike there in the room with the wood burning stove! I think they finally figured it out as they began to make more Burritos and coffee! Dave, Dan , and Jim were still on the trail dealing with Dave’s bike that had quite running. A shorted out “kill” switch was soon fixed and they arrived at the shack. John and I decided to continue back to Creel and see if we could find the other three guys. Man, the ride to Creel was cold!

Arriving in Creel again we found our three leaders at the Hotel eating chicken soup! Wow, did that taste good! The plan had been that day for all of us to continue from Creel onto Divisidero, a settlement about 50km out of Creel on the rim of the Canyon. The road used to be all dirt but was now half paved. It was still raining and very cold but we decided to continue. John and I waited for the rest of the group to arrive in Creel. When they got there they decided it was too cold to continue and they would catch up
tomorrow. John and I rode to Divisidero in about an hour and arrived at the Hotel Mirador cold but happy. There were two huge fireplaces there and we were just in time for dinner! There are only three hotels in Divisidero and this was by far the best!

Divisidero is simply a train stop on the Trans-Sierra Madre train route. Basically, this is the end of the road except for a very poorly maintained logging road that continues into the Canyon region. The next morning we were to continue down this road to our next stop, Urique Canyon.

Ken, Pete, and Charles left the next morning for Urique Canyon and John and I headed back to Creel to be sure the other guys were on their way up to meet us. Turns out they were still in Creel! We all gathered up and headed back to the Hotel in Divisidero and decided to spend a second night as it was too late to continue on to Urique Canyon.

The next morning found us all dry, warm, and ready to go down the logging road toward Bahuichivo, Cerocahui, and Urique. The distance to Cerocahui from Divisidero is only 75km but it took about three hours to make it! This is by far the most difficult Dual Sport riding I had encountered! The logging trucks had made big holes and grooves in the already muddy road. Loose rocks and mud made it very slow going! One occasion I thought we were going to have a big problem as a logging truck ahead of us began to slide backwards down the road. We had no where to move! It did stop in time but we kept a good distance from trucks on hills after that. It seemed like forever until we got to a small railroad station at the village of Bahuichivo. What did we see? A group of American tourists sitting on the platform! It just looked out of place to me! They had ridden the train up from Los Mochis and were on their way to Creel! After a few minutes talk we headed for the village of Cerocahui and the Hotel Mission where we hoped to meet up with the three leaders.

The Hotel Mission is an old Monastery converted to a hotel - very interesting place and not much changed in the last few hundred years. We met the rest of our group having lunch. After lunch a number of us rode down the road to an overlook of Urique Canyon and the village of Urique. This was probably the most spectacular canyon I have ever seen. It makes the Grand Canyon look small!

Decision time! The plan now was to continue riding through the Sierra Madres on an unknown road (if there was one) and try to come out on the Sea of Cortez. By this time
we had all found our skill level and ridden pretty much at our maximum technical level.
It was obvious that Ken, Pete, Charles, Dave, and Jim were beyond the skill of the
remaining four of us. After much discussion, myself, John, Mike, and Dan made the
decision we should backtrack and meet up with the group at the town of Basaseachi. The
next morning we split up and headed back. The group heading across the Sierra Madres
did make it after a number of river crossings and very difficult roads. Dave broke his leg
and had to be Med-Evaced back to the States! Pete told me we had probably made a
good decision as the road was a challenge and rather technical.

John and I rode around a few days and headed to Basaseachi to meet up with the group.
Dan and Mike decided that the Beach at Mazatlan sounded good and they headed that
way. Mike was going to continue on to the Baja for a few weeks and Dan returned to the
US via Laredo.

Basaseachi is a small dusty village high up in the mountains. Its claim to fame is that it
is the location of fifth highest waterfall in the world! I think! We arrived there expecting
to meet the first group. Not knowing about Dave’s broken leg we had no idea why the
guys were not there. We visited the falls and left the next morning for Casas Grandes.
When we left Basaseachi the temperature was 28 degrees! Frost and ice all over the
road! I don’t think I have ever been that cold on a bike! In a way, it was very beautiful
as the ground was all white with frost as well as the trees. About forty minutes out we
stopped at a small village and found a restaurant for breakfast. Was that ever a great
breakfast! Coffee, wood burning stove, and food! We finally pulled ourselves away from
the warmth and headed back toward the main road and Casas Grandes.

Arriving in Casas Grandes around five that afternoon we felt a little let down as we were
now back in civilization and on the final leg back to the States. We had a good dinner
with a tour bus group we met there and the next morning we visited some old
pre-Colombian ruins just south of the city. The trip to the boarder was uneventful - spent
the night in El Paso. Can you believe John took me to a Mexican restaurant for dinner!

Arriving back in Alpine the next day I was hoping to meet up with Pete as we had
trailered out together. A phone call that night from Pete informed me Pete was still in
Mexico about 200 miles from Presidio. Pete’s bike had stopped running and a suspected
electrical problem could not be fixed. A truck was going to be rented to get them to
Presidio where I would meet Pete. The next day we met up at the border, loaded the
bike and we headed for Georgia!

This was a great trip! Stretched my capabilities and allowed me to test the limits of the KLR650! Each time I leave Mexico from a tour I feel great to be home - but - soon I begin planning the next trip! I love riding in Mexico! It is a gem just South of the border that more of us should take advantage of. In January, John and I and two others are going to the Yucatan, Belize, Guatemala, and return via the Colonial Spanish highlands of Mexico. Anyone want to ride along?

Anyone with questions about this ride can email me at: whaycock@mchsi.com

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