Nov/08:Sierra del Carmen-Puerto Rico Mine-Boquillas del Carmen and the Tunnel

[homerboy2u]

Well to our surprise, we hit the crossroad where the paved road completely ends and the dirt roads continues still for at least 206 kms. to Ocampo,Coahuila and on the other side of the intersection it follows it to Chihuahua.


 It was pitch dark , from this point and on, from what we were reading on the GPS unit and going out in view to 12 km in projection , we could see that we were near the Chihuahuan state borderline and even nearer to the Rio Grande , 50 kms. to Boquillas del Carmen. 35 to Norias de Boquillas, where we would eventually camp and get ready to spend the night in the plunging night temperatures of the Sierra del Carmen valley and the beggining of the Valley of The Buras (mule deer).

 Google Earth waypoint: N28 46.782 W102 40.956



 Cerro El Milagro waypoint: N28 50.126 W102 43.865

 Milagro Ranch waypoint: N28 55.900 W102 47.269

 Jaboncillos crossroad waypoint: N28 58.078 W102 48.041

 Ejido Janboncillos waypoint: N28 58.119 W102 48.362


 Porch Puppy,Al?..... , best name i have ever read for a Jeep. And NO, my wife says i am all loco and filled with tequila worms on my head, once she sees where i have been. That jeep is more than ready , Al, to tackle some neat places on my next trip..you hear?

[homerboy2u]

This is the second entrance to Cemex's El Carmen Project.
 Google waypoint: N29 02.198 W102 47.374

We moved on and came across the third and final crossroad for the night, we hit Norias de Boquillas and our resting place for the night.


Google Earth waypoint: N29 05.031 W102 49.875

[Al]

Homero, thank you.  The way points are much better than pictures, except the gang in front of the truck!

I've been flying Google Earth using your way points and must say, in addition to thanks for the coordinates, that Google Earth has really improved the areal photos of the del Carmen's since I last checked.  Incredible detail is now available.  Very nice!

Al

[Al]

Again accepting your pardon. Your way points pointed to here.



Al

[homerboy2u]

I agree!!...which waypoint in particular, Al?

 So we got in to Norias de Boquillas, and it still was early so to speak. 8:30 pm and went out looking for Aurelio Uсate's house. He is the keeper of the Satellite Phone in the village and the main guide to head up for the El Jardin natural preserve, up on teh SDC Basin.

GE waypoint: N29 05.660 W102 49.979
Elevation: 827 meters above sea level.

 We met his son Aurelio Uсate Jr.,he welcomed us to his father's store and house. Since Aurelio Sr. went to Muzquiz for supplies nobody was there to greet us. I tried to call him weeks before, but to my surprise the satellite phone was dead, since it was broken and the the Sat Technicians did not come to fix it  until 2 weeks prior to my visit. To call from the U.S you have to dial 011-(52)-(555)-151-2923 and remember you have to talk and say what you want , then hush so the other end can answer or the link will block itself until you do it the proper way..kind of like a Ham radio phone. More or less.



 My buddy Cervando downing a very very cold brew, in plunged temperatures. We were at 3єC for that night....Brrr!!!...(Just what the doctor ordered for our little Musey).

[homerboy2u]

Conrado was out for the count,given he did not sleep since the day before...just too many adrenaline for a day. He went completely out on the kitchen area, and it was cozy and warm, almost all of us set their beds in the kitchen area of the house, which is totally separated from the house and store building.


 That is ME making some Huevos with diced tomatoes,potatoes,onions and peppers along some Frijoles and bacon strips....you know, something light for dinner, the usual...i have to point out, we neeever had any reflux and heartburn that night . Check out Conrado , again on the bottom left side.


 The end of our first leg,came with a totally bummed out crowd, me included. Just too many rush moments to digest and many pics,even at night, to manage.

[Al]

What may not be illustrated by Homero's pictures is how remote La Norias is; particularly since Boquillas is no longer a crossing. The Sat phone and the plywood mounting took a tremendous amount of effort.  Big Bend, Study Butte, or Terlingua is not remote at all in comparison.

Al

[mediopelo]

Homero, are you familiar with Sierra Mojada, Coahuila? I have never been there but from what I have heard it is pretty much the ultimate in geographic isolation. I was once talking with someone who described some sort of conduit or conveyor belt that transported ore or coal from that general area of the state a very long distance--many miles--to where it was processed or used in the Mъsquiz area. I had never heard of this anywhere else and was never sure that he was not pulling my leg.   

[chisos muse]

Indeed....if Musey was there, I'd be snuggling just like Conrado! 

[billholston]

About 10 to 12 years ago, three buddies and I drove to the park, took the boats across the River, and Hired Saul Falcon to drive us up to Puerto Rico. When we got there, we realized how far it would be to hike back, so we tried to negotiate a return trip. We didn't have enough money, so we figured, well we gotta walk. We camped there at those old adobe buildings, then tried to climb el pico. We didn't find a trail, and chose poorly, running out of trail we gave up about 2/3 of the way up, but had splendid views. We then hiked back to Boquillas. There are old roads headed roughly that direction, and found an old buro trail down the last hills into the flats above town. It was a trip of a lifetime. The whole time I felt like I was really seeing something most people had not seen.

Thanks Homero!

[Al]

I'm aware of two trails to El Pico.  One is from the old mine and starts along the road that is east of the mine and heads north.  When the road ends the trail in not clear and it is easy to understand how it could be missed.  The other trail pretty much goes straight up from the old candelia factory located north of the mine.  I've come down each of them but never had the least desire to go up them.  Hell of an elevation change.  It's been about 15 years and we had a guide who was worth every penny.

Al

[homerboy2u]

Homero, are you familiar with Sierra Mojada, Coahuila? I have never been there but from what I have heard it is pretty much the ultimate in geographic isolation. I was once talking with someone who described some sort of conduit or conveyor belt that transported ore or coal from that general area of the state a very long distance--many miles--to where it was processed or used in the Mъsquiz area. I had never heard of this anywhere else and was never sure that he was not pulling my leg.  

 Yes , i am familiar with the area,only by name. I have not been there yet. However from what i am reading you definetly have to mean the Hercules Iron Ore mine site,in Hercules chihuahua,right smack in the middle of the desert,where they transport ore thru what they call the Ferroduct all the way down to Monclova,Coahuila where they smelt it in to steel and many varieties along that line,but nothing that i have ever heard going to Muzquiz before or since.It has to be that one, because i believe we are talking an average of 250 kms wort of Pipe lined with rubber filled with water where it pumps the ore that way and there are several repumping stations along the way , to help push it down to AHMSA Steel,that is the name of the big steel mill there.

 BTW MedioPelo, i have noticed that you mention, frequently alot of issues that have occured this side of the river an you know many history facts that i am not aware of,maybe you care to share what you know of this area?.

What may not be illustrated by Homero's pictures is how remote La Norias is; particularly since Boquillas is no longer a crossing. The Sat phone and the plywood mounting took a tremendous amount of effort. Big Bend, Study Butte, or Terlingua is not remote at all in comparison.

Al

 Yes ladies & gentlemen, Las Norias as Al states is definetly that far out of the way. To have  those satellite phones is a blessing if any. You run out of those phones and now, you are completely isolated from the world.

 When i tried to contact Aurelio Sr. 2 months a go to discuss my plans with him, and i could not get thru,i called the phone company for assitance they told me that they had no type of service what so ever: Boquillas,Las Norias,Jaboncillos were not even on their maps and hence they must have had some sort of communications different from theirs, or it would have appeared on their grid some how.

 When i went there, i found out why. It is not Telmex who is bringing the phone service to all those communities out yonder, it is the the Gvt. thru their rural assitance programs that is doing all the leg work for them.


 It is Telegrafo Nacionales Rural Sat phone program hard at work there.

About 10 to 12 years ago, three buddies and I drove to the park, took the boats across the River, and Hired Saul Falcon to drive us up to Puerto Rico. When we got there, we realized how far it would be to hike back, so we tried to negotiate a return trip. We didn't have enough money, so we figured, well we gotta walk. We camped there at those old adobe buildings, then tried to climb el pico. We didn't find a trail, and chose poorly, running out of trail we gave up about 2/3 of the way up, but had splendid views. We then hiked back to Boquillas. There are old roads headed roughly that direction, and found an old buro trail down the last hills into the flats above town. It was a trip of a lifetime. The whole time I felt like I was really seeing something most people had not seen.

Thanks Homero!

 Your welcome, i ma not going to say anything about this, until i get to this day and start writting about it as i go along on my TR...you are just going to have to wait, un poquito mas...

I'm aware of two trails to El Pico.  One is from the old mine and starts along the road that is east of the mine and heads north.  When the road ends the trail in not clear and it is easy to understand how it could be missed.  The other trail pretty much goes straight up from the old candelia factory located north of the mine.  I've come down each of them but never had the least desire to go up them.  Hell of an elevation change.  It's been about 15 years and we had a guide who was worth every penny.

Al

 Yes Al,please go and take those pictures out of your drawer that you have promised so many times you were going to post them...and just do it!!!.

 I have asked you,God knows how many times to post them and you always say to me that you are so busy and you can not find time to do this....and, yap yap yap. Just go and share those pictures on top of el Pico and tell us how you went up there. You can see it is taking me time to do this, yet i am here sharing my experiences. Sooo, we need to see them pics of yours as well..you hear?.

 

[homerboy2u]

Morning hit us still sleepy. I was tired at 7 am,because of all the stories we heard from Aurelio Jr. about the area.There were many places still yet to be visited,places which interest me with a lot of history involved,some places i have had the opportunity to read books on it, which locals to my surprise do not know. All would come full circle after we had a long night talk around the kitchen area and made plans for the next day.



Aurelio told us that the El Jardin canyon was closed due to the hard rains of July and August which nearly sank the whole area coming down from Sierra del Carmen and the surroundings. In this case the canyon, which happens to be the only pass with out having to ask for permission on other ranches .

 He proposed after some deliberation to go and visit the Puerto Rico mine site,i had heard this from Jose "Lacho" Falcon,but it was so long a go that i just never paid attention to what he was saying.Aurelio Jr.picked up on this tiddy bit of inofrmation and inmediatelly offered himself to take us to the mine site. We took that opportunity in a snap , made all the arrangements necessary to go and burned rubber , afterwards.

 I went out of the house and took some morning pics of Sierra del Carmen, while we were prepping the truck and Jeep for our journey.


 A quick trip to the compost out house,for everybody and off to the dirt road.



 As soon as Gilberto opened that fence gate,i started feeling that rush again when exploring new terrain.


 Aurelio had mentioned to us that the trip to get there would take us 1 hour,plus another hour for pictures of the base camp mine site another hour, then the trip back home total time spent: 3 hours. Yeah right!,we took 3 hours to get there, snaping pictures like crazy and asking him questions until we got tired of the area, moved on , more interesting places to snap pictures or  desert flora and a pair of jeans.

 Total time for us was 6-7 hours,minimum  ..he never saw that one coming. Aurelio loved it.

 Then we came to the mine site......



 

[homerboy2u]

You could see how the terrain was changing in this beautiful desert,the ground was becoming even more rugged,less desert plants and animals crept up as we moved along. Somehow we seem like we were starting to walk in to a time warp,where very few folks had ventured out. The roads were not all the traversed. i could see a small hill, then a mound, then a big drop, then a pebble filled road where you could see that a lot of AGUA had flowed before, and i mean a lot.


 Not a lot of footprints,had moved that way,and even if they did any trace was washed out by the recent flash floods that had downpoured in the area. it is completely isolated from the outside world.



 Only my tire tracks were left behind......

[homerboy2u]

Then we hit La Boquilla , this very old horse road was the initial dirt road to go to Boquillas del Carmen wayback in the 40's and 50's when it was mostly traveled by horse and mules. It was later in life that the bus started to go in to Boquillas that they improved it, to be replaced in the future to the current dirt road.



 La Boquilla is now totally erased as a road,only folks who go to Boquillas and Las Norias use it,since it is much closer,so to speak, to ride by horse thru this canyon than take the usual way.


GE Waypoint:N29 07.994 W102 51.589
Elevation: 749 meters