Slot Canyon from Oasis Primer Aguas--March 2014

I was recently made aware that to access the hikes I have shown on my blog and described in the “Hiking Loreto” guide book, requires permission from the ranch owners of the land.   

You can contact the president of Loreto Guide Association, Rodolfo Palacios Castro, for a guide to take you on these hikes because they have permission from the owners and are aware of the need to protect these fragile places.  His Facebook site is:  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2215309472057445/user/100000173233748

Currently, the owner of the Las Parras Ranch along the road to San Javier Church sells passes to their property at the Pescador Grocery Store or Hacienda Suites.  As time goes by, there may be more owners who do this.

This is our second hike starting at the swimming pool ruins at Oasis Primera Aguas. This time we head down river----there is still a river flowing most of the way.

Here is our group pose as we begin our hike to the Slot Canyon. From left to right the hikers are Tracy, Werner, Alex, John, and Wes. Gary is working on the camera and I am at the dentist still for my 6-month checkup and cleaning for 600 pesos.

I caught up with the group as we are now heading downstream toward the Slot Canyon trail.

Once we got to the pool ruins, we headed downriver to Slot Canyon. The guide book said that it was about a half-mile downstream on the left. We were so eager to get there, we headed up one that turned out to be a bushwhacking nightmare.

We turned around and headed down the river a bit more and saw that the river suddenly disappeared only to reappear a short way downstream.

Like magic, the river reappears just before Slot Canyon.

Finally, we reach Slot Canyon on the left side of the river where there was a 3-meter obelisk at the entrance along with a dried-out river bed leading us up through the canal.

What a magical hike as the walls of the canyon begins to close in on us.

This is really a tight fit.

How do we get out of here??

Here is the choke point of the Slot Canyon hike. We found a knotted rope and watched Tracy, Wes, and now Alex climb up with ease. For us old guys it took about two exhausting tries before we got up and over. With strained arms and skinned elbows, we were elated to be able to finish this Slot Canyon hike.

Look at the relief that Gary shows at the top of the Slot.

After the rope climb, the rest of the hike was a gradual walk along the river past a ranchero with goats until we came to the main road.

Along this river, we spotted car tire tracks so we knew that we must be near the main road to Oasis Primer Aguas.

Suddenly we reached the road and you can see us heading back to Oasis Primer Aguas.
I finally caught up with the group, and Werner, John, and I decided to stop at Del Boracho's to drink a few pitchers of Modelo Negra while I augmented my plant-based diet with a bacon cheeseburger with a green salad. No french fries for me. It was a great ending to a challenging hike. This is Loreto at its best!