Blog Post 15 - San Pedro de Matrir National Park

SAVARONA
JIRIG & TERESA NERSESYAN
Fri 30 Oct 2015 14:53

Blog Post 15 – San Pedro de Matrir National Park

October 23, 2015

31:51.26N 116.37.31W

 

We took the most incredible trip last week. Picture this…..mountain peaks more than 9,000 feet in the air…. pine and conifer forests….34 degrees at night….Doesn’t sound like Baja does it? But it is. This park is a jewel of natural wonders. The park was named for Saint Pedro, the patron saint of the Spanish Inquisition. (How would you like to have that designation?) The Spanish Missionaries built a mission in what is now this park back in the 1700’s and that was how it got its name. DSC06835There is evidence of Indians having settled here over 20,000 years ago. The mountain range that makes up this park is called the Sierra San Pedro Martir and they were made millions of years ago by the violent clashing of tectonic plates that caused numerous volcanic eruptions. Evidence of this violent geographical beginning, are everywhere in the park. There are the high and jagged mountain peaks, huge boulders and vast canyons. We had never seen anything like it. It is the only national park on the Baja peninsula. It is famous for the observatory that was built on the highest peak in the park. There are three very powerful telescopes there. Astronomers from all over the world come here to study the stars. I had seen this park on a map we have of Baja and was curious about it. I looked it up online and there was not much information but what little there was made me want to go there. I couldn’t imagine that there were pine forests and snow in Baja! From December to March the road is impassable due to snow! Nico and I are studying the history and culture of Baja for homeschool and this trip provided a perfect fieldtrip for them. When I started doing research on it I found out that they have casitas (cabins) that you can rent for $45 a night. So I reserved one for us. Our plan was to drive up early in the morning and spend the night and leave the next day. We had to bring everything with us. There are no stores, no gas stations and no restaurants. The only buildings there are the ranger station, 5 little casitas and the observatory.

 

After we left San Quintin we drove about 40 kilometers to the turn off on Mexico Hwy 1 to San Pedro de Martir National Park. It is 100 kilometers from the turn off until you get to the top of the park. In those 100 kilometers you go through at least 4 different temperate zones and eco systems. When youDSC06820 start you are in the Sonoran desert with the landscape that almost every one associates with Baja, dry and desolate desert with the occasional cactus and tumbleweeds. Then as you travel up you see some low mountains with larger DSC06828bushes and shrubs. Then finally there are these jagged and super tall mountains with pine trees and when you reach the very top above 9000 feet there are conifer forests and alpine meadows. The road was remarkably well taken care of although it was only 2 lanes with very few guardrails. The road was incredibly steep. You start out at sea level and climb 9000+ feet in only 100 kilometers. It was hard on the truck. The transmission was smoking most of the way. Jirig was freaking out. Our Chevy Tahoe has 330,000 miles on it. I kept calling the drive “the death march” for the truck and Jirig was not amused. At one point he almost turned back. There was nobody on the road. We saw only 4 cars in 100 kilometers. At about 8000 feet is the entrance to the park. We had to pull over and register with the ranger and pay the nominal entrance fee. It occurred to me at the time that this must be one of only a few park rangers in all of Baja. Our casita was right next to the ranger’s station. It was really nice, much better than I expected. It had a small living room and kitchen and one bedroom and a bathroom. The bedroom had 2 big bunkbeds in it. It has been over 45 years since I have slept in a bunkbed. Nico loved it! The cabin had a small cast iron wood burning DSC06885heater in living room, it was very cozy.

Once we were settled we wanted to go exploring. We drove up to DSC06870the peak and tried to get to the observatory but it was closed for the day. We had seen a sign off of the road that said “Alta Mirador”. That means ‘high viewpoint’ in Spanish. It was a well-marked trail and it was 4 kilometers to the top. What a 4 kilometers it was! We gained 865 feet in elevation in only 2 kilometers. The first part of the hike was really steep and rugged. It was the most challenging physical endeavor I had done in years. It was hard for all of us. It was not the most well planned hike. We had water, good shoes and jackets but it was already 2 in the afternoon and we had no idea what to expect. Thank god, the last 2 kilometers of the trail were flat and ran along the ridgetop. Going up the trail we had the most amazing views of the mountain range and the valleys and the desert 9000 feet below. Once we got up and had stopped climbing and were walking along the ridge, the scenery changed again. We were out of the pine forest and into a conifer forest interlaced with grassy meadows.  At the end of the trail there was this huge metal platform sticking out over a cliff. We were unsure whether or not to proceed. We gingerly stepped out on the platform and could not believe what was in front of us. It took 100 kilometers to go up the mountain range and what was before us was a 9250 foot drop straight down to the desert floor. It was insane how steep and jagged it was. We could see San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez in the distance. It was truly remarkable. I cannot find the words that are descriptive enough to describe it. We will never forget that image as long as we live. We were so exhausted, yet so proud that we had made it this far and to see the awesome view in front of us was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I do not think that the pictures included here give it the appropriate justice; you will just have to believe me. DSC06857DSC06875

 

What took us 4 hours to go up took us 1 ½ hours to go down. We left the peak at 5:02 PM. The sun was falling behind the mountains. We had to get down before it got dark, we did not want to get stuck on the trail at night.  There would be no one there to help us if someone fell or something went wrong. We had flashlights if we needed them but we did not want to go there. We booked it down the hill and got back to the truck at 6:30 just as the sun was setting. What a day…..

 

When we got back to the cabin we made a dinner of sandwiches and fruit. We had heard about how incredible the stars were here at night (how many times have I used that adjective in this post?). We built a fire in the fire pit and went outside. We have never seen so many stars. We have spent many a night out in the ocean with no city lights to obstruct our view but nothing compared to being so high in the mountains and looking at the stars at night. We were so exhausted from our hike we only stayed outside for an hour. Besides it was freezing! The air was so thin and as soon as the sun went down it got really cold. It was 34 degrees when we finally DSC06897went inside. We all fell asleep as soon as we hit the pillows.

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DSC06886We got up early the next morning and had breakfast and packed. We wanted to head up to the observatory. The air was crisp and cold and the sun was blaring bright. We got up to the observatory, the highest pointy that you can go and unfortunately for us they were closed for upgrades. Nico and I hiked around for a bit while Jirig took pictures. We found ants, dragon flies, regular flies and lizards at 9200 feet. We even saw a stray cow grazing in a meadow. What was it doing up there? Who would have DSC06896thought?

I had read about a small shrine to San Pedro (Saint Pedro) and at the last minute Jirig saw a sign that lead us to it. It was insane. Someone came all the way all the way up here and built this little chapel to the saint. And it is still standing and no one has defaced it. Only in Mexico.

 

This was one of those trips that started as a tiny spec of interest in my brain and turned into an incredible journey. I am so blessed that we are able to do these things and that I have a husband and son that are ready and willing to do it with me! Pinch me and tell me that this is really happening……Living the dream….

 

Next week we head south to La Paz.

 

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