The Lending Library in Oaxaca arranges for numerous hikes throughout the year. Jay and I joined a group for a hike in the Etla Valley, northwest from Oaxaca City.  They provided vans from the City for a group of about 30 people, dropped us in the village of San Andrés Ixtlahuaca.  The valley is not mountainous or forested, but with hills and many pastures and fields.  It being the dry season, everything was dry and tan colored (even the soil is tan in color), although along the rivers some cultivated fields had green crops.

The Hike

This hike follows a dirt road for its full distance.  The first mile or so passes through the outskirts of Ixtlahuaca, then starts a gentle climb up towards the ridge that separates two rivers.  Along the way one will see numerous small corn plots, most all of them on a slope, in some cases a steep slope.  Because of the size and the terrain, it is apparent all are tended by hand or with the assistance of oxen.  Few of the fields had been harvested, the ears  removed from the stalks, the stalks left standing.

From the top of the ridge it was an easy walk down the road towards San Felipe Tejalapam.  We encountered a small sheep and a few cows being herded up the road by their master and his trusty dog – this certainly added to the ambience of the experience.  Approaching the end of the hike we passed among numerous cultivated fields, and crossed a small stream on the way into Tejalapam.

Boarding the vans we headed back towards Oaxaca City, tho’ taking a detour for lunch in San Sebastián Etla.  The buffet at Hacienda Santa Martha presented a large spread of most any Oaxacan food one might wish for, from tacos (Oaxacan tacos) to deserts.  This was well worth the detour on the way back to the City.

Jay here: This hike was a little bit like walking somewhere in Marin County, minus anything green. Could have been a bit more interesting had the path gone overland rather than a dusty road, but you take your hikes as they present themselves.

Statistics

Total Distance:  5.19 miles
Elevation: start 5,387 ft, maximum 5,905 ft,  minimum 5,387 ft
Gross gain: 518 ft.  Aggregate ascending 787 ft, descending 762 ft
Maximum slope: 21% ascending, 24% descending, 6.7% average
Duration: 2:36

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out  Using Google Earth Track Files.

 References

HoofingItInOaxaca: Hiking Venues for “Hoofing It In Oaxaca”
Buffet Lunch:  Hacienda Santa Martha de Bárcena

Jay's Photos: Click Here for slide show.

George's Photos: Click Here for slide show.

Pat & I taveled to Oaxaca, MX, planning to spend three and half weeks, two weeks in Oaxaca City then a week in Puerto Escondido; Jay joined us for the first week and a half.  We arranged with a friend and frequent guide, Eduardo, for Jay and me to visit Los Pueblos Mancomunados, a group of eight indigenous Zapotec villages in the mountains north of Oaxaca City who have joined to develop ecotourism programs. As part of those programs, they have developed a network of hiking trails that connect their villages and they offer guide services for hiking on their trails. 

The Drive In

Eduardo made arrangements for us to hike from Santa Marta Latuvi to a spot near Santa Catarina Lachatao. We drove from Oaxaca City up Route 175 (Tuxtepec-Oaxaca road) into the Sierra Norte, climbing on a paved road (not all roads hereabouts are paved) from 5,400 feet elevation topping out at nearly 9,000 feet, then descending to about 6,000 feet.  Like all the roads in the Sierra Norte that I’ve been on, this was a twisting, turning two-lane highway, many switchbacks, often with a cliff above on one side and a drop-off cliff on the other side of the road.  Throughout the vegetation was thick on both sides of the highway. About 24 miles from Oaxaca City, we turned south onto Av Benito Juarez, a road that soon turned to gravel, ascending back up to about 8,000 feet at Latuvi.  After disembarking at Latuvi, Eduardo’s driver headed off for Lachatao to wait for us at the other end of the hike. 

The Hike

In Latuvi we met Juan whom Eduardo had engaged to be our guide on the trail.  The first three quarters of  a mile was down a steep, well used path, from 7,800 to about 7,000 feet elevation where we joined the main trail along the Arroyo Socorro (river).  From there we hiked along the river, passing through what to me was high-elevation tropical vegetation, finishing with a short climb up to the road near Lachatao. 

The trail is well used – few local folks have vehicles so these trails are in constant use by people going to and from the villages, fields, markets, and many of their daily activities. The trail passes through lots of vegetation, from shrubs and vines to various deciduous and conifer trees, even a few agaves (someday to be harvested for making Mezcal).  We also passed many small plots of corn, some already harvested; at one field villagers were in the process of gathering the ears, picking each from it’s stalk, placing it in a bucket, then transferring to a larger container carried by a burro back to their village.  Along the way Juan took time to point out some of the plants and their medicinal benefits – an example: leaves known as ‘deer tongue’ that relieve stomach discomfort.

The bottom of Arroyo Socorro is seldom wider that 100 yards; steep forest-covered hillsides bound the valley with rock cliffs appearing in a couple of places.  The stream runs year-round we’re told; ’tis low during this time of the year (the dry season) but becomes quite high during their wet season.  We also passed a few small springs, those being the source of water throughout the year.

Climbing up some 500 feet from the river, we met the car and driver near the village of Lachatao who took us into San Miguel Amatlán (a nearby village) and the facilities for Los Pueblos Mancomunados where we had a quite nice lunch.  We were then back on the twisty-winding roads to join up with Route 175 to return to Oaxaca City.  Check out the GoogleEarth .kml file Latuvi DriveInOut.Jay.2018-01-10 to see the complete ‘expedition’.

Jay here: Following the river for most of the hike made for an uncharacteristic experience. We usually start off with ascent rather than end with it. Juan would frequently stop and explain what a particular wild plant was good for and Lalo would translate it for us. It became comical after a while because it seemed as if every plant was good for “estomica” leading us to believe there was a lot of indigestion in the valley. At the end of the hike we dropped off Juan who casually loped off for an 6 or 7 mile hike back to his home in Latuvi. All in a day’s work.

Statistics

Total Distance:  7.02 miles
Elevation: start 7,833 ft, maximum 7,833 ft,  minimum 6,446 ft
Gross gain: 1,387 ft.  Aggregate ascending 1,707 ft, descending 2,591 ft
Maximum slope: 48% ascending, 36% descending, 8.8% average
Duration: 4:23

I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.

References

Outdoor Project:  Sierra Norte of Oaxaca
HoofingItInOaxaca: Hiking Venues for “Hoofing It In Oaxaca”
Independent:
     How to have a Mexican Adventure Without Destroying the Local Communities
Things to do in Oaxaca: Sustainable Tourism in Oaxaca
TripAdvisor:
     Beautiful hike and Outstanding Bungalows—Hike fromLatuvi to Lachatao
TripAdvisor: Latuvi to Amatlan
Oaxaca mio:
     Santa Marta Latuvi
     Santa Catarina Lachatao
     San Miguel Matatlan

Jay's Photos - Click on a Photo to show Gallery

George's Photos - Click on a Photo to show Gallery