Mexico’s only Triple-Crown hiker launches 2,000-km Baja California Trail project

“I’ve been moving connected this task for 7 years,” says Mexican long-distance thru-hiker Zelzín Aketzalli. “It volition beryllium a world-class way moving the full magnitude of Baja California: implicit 2,000 kilometers long. Those who locomotion it volition observe that Baja is overmuch much than beach, that it has snow-capped mountains, volcanoes, canyons, conifer forests, brackish flats and desert. In fact, it has plants, trees and carnal beingness that beryllium obscurity else.”

The task Aketzalli is talking astir volition link the Pacific Crest Trail with the caller National Trail of Baja California, “empowering the region’s astir iconic upland ranges and its autochthonal communities,” she says.

En way done Baja California. Aketzalli hopes to nutrient a full-length documentary connected her groundbreaking trek done Baja California. (Zelzín Aketzalli)

To make the trail, Aketzalli has been bushwhacking since October, starting from Tecate, visiting distant mountains, valleys, and canyons and plotting routes that volition beryllium interesting, challenging, and satisfying to aboriginal generations of long-distance hikers.

Although aligning the way with Mexico’s historical Camino Real had been considered, Aketzalli’s chosen way follows upland paths, avoiding highways portion bringing hikers person to Indigenous communities that tin offer food, structure and guidance.

Bushwhacking successful BC

When she began her odyssey connected October 19, she got a large send-off successful Tecate by Baja California assemblage leaders. Since then, she has been hard astatine enactment designing the trail.

“I walk a fewer days readying my strategy for the adjacent conception of the route, astir nights camping successful the mountains,” said Aketzalli. “And past I walk a fewer much days gathering and talking with the radical successful the adjacent pueblitos and ranchos. This has go my caller routine. It’s a antithetic and profoundly enriching mode to acquisition thru-hiking.”

Simultaneously, Quetzal — her way sanction — is signaling footage for a feature-length documentary movie connected her instauration of the Baja California trail.

“When radical spot what I’ve filmed,” she said, “they’re convinced I indispensable person a camera relation marching on down me, but I don’t. I’ve worked retired techniques for getting the changeable I need, which means I sometimes person to spell up and down the aforesaid upland 5 times.” 

Aketzalli is by assemblage an technologist and for years has applied her talents to the operation and attraction of hiking trails, including the technically challenging Hanging Lake Trail successful Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Crisscrossing the US… connected foot

Aketzalli hails from Mexico City, wherever she archetypal took up long-distance upland biking. In 2017, however, she decided to person a spell arsenic a hiker connected the 4,270-kilometer U.S. Pacific Crest Trail. 

This, she realized immediately, was what she was meant to do. 

She went connected to hike the Appalachian Trail (3,531 km) and the Continental Divide Trail (4,844 km), becoming the archetypal — and truthful acold lone — Mexican to execute the Triple Crown of U.S. hiking.

As her “helper” looks on, Zelzín sets up her structure successful the mountains of Baja California. (Zelzín Aketzalli)

Today, Aketzalli offers courses successful thru-hiking — meaning doing an full way successful 1 spell — and is afloat committed to making long-distance trails a world successful Mexico. She estimates that her contiguous way reconnaissance volition instrumentality astatine slightest different 4 months to complete.

Film festival winner

At the extremity of November, Aketzalli interrupted her Baja trek and flew to Guadalajara to be a peculiar short-film festival hosted by Cineforo UDG. Among the participants was the documentary “Zelzin, Huellas que Inspiran” (“Zelzin, Footprints that Inspire”). 

The movie was changeable connected the Iztaccíhuatl volcano and its surrounding cardinal Mexico landscapes. The documentary intertwines Aketzalli’s idiosyncratic travel — increasing up successful a convulsive vicinity successful Mexico City — with her achievements successful the earthy world, to archer a communicative astir resilience and empowerment.

“We won!” said Zelzin. “There were truthful galore fantabulous entries successful this festival… but we won! Making this cortometraje (short film) was hard due to the fact that astatine the aforesaid time, I was the protagonist, the shaper and the director. For me, this movie indispensable beryllium retired determination for each to see, conscionable arsenic the Baja Trail Project is getting underway.”

Aketzalli is present applying the acquisition she gained from producing her prize-winning abbreviated to filming her groundbreaking trek done the wilds of Baja California.

“It volition beryllium a full-length documentary connected this astir astonishing peninsula,” she said, “but I’m decidedly paying a dense terms for it. A thru-hiker’s backpack is usually precise light, mostly containing nutrient and water. Here successful Baja, instead, I’m carrying each sorts of things you request to nutrient bully cinema. I can’t judge I’m really toting a tripod!”

What tin aboriginal trekkers anticipation to spot portion pursuing Aketzalli’s way done Baja California? For sure, they volition beryllium fascinated by the boojum tree, recovered astir exclusively successful Baja’s Valle de los Cirios (Valley of the Candles).

Early 20th-century botanist Joseph Nelson Rose noted the boojum’s “grotesque, columnar form, rising improbably from the rocky soil,” and helium compared its silhouette to a elephantine inverted carrot, highlighting its eccentricity among godforsaken plants. For different botanist, Townsend Branegee, the boojum looks much similar a candle (cirio), “unlike immoderate different successful the desert.”

According to the planetary nonprofit enactment Wildcoast, Valle de los Cirios is globally unique. 

“There whitethorn beryllium nary different spot that embodies the chaotic Pacific coastal landscapes of the Baja California peninsula,” it says connected its website. “With immoderate luck and a batch of patience, a visitant tin drawback glimpses of mule deer, kit foxes, bobcats, and stealthy upland lions that rotation among the elephantine cardon cactus and fantastical cirios, oregon boojum, trees.”

Gigantic rock-art murals

This pictograph connected a cave ceiling successful Sierra de San Francisco whitethorn beryllium arsenic galore arsenic 7,000 years old. (Carlos Lazcano)

For geologist Carlos Lazcano, the 120-kilometer agelong betwixt the missions of San Ignacio and Santa Gertrudis is peculiarly impressive.  

“The canyons are spectacular, and the Sierra de San Francisco shelters past rock-art sites with gigantic murals, immoderate implicit 10 meters wide.”

Another portion connected the planned way recommended by Lazcano is Cataviña, a geological and ecological marvel which features “dramatic canyons of achromatic granite hiding turquoise pools of water.”

Irresistible sands

And past there’s the Baja beach. It is truthful enticing that British schoolteacher Graham Mackintosh couldn’t halt pursuing it. He stepped onto the formation successful the 1980s, fell successful emotion with it and past kept connected walking — for 4,800 kilometers. To truly admit those Baja sands, I suggest you work his book, “Into a Desert Place.”

To travel Zelzín Aketzalli’s advancement down the Baja California peninsula, occasionally cheque her connected Instagram astatine @zelzin_aketzalli.

John Pint has lived adjacent Guadalajara, Jalisco, for much than 30 years and is the writer of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors successful Western Mexico.” More of his penning tin beryllium found on his website.