When Brooke announced that she was not returning to Washington until July, Jim and I decided to take the opportunity to meet up with her in Mexico. We had so much fun hiking and rock climbing, we decided to meet up in Monterrey, Mexico, again next year.
We began our trip by meeting Brooke in Potrero Chico to do some rock climbing. Jim and I had been here a couple of years ago and loved the climbing. This was Brooke’s first time in the quaint little town but definitely not her last.
We spent our first day just getting on the rock. Jim and I hadn’t been rock climbing since last spring and Brooke was getting over a sever bronchiolar infection.
Potrero Chico is a community within walking distance of the limestone walls. Rock climbers from all over the world come to experience the multitude of routes.
Jim and Brooke spent the next two days swamping off leading up a couple of multi-pitch routes.
Our first multi-pitch was 5-pitch Harmony. A incredibly fun climb. Can’t wait to do it again next year. We ended up spending the day visiting with the climbers in front of us. We had so much fun, we all had dinner together that night.
The next day, we started by climbing whatever we could find in the sun. The temperature was 20 degrees colder in the shade. When the sun finally hit the face of one of the big walls, Jim and Brooke decided to do a Father / Daughter climb, swinging leads. I stayed behind to take pictures. Good thing because three of us would never have fit on the belay stations.
After three days of rock climbing, we were all ready to do some hiking. Though Potrero Chico has unbelievable rock climbing, the best hiking is back in Monterrey so we packed up and changed lodging.
Monterrey is the second largest city in Mexico. It is not a popular tourist destination. It is more focused on manufacturing. There are several mountainous ranges that surround the sprawling city.
None of us had hiked in the area so we had no idea what to expect. As it turned out Monterrey has some unbelievable hiking routes. The routes we choose involved scrambling, cat walks, via ferrates, and cave tunnels.
Pico Perico was our first objective. Since the trailheads start from town, it was very difficult to get a picture of the peak. The trail started like many things we had done before. Just a hike up a valley floor into an amphitheater. Once we popped out in the open, we couldn’t image where a trail might be on the hillside.
To our surprise, a trail appeared at the base of the cliff. It was somewhere in here that we realized we were on an old mining trail. Our online maps even showed us passing through a tunnel. None of us thought that was possible.
Then out of nowhere, the tunnel appeared and the trail signs were directing us into the darkness.
It was impossible to pass through the cave / tunnel without a light. Jim had brought a headlamp. Brooke and I were left with the flashlight setting on our cell phones.
The cave trail was much longer than I thought it would be and there were lots of side tunnels. It would be incredibly easy to get lost in the tunnels if it weren’t for all the arrows painted on the walls.
There had been a cave-in that brought light into the darkness.
There were several other cave-ins that eliminated the trail underfoot. Someone had laid planks, and in some cases, added chains to make passing through the cave possible. This would never have been allowed in the States.
Most people stopped at the other side of the cave. This was the turnaround spot for 99% of the hikers. Of course, we carried on. We had a peak to climb. The trail became a narrow ledge that traversed around the end of the ampitheater.
Our next trail signage had us turn straight up a very loose and dirty gully. It was here we all wished we had brought our helmets. Once out of the gully, we came to the via ferrata section of the climb and again we all wished we had our helmets but we had all left them in the hotel room.
The via ferrata was a loose swing ladder, followed by several cables and chains. The rock was completely polished making foots hold very difficult to stick to. We did a lot of “Batmanning” up the cables. Pulling our self up.
The via ferrata topped out at the ridge and we could finally see our objective.
The scramble to the summit was quite fun. We just had to be careful to stay on the route and avoid the shrubbery.
We took a long break on the summit. I laid in the shade while Jim and Brooke did a photo shoot. The temps in Monterrey were swing between 75 and 35 degrees. The day we flew out of Mexico, it was snowing.
We all agreed the climb was 5-stars. Completely unbelievable! During the descent, we all agreed the descent was 1-star. Absolutely awful and scary. Everything was loose.
We reached the trailhead in perfect family form just minutes before we needed headlamps.
For our last day in Monterrey, we joined a guided group to the Eagle’s Nest. They picked us up at our hotel, provided harnesses and helmets, and handled all the rope work. It was fun to just be a tourist.
The hike started similar to the day before on a nice trail heading up a valley. But once things steepened, everything got loose and crappy. This picture shows their idea of a “trail”. I would call it a dirty gully.
Just before we reached the notch in the ridge, the rock got more solid and the scrambling actually became fun.
From the notch, we stopped to take pictures. On a clear day, the pictures are unbelievable.
From the notch, we scrambled up the ridge. There were several cables in place for us to clip into if we wanted as well as outcroppings for picture taking. Once again, this would never be allowed in the States.
The guides stopped at a spot on the ridge and began to setup a rappel. We then one by one rappelled into the obis. After a 100-feet or so, we were pulled into the Eagle’s Nest.
The Eagle’s Nest was once again a cave / tunnel. But unlike the tunnels of yesterday, this was pure natural not man-made. We crossed through the tunnel and started rappelling down the other side.
After scrambling down a gully, we had one more rappel before we joined our up route and started the descent back to Monterrey.
The next day, Jim and I headed to the airport in the rain. Later the day, it started to snow. The airport was so cold, they had standing heaters out.
We all decided that next year, 2025, we would be coming to Monterrey at the end of February. Maybe the weather would be a bit more stable. At least we won’t need our down jackets.