La Gloria Tolantongo to Parque Nacional El Chico, Hidalgo //
A series of nineteen switchbacks aids our climb out of the Tolantango canyon this morning, followed by a network of rural roads that lead us back to the highway. From there a southern trajectory on Highway 85 takes us about seventy-five miles through a steady string of small cities and towns. By the time we get back up to highway speed after leaving one town, another town bookended with speed bumps appears. A headache I began the day with only intensified as I tried to keep up with my compulsive need to try and read every sign in every town, of which there were hundreds. (Hence the lack of photos in this post.)
Navigating roundabouts and poorly marked construction zones in the city of Actopan made it difficult to find our way out of town and into the mountains where our chosen campground for the night resided. For twenty stressful minutes we worried we might not be able to get where we wanted to go due to closed roads but eventually located a way around. Thus began our climb of several thousand feet into the mountains.
Not long after entering Parque Nacional el Chico, the pin on our map told us to turn down an unsuspecting narrow dirt road. A long, dark tunnel through a dense pine forest led us to the entrance of Valle del Churro, our destination for the night. We pulled into a large grass field that offered numerous places to park. Naturally we chose a small nook where people *hopefully* would not park right beside us. It was Friday night after-all, we weren’t that far from a large city center, and we had no idea just how busy it would get.
We bundled up as the temp dropped and clouds poured in through the trees. This would be our highest campsite so far in Mexico at 9900’. Just as we were discussing the hiking trails that can be accessed directly from the campground, an entourage of side-by-sides emerged from one of the trails. Those trails must not be just for hiking we realized. The crew of off-roaders lined up in perfect form as though they were headlining a show. They got out and meandered around while leaving their engines, music, and lights on. I wasn’t sure if they were admiring themselves or expecting admiration from us. I snapped a few photos of the spectacle nonetheless. We waited with anticipation to see if they were all about to set up tents but, to our relief, they drove away fifteen minutes later.
You never know what you’re going to get on a Friday night in Mexico no matter where you are. Once the off-road entourage departed, we were only accompanied by a a couple of other tent campers of which appeared laid-back. Our hopes were high that we would get some sleep.
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That was a lot of switchbacks! Kind of scary looking.😀 You got lucky the off road entourage didn’t stick around! I hope you find some good hiking trails.
why do people come at night! Tyme to go to bed or relax! You never know if they want to party or what! It’s enough to get woman nerves!