A Beautiful Journey to the Copper Canyon
Adventure Dates: December 15 – 23, 2024
Day 1 – Sunday, December 15
The trip began for myself (Rob DeCou, Vicki Heckman, and Gay Hunter) just after midnight in the wee hours of the morning after a few hours of sleep for myself and none for Gay and Vicki who knew with the excitement of the trip ahead. The drive to the airport was uneventful and we arrived at the Doug Fox parking just outside the airport around 2:30am and had a direct shuttle for the 5 minutes to the airport. After a quick walk to the check-in we had to wait until 3:20am for the drop bag check-in to open which is 4 hours from when our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:20am from Seatac.
We made it through security quickly and took a nap at the terminal before boarding for the 3-hour trip to Dallas Fort Worth. I nodded off a few times on the plane in the midst of listening to “God’s Middle Finger,” a book that Luis recommended along with the classic “Born to Run” and a new one to me called “Rain of Gold.”
When we arrived in Dallas we took the time to celebrate with the captain who had just finished his last flight of 32 years. American Airlines had paid to have his wife accompany him on the flight and about 20 of his family and friends were waiting to celebrate his final flight as he arrived at the airport. We cheered him on and enjoyed seeing the large smile on his face as his dad, son and grandkids waited. It was a special moment. From there we grabbed some coffee, ate snacks and headed towards our terminal. I received a text from Crystal Morse-Maffia saying she heard us laughing in the airport. We saw Dave and Lorrie Mittman walk up behind us as we approached the terminal and we tracked down Crystal and were all together.
The flight to Chihuahua was an hour and a half, and we arrived just after 4:30pm and made our way to the airport. The only hang up at customs was that we had all put the wine into one bag which was 2 liters over the 6-liter limit so we had to pay a 115% fine to bring in the extra wine. We made it to the hotel at 6pm and after a quick drop off of our gear headed out on the town at 6:30pm. The first bar was the oldest bar in Chihuahua, Antigua Lapaz, and then we had dinner at Casa Cervecera Rolina which was a beautiful building but the food and slow service had a little room for improvement on a Sunday evening.
We made it back to the hotel Quality Inn around 10pm and headed off to our rooms for a short night’s sleep and then meeting back in the lobby at 6am to head down to Urique.
Day 2 – Monday, December 16
At 6am we were all in the lobby and on schedule and wondering if Mario would show up on time and sure enough within a few minutes he was walking in the door and we were ready. After quickly loading up we headed down the road in the 12 seater van. Our first stop was for coffee at the OXXO gas station about an hour down the road, followed by a half an hour grocery stop at 8am to get some local Mennonite cheese, burritos, and all the extra supplies we would need for the week in the Copper Canyons. From there we traveled a few more hours and then took a stop at another gas station location to grab some extra beverages for the week before heading down into the Canyon.
Just after 1pm we stopped at the Divisidaro train station where the Chepo train stops. Luis’ classic line of “The train comes every other day, today is not that day” made us all laugh. There was about 10% of the normal vendors at the train station and our guide Mario went ahead to alert the one guy making gorditas to prepare 20-30 for our group. Usually there are a half dozen women with multiple stands that take on this task. After lunch we were on the slow steady trip down the canyon with an estimated arrival of 6pm in Urique. We took a stop at Gayago Mirador where we walked across the bridge and Luis was able to take one of the iconic photos of Mas Loco’s “The Crazy Ones” on the overlook that stretches out over the canyon with hundreds of feet of elevation drop below. We slowly wound down the dirt road switchbacks, with overlooking views of the small towns below and the barranca walls towering on either sides. Eventually we made our way through Urique and onto Entre Amigo’s where Michael and Kimberly, our hosts for the week were waiting.
We settled into our rooms at the hostel and then enjoyed a dinner of tortillas, beans, rice and ground beef discada. From there we headed up to the firepit and spent a few hours listening to Chiro sing songs on his guitar and drinking beers, wine and lechugia, a local distilled alcohol from a particular agave plant. After the fire we all headed to our rooms around 10pm for a good night sleep in the hostel.
Day 3 – Tuesday, December 17
At 6:15am, Luis made coffee in the upper kitchen and invited all of us for half an hour of wake up time followed by a few miles of running downtown Urique, across the bridge where a camping field is located across the rickety board bridge held by two medium size cables. It was a joy to run with Gay Hunter, Vicki Heckman, Luis Escobar, Michael Miller and both Gina and Joe Charlo. We returned back to camp just before 8am and sat down for more coffee, eggs, tortillas and fresh fruit from the garden, mainly grapefruit. After breakfast we headed to Guadalupe Coronado, a school approximately 4.5 miles from Entre Amigos in Urique and right next to the Mission building. We were led by Miguel and Hector Lara as our group of 9 hiked from Entre Amigo to the school. We went over the rolling country roads with a few steep grades and cattle grate crossings and one bridge along the way. Just before the bridge we took a slight detour to the left to an abandoned mine which goes back quite a ways and has some great views of the interior of the canyon from the ground floor. Along the way Michael shared a story of when Miguel was racing about a decade ago on the Caballo Blanco race and when Michael was on the way out he saw Miguel El Tigre de Perocci “The Tiger of Perocci” running full steam ahead up this steep climb with a fierce look on his face and a very wide gap from the second place runner behind him. We arrived at the school after our two hour 15 minute hike and were able to interact with the teachers and approximately 90 Tarahumara students which included watching them play some games with balancing eggs while racing and dancing with heads together trying not to drop a coin and staying until the last couple stood for the win. We brought a pinata and multiple boxes of school supplies including notebooks, pencils, and crayons that the faculty were able to hand out after we left. Crystal was able to pass on one of Katie Pasquini’s quilts to Felipe, the head teacher at the school, and share the significance of the beautiful art that she has produced for dozens of years. One of the comical events was after the kids knocked down the pinata Dave who is about 6’8” went to help jump up and pull down the last bit of the pinata that they were struggling to get down and one of the teachers pulled up the other end of the rope so that Dave completely missed it and the group of them began chuckling at messing with the visitors among them. It was a very endearing connection moment and felt like a highlight to the comradery and peacefulness between our two groups.
From there we toured the Mission, and the Millers busted out about 30 bean and meat burritos for our group and we grabbed water and cokes from a local vendor and were ready to make our way back to camp. We broke into three groups, one group left with the van, a jogging group and a hiking group. We all reconvened back at camp in the afternoon around 3pm and had some down time before the Temescal at 4pm.
The Temescal sauna is a spiritual experience that involves approximately an hour of rounds of hot rocks, water, and different medicines and spices mixed in with some releasing of things from your past and renewed focus for the future. It’s hard to give it justice by writing about it, but this one was just as powerful as my first experience three years ago. For me it was a time of recognition of the healing that I have experienced this past year after 3 years of long haul COVID symptoms following my second vaccination back in February 2021. The last time I was in the Temescal I was heat sensitive and it was one of the most unbearable experiences of my life with the swelling and inflammation that was going on in my body. I remember sharing about feeling “poisoned” and praying for healing and for the ability to just get through the experience as my body and mind kept telling me to leave. This Temescal felt hotter than the first one I experienced but my whole body and mind are in a completely renewed state. The impression that I had following the ceremony was a renewed commitment to my focus on community development and the roles that I am being propelled towards giving that.
We all emerged from the Temescal and headed slowly and quietly to a small recovery pool. We dipped ourselves in and sighed a relief breath as we sunk into the cold water and reflected on the experience. As we slowly made our way back to our circle everyone was mainly in their own heads processing and connecting with nature and then slowly one by one we got up and headed back across the street to Entre Amigos.
In the evening, we had a nice salad from the garden and three plates piled high of tamales made from a local vendor, Luz, filled with chicken, beef and beans respectively. Following dinner, we continued the nightly routine of heading up to the campfire for conversations and a few beverages and sharing about our days. This evening, we took the time to introduce each other and share what we do in our daily lives and why of all the places in the world we could be we would choose to come to the Copper Canyons to this remote community instead of a beach in Cancun and find ourselves sipping on margaritas. The themes had some unique perspectives but mainly centered on the connection to the earth, and moving through nature, and the power of community and the beauty around us. The groups that come to the Canyons and make the pilgrimage all the way to the canyon floor to spend time here and often hike and race are known as “Mas Locos,” the crazy ones. Others refer to themselves as those who wander. So many themes come from these conversations, such as simple words like, “you have to go to grow”, or I came here to heal, renew myself and return with a more centered focus. Some came because of friendships, and for an experience to connect even in a small way with an ancient people that are still so connected to their roots. After the fire we all headed back to our rooms for another night’s sleep.
Day 4 – Wednesday, December 18
My morning started differently than usual. I decided not to set my alarm and had tossed and turned more than usual through the night so when I finally did wake up and look at my phone it was 7:45am and I’d missed about an hour in a half of the morning routine which I quickly convinced myself was likely a blessing to the rest of the group to go solo with Luis and Michael for a quick trek around town or up a hill, or wherever they decided to go. I headed up to the upper kitchen to get a cup of coffee and had a good conversation with Crystal before heading down to breakfast for eggs, grapefruit, fresh yogurt, honey, and nuts.
After breakfast Luis spent the time gently walking our group through about an hour and a half photography session where he gave us some tips and tricks on how to utilize our iPhone. The first part of it was basics on setting up our phones with airdrop to the group, then how to quickly access the camera from the closed screen and pulling down from the top from any screen you’re on. A funny tip was the realization that you could click the volume button while in photo mode and take a photo instead of having to touch the screen. He then shared a number of tips on the rule of thirds on how to place your subject in the image, and his thoughts on lighting along with Z’s insights, who is a lighting specialist in the industry. Following the session we were sent out to capture our own images using the rule of thirds, how to create silhouettes with more light in the background of the image, and reflection images either off of windows or water.
As we were photographing we made our way through Urique and passed by so many places of memory and nostalgia from the book Born to Run inspired by Micah True’s passion for these people and inviting a group of runners to come run with the Tarahumara people. The events and numerous international runners’ journey to these isolated canyons have followed that revelation and for this small piece of time it is our group’s opportunity to see first hand, breath in the fresh air of the canyons filled with smells of trees, dust, and the history of these canyons. We captured murals, reflections of each other and objects in the distance, spiraling brick structures, dogs and cats as they napped or went about their daily lives. Some of us for maybe the first time took notice of leaving blank space in our photos and instead of centering an image had the focal point off to one sight looking in and capturing the light in their eyes because we correctly positioned ourselves in relation to the light source.
We finished our photo session at the door of Mama Tita’s restaurant who played a critical role in the Caballo Blanco races which are a memorial and continuation of the life of Micah AKA Caballo Blanco. Mama Tita greeted us at the door and as she was ushering us in gave each of us a handshake, hug, and connected with that beaming smile or come in, you’re welcome here. As we made our way up to the second floor we passed by photos of Micah, Maria Walton known as Mariposa – the butterfly, and Guadajuko Micah’s four-legged companion that accompanied him almost everywhere he went. We started off the lunch with beverages and bowls of salsa and fresh made guacamole and shared more stories and some insights from the morning experience. The lunch was to this point the best food we had had with fresh tortillas that we filled with beef, beans, potatoes and the salsa. Then Mama came walking up and we thanked her for the hospitality and took a group photo inside this historic location for those who are a part of ultra running culture and the Tarahumara people.
After lunch we made our way back to Entre Amigos where we took some time to ourselves followed by a lesson from Maruca on how to make fresh tortillas. We sat around and watched as she poured in the flour, salt, baking powder, shortning, and hot water into the mix and slowly rolled it until it was the right consistency. Then we took turns pulling off small amounts of dough and making oval paddies with them that we put into a large bowl. From there we took turns rolling them on the rolling pin while we tossed them over to either Gina or Gay who were working the stovetop and flipping the tortillas to the right consistency of golden brown and laid them out on the counter to be packed up and stored for tomorrow’s meal. Following the tortilla making session Crystal was able to present Maruca with one of Katie Pasquini-Masopust’s famous quilts, and it was a very special moment for Crystal and our group connecting with our hosts here in the canyons. It felt like a moment of Korima and the “circle of sharing.”
The evening activity was one of the more special traditions that was a profound blessing to be able to witness first hand. The Tarahumara people came running down today to participate in a rarajipari tomorrow in Urique where two teams will compete in a footrace kicking a ball known as the komakali about the size of a baseball made from the “wasima” tree. As we crossed the street we met up with the Tarahumara runners that had cut a section of tree down and were cutting out small sections and then using large machetes, cleavers, and knives were whittling the wood down into the ball that would be used in tomorrow’s race. I sat across from the Coach of this team Arnulfo Quimare who is one of the legendary runners of the Canyon and was featured in the 2006 born to run when he raced Scott Jurek that first year of the races held here in these lands that invited outsiders to join. The other team will be led by Manuel Luna who will coach the team from another community within the canyons. I will know more about the actual logistics of the race tomorrow but the basics of it from what I can gather is that each team will meet about an hour prior to the start which should be 11am “mas or menos” more or less, and will spend an hour betting on the stakes and determining the number of laps for the particular event. The higher the wages and stakes typically the more laps. The course for tomorrow will be approximately 4.5k or just under 3 miles and likely around 15 laps which makes it a 45 mile or so race. The teams will include around 10 runners each and the runners have to stay together and help track down the ball and keep it moving forward along the course at from what I understand approximately a 9 minute per mile or about 7 miles per hour pace. As the race goes on, runners drop from the race until towards the end there are only a few key runners left to close out the final laps. If the run goes into the evening then the runners make torches that they light and have to keep track of the ball while the sap occasionally pours onto their arms and they navigate finding the ball and progressing it forward. If the ball is broken they made an extra that can be put into play, however if the ball is lost then the team loses. Tomorrow we will get the opportunity to watch an entire race and run behind the runners and cheer them on.
Following the ball and sandal making experience across from Entre Amigos our group made it back to dinner for a giant bowl of fresh pasta with pesto from the garden basil and a very large salad for our evening meal. Once again we made our way up to the campfire and listened to another guitar session, roasted some marshmallows and had the company of Miguel Lara’s kids laughing and enjoying the evening. Towards the end Arnulfo joined us for a minute and then made his way to the bunk above the kitchen at Entre Amigos. This is the same place that I slept years ago stacked together with my friend Tyler Clemens and Maria Walton who welcomed us to the canyons on our arrival. I’m so thankful that I made that first trek back in 2015 and this being my third trip to the canyons I am confident I’ll keep coming and sharing this beautiful place with others who choose to wander and seek to impact positive change.
After dinner again we headed to sleep wrapping up another incredible evening in the canyons.
Day 5 – Thursday, December 19
Today I was able to wake up early once again and am catching up on a few thoughts and intentions for the future before starting the day. I am filled with excitement and awe for what lies before us this afternoon observing the race and sharing more stories and potential ways for future impact and preserving this beautiful culture in language, tradition, and their way of life here in the canyons.
Luis opened up the “coffee shop” at his usual time just before 6:15am and each of us slowly rolled into the room to sip on fresh brewed French press coffee with beans that many of us had brought with us from the states. We sat around and enjoyed the coffee, cookies and almonds that Z brought while sharing stories and waking up. Just after 7am we made our way down to the gate just before sunrise to begin a morning run. The conversation right before the run ended up shifting to the “30 by 30” film documentary on the Copper Canyon which seems to be a misinterpretation of the foreign presence here in the Canyons and a film of tension that I haven’t seen yet but will have to look up now.
After heading out the gate Luis, myself and Dave went off at a steady fast pace and ran out past the bridge on the way to the mission and another half mile to the 5k turnaround before making our way back towards Entre Amigos. The air is cool and crisp here in the morning, probably low 50 degrees and as the sun slowly makes its way up the canyon so does the heat. We arrived back at 8:15am and got a mild scolding for being late from the “feisty redhead” Kimberly before she sat us down and fed us our eggs, grapefruit, yogurt and coffee. We had the blessing of being joined by Arnulfo, his wife, and daughter and enjoyed the meal before starting the day. Gay and Vicki were right behind us a few minutes back, and Crystal and Gina took a longer route and returned back just after 8:30am.
We had an hour and a half break to relax and recover before doing a photo shoot opportunity with some of the Tarahumara women at 10am. The timing worked perfectly for me to jump on a Zoom with the Legends guys that I meet with every few weeks and touch base with some longtime friends.
The time with Arnulfo’s family and taking photos on the Entre Amigos property was magical. We had trees, reservoirs, cactus, and gardens in the background as each of us practiced our newly found upgrade to our photography skills. Then we walked into town and ended up at Mama Titas again for some guacamole and cervezas. We made our way over to city square where the Ramari runners were getting ready for a raraprima ball race. They start an hour before the event and determine the amount of laps, the wager for the event and any other details. For this one they decided on going around until 7pm (dark) an approximately 3 mile course which went down on the river bed and then up on the main road and looped back around the city square. The runners go as long as they are able and are out either when they sit down or if they are lapped by the other team’s ball. We had the privilege of watching the start of the race and then getting out on the course to cheer on the runners and watch them flick the ball with their feet and use a stick to steady it at times as they prepared to flick it. We all made our way out to the turn around and then looped around on the lower river bed watching them go by a few times before making our way back to the city square. We again went for some guacamole and cervezas at Momma Tita’s and then came back around 4:30pm which was when the visiting team had secured enough of an advantage and the home team was down to just the last few runners and decided that the time had come to a close. The winning team then had to complete one more lap, so after about 4 hours of running and flicking a ball the game was decided, and both teams were paid their dues with the winning team also reaping additional awards and admiration from the crowd.
After the event we went back to Entre Amigos and enjoyed caldo de pollo and salad along with some of the wine that we still manage to be portioning out every evening. Dinner was followed by our usual fire pit, this time which included another round of guitar playing from a local artist and marshmallow roasting with a few of the taramara kids joining around the campfire with us. We all headed back to our bunks around 10pm to get ready for another day.
Day 6 – Friday, December 20
Once again the coffee shop was opened by Luis Escobar and a handful of us gathered and shared stories while munching on cookies and fresh fruit as we gathered our thoughts for the day. We continued the conversation around photography this time capturing sections or portions of images that were abstract and pulled people into the story. After breakfast we made our way out on a 5-mile hike to the town next to Urique taking photographs along the way and sharing stories while soaking up the beautiful landscapes of the canyons rising up overhead and the river flowing on our left side. We had some sodas at the far end and then made our way back, returning around 2pm just in time for lunch at Entre Amigos consisting of the tortillas from the day before that we had made in all shapes and sizes.
After lunch we had a few options. Half the group stayed around camp and reflected, played games and caught up on activities and the other part of the group went down to the town square where the locals were participating in riding cows, gambling with dice and cock fighting. A few group members wanted to experience the full traditions of the local people and as one person put it, “don’t yuck someone else’s yum”. I chose to stay at camp and plan out some adventures for next year while soaking up the local beauty and majesty here at Entre Amigos.
For dinner we headed across the street to Luis’ “Mario’s brothers” and had a wonderful meal overlooking the water and enjoyed their hospitality. Crystal presented Luis with one of Katie’s artistic fabric pieces on our way back as we made our way to Entre Amigos. After a quick refresher we headed to town to see how the festivities were winding down. It was now around 9pm and things had apparently met their climax and now was a small group that was heading over to a basketball court area to resume dancing to celebrate whatever festival was going on. We decided to slowly make our way back to our lodging and split into two groups, one at the campfire listening to Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks on Spotify and the other calling it a night early and staying in the bunks for the night.
Day 7 – Saturday, December 21
This morning was another “coffee shop” morning with Luis. I am planning out some adventures for the next few years which include heading to Born to Run in May with Gay and Kyle for their first 100 milers, a trip to Santa Barbara with Crystal as she takes on Everesting Gibraltar, and then in November 2026 the Arizona Ironman with Gay and Vicki and as many local athletes as we can muster. We had an egg and ham breakfast with leftover tortilla quesadillas, yogurt and fruit and are preparing for our longest run/hike of the trip of about 10-12 miles in a few minutes. Today is our last full day here in the Canyon and we start our two day journey home tomorrow morning. Looking at soaking in as much as I am able to in the time I have left.
After breakfast we met at the gate at 9:45am and we headed out in two separate groups to go explore a section of the UTMB course that also followed the Caballo Blanco route up through the mountains. We ran out just short of 3 miles on the dirt road and then took a right up the switchback path that was painted about as clearly as possible up the side of the hillside. It reminded me of sections of the Camino where there were painted rocks, and arrows that made it almost impossible to get off the route. We passed by Tarahumara houses and fenced off areas where they would put up simple four strand barbed wire fences to keep the cows out of the garden areas on the properties. We made our way up approximately a 3,000 foot climb over three miles up to the small town at the top of the canyon.
As we arrived at the town Michael led us to the building where there is the only tienda in town and unfortunately on this Saturday the town was deserted and likely everyone had headed down to Urique for the festivities for the day. We made our way to the school yard and sat in the shade on the cold cement slab and ate the gorditas that Maruca had prepared for us and sipped sparingly the water we had brought with us. We shared a few of our leftovers with some of the street dogs, headed to the field on the way out of town and took a couple of group pictures in locations that many previous “Mas Locos” had done the same.
From there it was a seven mile descent back down to Entre Amigos and the heat of the day was starting to creep up on us. We split into two smaller groups with Michael, Vicki and me taking the lead, and Gay, Lorrie and Dave coming along closely behind us. Vicki and I weaved down the canyon steadily at about an 11 minute per mile pace while Michael bolted off ahead to get Duro his dog back home to cool off before the heat continued to wear him down. We made our way to the canyon floor and then walked up the short hills as we went along the roadway. The heat was continuing to rise as we reduced our elevation and thankfully the last two miles we got back into shaded sections from the hillside which eased in the final bit before getting back to Entre Amigos. We had mentioned to Michael that it might be a good idea to bring back water or supplies to the group as the heat was rising and we had minimal supplies on us but knowing how distracted he gets, like a dog going after a squirrel we decided there was less than a 10% chance that would actually happen, and that was being optimistic.
When we got back to Entre Amigos we both downed multiple bottles of juice, and water and then I loaded up my backpack with water and cervezas and headed back out to meet up with the group. Vicki went to town and picked up half a dozen cokes for when we all got back and were recovering. I went out just short of a mile and met with Gay, Vicki, and Dave who were doing great but still appreciated the cold beverages and the top off on the water supply. Walking back together was enjoyable and we resonated with the joy of the day and how powerful hiking those Tarahumara trails had been to the overall experience. We all cleaned up, had some cokes and then around 4pm made our way downtown Urique.
Once we arrived downtown we arrived at Mama Tita’s restaurant and unfortunately she was closed for the day. We started to try to decide where the rest of the group was when we decided it was likely they were inside the restaurant possibly on the top deck. Within seconds Gina sure enough showed up from inside and unlocked the door to let us in and we all sat around inside the restaurant and greeted and laughed with Mama Tita. We spent the next few hours sharing stories, drinking cervezas, eating guacamole and chips and enjoying one of our last gatherings together after an extraordinary week. After about an hour another group showed up and Mama Tita decided to let them in as well. She didn’t have any other waiting staff so Lorrie asked if she needed help. Before she knew it Lorrie was whisked away and was in the backroom cutting up tomatoes and onions and preparing meals for the group. Gina joined in and was bringing out drinks and food and having a great time smiling and soaking in the whole experience of a day as a waitress and prep cook in the canyons of Mexico.
From there we slowly made our way back to Entre Amigos where Kimberly awaited us with a large salad and these incredible baked potatoes that we loaded with cheese, salsa, ground beef and other toppings from the garden and shared our highlight moments from the trip. After dinner we had our last campfire and looked at the night sky watching shooting stars as a meteor shower happened to be passing by. It was a great way to close out our last evening as we made our way to bed for an early rise the next morning.
Day 8 – Sunday, December 22
Luis moved the “coffee shop” hours to 5:45am for our final morning and the normal crew showed up right as it opened up. We sat around and finished up our last little bit of Peets coffee in Luis’s large Stanley French Press. Then Gina took out her specialty whole beans she had brought and hand ground them in the stone grinder and made up another final pot as we closed down the shop. We made our way down to breakfast at 6:30am eating some pancakes, yogurt, and a bit of breakfast cereal and then each went our own ways to get our belongings ready for the trip ahead. Our group was packed and loaded up by 7:15am and Luis, our driver, arrived at 7:28am which put us on the road right on schedule at 7:30am.
We headed out into the morning sunrise and slowly started making our way back up the canyon. At 9:30am we took a stop at the Lodge on the top of the canyons where the Millers have a place and Mario has guesthouses and a souvenir store. After about an hour we hit the road again and this time Mario’s nephew took over as our driver to take us the rest of the way to Chihuahua. We are currently driving much faster and the next stop is just after noon with a lunch break and to shake out our legs again after the slow steady climb out of the canyons.
We arrived at the hotel around 5:30pm and took some time to clean up and then headed out on the town for the last night in Mexico. Throughout this week each member of our group has opened up, connected with the people of the Copper Canyons and with each other. It truly has been a magical experience that I will cherish for years to come. We took the opportunity together for one last evening at a local watering hole and then ate from the vendors at this large sort of street fair that was going on in close proximity to our hotel, enjoying the holiday decorations and the warm evening air.
Day 9 – Monday, December 23
In the morning we all met up for breakfast at the hotel and then began packing our things. Crystal and I reached out to Randall and had a really engaging conversation about the Tarahumara people and some thoughts on how both of our colleges might get involved in the future to preserve the language, culture and customs of that community through best practices that are taking place within our local native communities. It was a personal highlight for me and I’m looking forward to the potential of working with these two amazing people in the future.
Luis had left on an early morning flight and the rest of us slowly started parting ways to our different flights. The bulk of us headed to the airport at 10am to catch our flight that connected in Dallas again. When we arrived in Dallas after the hour in a half flight we ran into Luis again who was waiting for a connecting flight that had been pushed and had yet another opportunity to celebrate. We shared more stories and reflections and got on the topic of training for future Ironman competitions in 2026 and potentially even longer cycling opportunities with Dave, Gay, Vicki, Lorrie and pulling our friend Kirsty Massingham into the training group as well as others from the Port Angeles community and beyond.
This was my third trip into the Copper Canyons and I will continue to share about how magical and beautiful of a place it is. Those who take the time to journey the multiple days down and multiple days out of the canyons and hike and run it’s trails are known in my little running group as Mas Locos, and I am grateful to have shared this journey with so many from my local community that have joined me on this crazy adventure and looking forward to more to come!