Jonathan Wilson and a team of four international cavers were the first to explore the entire Infierno Canyon in northwest Mexico’s Sierra Madre Oriental. They were on a reconnaissance mission for future expeditions, mapping possible new entrances to a vast system of interconnected caves in Cretaceous limestone. Over eight days, they battled thirst, hunger, elation, and injury as they navigated the narrow slot canyons.
25 March – Hotel San Francisco, Zaragoza N.L., Elevation: 1400m
Peter starts the morning hacking up a lung and announces what we have been expecting: he’s dropping out of the trip. We offer our condolences, and then scavenge his gear like vultures on a fresh kill. I make out with his lightweight sleeping bag, pad, and some of his freeze-dried food. We load the 2WD Dodge and head into the mountains and the clouds. Along with my compatriots—Gustavo, a jewelry maker from Mexico City; Victor, also from the capital; Michael, an East German geologist; and Bernhard, a West German transportation planner—I get off the truck high above Zaragoza, and shoulder a pack for the first time. It must weigh about 20-25 kilos, and it seems to get heavier the farther we hike down the road. The light grows dim, and we pitch our tents at the head of the small canyon. Man, what a way to spend my birthday.
26 March – Camp I, Infierno Canyon, Elevation: 1700m
The fog coats everything with moisture, but it doesn’t matter much: as soon as we enter the canyon we hit the water. We pass a farm that will be the last sign of humans for eight days. After a 200-meter swim, we come to our first drop. We descend the 12 meters into a cold pool, then pull the rope down behind us. There’s a certain sense of inevitability when you pull the rope for the first time. We go from rock-hopping on river boulders to swimming in bone-chilling water to tromping over gravel riverbeds. The sun disappears, and the fog rolls in again. We camp in the middle of the narrow canyon to stay away from the walls, which are covered in poison ivy. The Mexicans converse in Spanish and the Germans in their native tongue. I don’t add much to the campfire chitchat. No caves in this part of the canyon, but we have much more to explore.
27 March – Camp II, Infierno Canyon, Elevation: 1450m
My pack doesn’t get any lighter. We spend most of the day walking through a 100-meter-deep slot canyon. We pass shattered boulder fragments along the canyon floor. Our first drop of the day is a five-meter descent into a shallow pool. No one wants to get wet quite yet, so Bernard belays me from a tree as I traverse the wall to a chock stone at the other end. The others traverse the same way. Not 10 meters down the canyon, we end up swimming for two long, chilly stretches. So much for staying dry. Another rappel leads to a very slow part of the canyon filled with boulders the size of Power Wagons and small houses. After five hours of bouldering with a heavy pack, I’m stumbling around like a drunken old man.
We come across a few cave entrances throughout the day. The first entrance is 20 meters up a sheer wall with 30 meters of cliff above that—inaccessible. The next entrance lies just a few meters up, and Bernhard scopes it out only to find it plugged with flowstone. The last cave of the day is again too high for us. The canyon teases us with these inaccessible prizes, dangling them just beyond our reach. Discussions of helicopters, overland approaches, and other less tangible options give way to thoughts of food.
28 March – Camp III Infierno Canyon, Elevation: 1135m
Our team is wet for most of the day, swimming through beautiful green water up to six meters deep. On a rare dry section, we spot a large opening in highly folded limestone. The climb is exposed but not too difficult. We laugh like schoolgirls as we scramble to the yawning entrance. The cave slopes downward at 45 degrees in big, promising passage. We survey for 110 meters to a sump pool of clear green water. Dry mud covers the floor, making everything the same shade of brown in the twilight. Just below the entrance we see the high-water mark, a sign that this cave had once drained a much larger system—the Cretaceous Park, perhaps? That certainly would be a find … especially for us mud-in-the-blood types. We pull out Bernhard’s eTrex GPS to record our position, only to discover that the unit is not as waterproof as we had thought. We mark the cave on our map by dead reckoning and continue down the canyon.
We’re concerned about progress. We fear we’re going to be a few days short on food. All the swimming zaps our energy, and the chill quickly sets in if we stop moving. Throughout the day we run into several plunge pools, one of which is a three-meter drop. A little risky to jump, but it’s much quicker than rigging a rope.
At Camp IV we have to look long and hard for dry wood to burn, and end up feeding most of the waterlogged first aid kit to the fire.
29 March – Camp IV Infierno Canyon, Elevation: 935m
At first light, we start with a ball-chilling swim straight off the rocks of Camp IV. At the first drop we discover an anchor from a party that had come in from Los Membrillos 15 days before. They only did this one section … and what a section, with breathtaking waterfalls cascading down the canyon walls. A ways down, Bernhard slips and we hear a loud thud and a groan. The reality of our remoteness weighs in. I watch Bernhard wince while he tests his ankle. It’s sprained. He can walk but not with a full load. At the next drop, I too lose my footing, slip under an overhanging lip and pin my hand between the rope and rock. When I force out my hand, the rock rips off most of the skin from my knuckles. I curse my ineptitude at every dagger of pain. Getting down takes us a long time. Hypothermia is setting in. We finally find a camp, start a fire, and take stock of our situation. Bernhard wraps his ankle with whatever is left from the torched first aid kit, and I rub antibiotic on my hand. We split up Bernhard’s pack to lighten his load.
30 March – Camp V Infierno Canyon, Elevation: 720m
In the morning, we set out with heavy packs. We make excellent progress but find no caves. Low elevation and changes in geology make the chances of discovering more entrances slim. We check every shadow and crack in the canyon walls, but each one dashes our hopes. We focus on getting mileage under our feet. After days of freeze-dried food and candy bars, we’re ready for a steak and some beer.
31 March – Camp VI Infierno Canyon Elevation: 475m
As we become hiking machines, our energy levels plunge. Twenty ounces of food per day doesn’t cut it with the loads we carry. Throughout the day the water disappears into the gravel, and each time we think that we’re in trouble. But without fail, it reappears with a vengeance, and we are swimming yet again. My knuckles sting with every stroke. Even Bernhard outpaces me with his bum ankle. Again, no caves. We spend one more night camped on the riverbed. We eat the last of our food. We bend the topo map this way and that, trying to get a grip on how far we have to go. Tomorrow it is all or nothing.
1 April – Last Day in Infierno Canyon: 350m
Our team comes across the first signs of human life. A burro trail makes the going easier. The trail turns into a road, the jungle turns into farmland, which turns into a soccer field at the edge of the tiny village of Los Angeles. We gorge on junk food and beer, raising a glass to the few caves we found, and plotting our inevitable return.
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Tags: canyoneering, caving, expeditions, infierno canyon, sierra madre oriental
